+385 (0)1 5508 320  phone

Employment of people with disabilities from 01 January 2015

On January 1, 2015 the new law on professional rehabilitation and employ-ment of people with disabilities comes into force which, inter alia, provides the rights of people with disabilities in the employment.

Employers with 20 or more employees are obliged to fulfill the quota of em-ployment in accordance with the law on professional rehabilitation and em-ployment of people with disabilities and have the following options:

  1. To employ a disabled person according to the required quota
  2. To use a replacement quota or,
  3. To pay the fee for the unfulfilled quota.

1. Employing people with disabilities - quota employment

According to the above mentioned law, employers with at least 20 employees are obliged to employ a certain number of people with disabilities, depending on the total number of employees and the company's activities.

The quota is determined on the basis of the company's activities according to the National Classification of Economic Activities 2007 – “NKD 2007” as shown in the following table:

2 % quota

3 % quota

6 % quota

G) Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles

F) Construction

A) Agriculture, forestry and fishing

I) Accommodation and food service

H) Transport and Logistic

B) Mining and quarrying

J) Information and communication

L) Real estate

C) Manufacturing

K) Finance and insurance activities

P) Education

D) Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply

M) Professional, scientific and technical activities

 

E) Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities

O) Public administration and defense; obligatory social insurance

 

N) Administrative and
support service activities

R) Arts, entertainment and recreation

 

Q) Health and social care

S) Other service activities

   

T) Activities of households as employers; activities of households that produce various goods and perform various services for their own use

   

U) Activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies

   

The quota can be different, but cannot be less than 2% nor more than 6% of the total number of employees. In the case that the value of the quota is less than 0,5 % it is rounded down and if the value of quota is 0,5 % or more it is rounded up. For employers who employ less than 50 workers, the quota will be reduced by one percentage point, but cannot be lower than 2%.

For example:

According to the NKD 2007 real estate agency falls under section L (real es-tate) and is subject to the 3% quota for the employment of people with disabilities. Assuming that a real estate agency employs 50 persons, it is obliged to employ one person with disabilities (50 x 3% = 1,5 rounded up to 2) while ensuring that the wage cannot be lower than the minimum wage, which is published on an annual basis (the minimum wage in 2014 amounts HRK 3.017,61).

Employers are required to submit evidence of fulfilling obligations of the quota of employment of persons with disabilities to the Department of expertise, professional rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities (Zavod za vještačenje, profesi-onalnu rehabilitaciju i zapošljavanje osoba s invaliditetom) within seven days from the date of fulfillment of the employment.

Newly established companies are not subject to this law for the first 24 months.

Employers with less than 20 employees which have employed a person with disability as well as employers who employ more disabled people than the quota requires, are entitled to receive a financial bonus which is, 15% of the minimum wage per month for a period of six months for each of these em-ployees with a disability.

2. Replacement quotas

The employer can fulfill the obligation of quota employment by using recruit-ing a prescribed number of persons with disabilities or to use a replacement quota in one of the following ways described below:

  • business cooperation with persons with disabilities who are self-employed,
  • students with disabilities or students with disabilities participating on an internship. Four interns are recognized as one employed person with disability,
  • rehabilitating persons on internship within of the professional reha-bilitation conducted by the Center for Professional Rehabilitation, except that the two rehabilitating persons are recognized as one employed person with disability,
  • conclude one or more temporary service contracts with students with disabilities who have the status of a full-time student,
  • persons with disabilities without employing them on a professional training, except that four (4) such persons are recognized as one (1) employed person with disabilities.
  • provides one or more scholarships for full-time education to persons with disabilities.

The Register of employees with disabilities

Every employer must register employed persons with disabilities in the Register i.e. Croatian Pension Insurance Fund. The Croatian Pension Insurance Fund is in charge for the Register of employees with disabilities based on the applica-tion of the employer. Any employer who employs persons with disabilities in 2014 must register these persons until 31 October 2014 to HZMO (Croatian Pension Insurance Fund) so that this person can be included in the quota from 1 January 2015. Employers who want to use a replacement quota, have to report this to HZMO by 31 December 2014.

If the employer will next year for the first time employ a person with a disabil-ity, they must report this person to HZMO by using M-1P and M-3P forms (change of data, if the employer finds out that his employee has any kind of disability) and mark on those forms that it is a person with disability.

3. Payment of the fees due to unfulfilled quotas

If the employer who is obliged to, do not employ a person with a disability and do not use a replacement quota, he is obligated to calculate and pay a fee in the amount of 30% of the minimum wage for each person with disability the employer was obliged to employ. This fee is being calculated and is due on the last day of the month for the previous month. In simple terms this means the following:

Fee = quota x minimum wage x 30%

For example:

Quota: 2 employees

The minimum wage in 2014: HRK 3.017,61

Fee: 2 x HRK 3.017,61 x 30% = HRK 1.810,57

Company obliged to pay the fee shall prepare and submit a report within eight days on a form provided by the Department of expertise, professional rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities.

Incentives for employment of persons with disabilities

Besides all above mentioned information, employers can achieve the incen-tives for employment of persons with disabilities paid by Department of exper-tise, professional re-habilitation and the employment of persons with disabili-ties. Incentives can be obtained only if the person is in the Register. We would like to mention that according to Art. 29 of the law on professional rehabilita-tion the employment of disabled persons are prescribed benefits and the fi-nancial incentives that can be found in the law.

 

Sample calculation of salary on monthly basis - Croatia as of 01 January 2015 according to the government's announcement

Sample calculation for a Croatian employee, resident in Zagreb without dependent family members

 

      HRK % coeff. HRK EUR
1 gross salary        10.000,00 1.303,78
  contributions out of salary          
2 contributions to pension insurance, 1st pillar   15,00   1.500,00 195,57
3 contributions to pension insurance, 2nd pillar   5,00   500,00 65,19
4 contributions to pension insurance - total       2.000,00 260,76
5 gross salary reduced by contributions to pension insurance       8.000,00 1.043,02
6 personal tax-exempt amount     1,00 2.600,00 338,98
7 monthly taxable base (1-4-6)       5.400,00 704,04
  tax brackets          
8 income tax, tax rate 12%, tax bracket 2.200,00 12,00   264,00 34,42
9 income tax, tax rate 25%, tax bracket 11.000,00 25,00   800,00 104,30
10 income tax, tax rate 40%, tax bracket 0,00 40,00   0,00 0,00
11 total amount of tax (8+9+10)       1.064,00 138,72
12 amount of municipal tax ("prirez")   18,00   191,52 24,97
13 total amount of personal income tax (11 + 12)       1.255,52 163,69
14 net salary (5-13)       6.744,48 879,33
15 remuneration in kind       0,00 0,00
16 net salary for payment (14-15)       6.744,48 879,33
  employer's contributions (on salary)          
17 contribution to health insurance   15,00   1.500,00 195,57
18 contribution to public unemployment insurance   1,70   170,00 22,16
19 contribution to accident insurance   0,50   50,00 6,52
20 total amount of employer's contributions    17,20   1.720,00 224,25
21 total costs of salary (1 + 20)       11.720,00 1.528,03

 

pdf download iconon

Social security contributions

Effecting of payment of social security contributions while effecting payment of salaries as of May 1st

  • The Croatian Government has adopted a Directive on manner of effecting the payment of social security contributions, benefits in kind and monthly basis for calculation of contributions on the basis of employment. Pursuant to this Directive, the employers will only be allowed to effect the payment of the net salaries after the corresponding payments for social security contributions have been effected, which is a prerequisite for effecting of the payment of salaries. As of May 1st, the Tax Authorities shall inform banks, through the Financial Agency, off the employers that do not effect payments of social security contributions.

  • As of May 1st, rate for healthcare contributions is being reduced from 15% to 13%. Cited reduction of contribution rate will result in reduction of total costs fro salaries at the rate of 1,7%, provided gross amounts of salaries are not amended. The reduced rate shall be applicable while effecting the payment for salaries for the month of May. This means that the employers that pay out salaries for May in June will be authorized to utilize the reduced rate in June, while the employers that pay out salaries for May in May, will be authorized to use the reduced rate in May.

Sample calculation of salary on monthly basis – Croatia as of 01 April 2014

Sample calculation for a Croatian employee, resident in Zagreb without dependent family members

 

HRK

%

coeff.

HRK

EUR

1

 

2

gross salary per month
contributions out of salary

 

contributions to pension insurance,1st pillar

 

 

 

15,00

 

10.000,00

 

 

1.500,00

1.320,13

 

 

198,02

3

contributions to pension insurance,2nd pillar

 

5,00

 

500,00

66,01

4

contributions to pension insurance-total

     

2.000,00

264,03

5

gross salary reducedby contributions to pension insurance

     

8.000,00

1.056,11

6

personal tax-exempt amount

   

1,00

2.200,00

290,43

7

monthly taxable base(1-4-6)

     

5.800,00

765,68

8

taxbrackets

income tax,tax rate 12%, tax bracket

2.200,00

12,00

 

264,00

34,85

9

income tax,tax rate 25%, tax bracket

6.600,00

25,00

 

900,00

118,81

10

income tax,tax rate 40%, tax bracket

0,00

40,00

 

0,00

0,00

11

total amount of tax(8+9+10)

     

1.164,00

153,66

12

amount of municipal tax("prirez")

 

18,00

 

209,52

27,66

13

total amount of personal incometax(11 +12)

     

1.373,52

181,32

14

net salary(5-13)

     

6.626,48

874,78

15

remuneration in kind

     

0,00

0,00

16

net salary for payment(14-15)

     

6.626,48

874,78

17

employer's contributions (on salary)

contribution to health insurance

 

15,00

 

1.500,00

198,02

18

contribution to public unemployment insurance

 

1,60

 

160,00

21,12

19

contribution to accident insurance

 

0,50

 

50,00

6,60

20

additional unemployment insurance-disabled persons

 

0,10

 

10,00

1,32

21

total amount of employer'scontributions

 

17,20

 

1.720,00

227,06

22

total costs of salary(1+21)

     

11.720,00

1.547,19

 

Data considered

middle exchange rate ofthe National Bank of Croatia

 

7,575

     
 

basic personal tax-exempt amount

2.200,00

       




pdf download iconon