BULGARIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Diana Milkova and Victoria Penkova, Penkova & Partners Law Firm
education institution or doctoral studies, provided the employer grants consent. If consent is not granted, the employee is entitled to unpaid leave for these periods, reduced by half. • Carer’s leave – employees are entitled to carer’s leave to look after or urgently accompany a child (up to 60 calendar days) or a sick family member over the age of 18 years (up to ten days) for medi - cal examination, research, or treatment, either in the country or abroad. • Maternity leave – female employees are entitled to 410 calendar days of maternity leave per child. During this period, they will receive a cash benefit amounting to 90% of their average gross daily labour remuneration. • Shared maternity leave – with the consent of the mother, after the child reaches six months of age, the father or one of the child’s grandparents may take shared maternity leave for the remainder of the 410-day period. This leave is compensated at 90% of the employee’s average gross daily labour remuneration. • Adoption leave – employees adopting a child up to five years old are entitled to 365 days of adoption leave. This leave is compensated by the National Social Security Institute at 90% of the employee’s average gross daily labour remuneration. • Shared adoption leave – in cases where a child is adopted by a married couple, with the adoptive mother’s consent, the paid adoption leave may be transferred to the adoptive father or one of the adoptive parents’ parents after six months from the child’s arrival, but no later than the child’s 5th birthday. The compensation during this leave is 90% of the employee’s average gross daily labour remuneration. • Paternity leave and paternity leave for adoptive fathers – eligible male employees and adop - tive fathers will be entitled to 15 days in line with legislation. Paternity leave will be paid at a rate of 90% of the employee’s average gross daily labour remuneration. • Parental leave – after completing maternity leave, mothers and adoptive parents are entitled to parental leave until the child reaches the age of two. This leave can be transferred to the father, adoptive father, or one of the child’s grandparents. The amount of allowance payable during this leave
is defined by the State Social Security Budget Act for the relevant year. For 2025, the amount of allowance payable for parental leave is BGN780 per month. • Childcare leave of the father (adoptive father) – in case the father (adoptive father) has not used parental leave, he shall have a right to two months of childcare leave until the child reaches 8 years of age. Where the father (adoptive father) has used parental leave for a period shorter than two months, he shall be entitled to leave for the remain- ing duration, up to two months. The amount of allowance payable during this leave is defined by the State Social Security Budget Act for the relevant year. Currently, the amount of allowance payable for childcare leave of the father (adoptive father) is BGN780 per month. • Unpaid childcare leave – parents are entitled to take unpaid childcare leave for up to six months to care for a child from their 2nd to their 8th birthday. This leave can be taken by either parent. Confidentiality Pursuant to the provisions of the Labour Code, employees shall not disclose any confidential informa - tion of the employer, they shall be loyal to the employ - er and not abuse the employer’s trust, and shall pro - tect the reputation of the employer. Any violation of these obligations shall constitute a breach of labour discipline, and the employer has the right to impose disciplinary actions, including dismissal. Employee Financial Liability Employees are financially liable for any harm caused to the employer due to negligence in or related to the performance of their job duties. Liability for harm caused intentionally, through a criminal offence, or unrelated to the performance of job duties shall be governed by civil law. For any harm inflicted on the employer due to negli - gence in or related to the execution of job duties, the employee is liable to the extent of the damage, but not exceeding the agreed monthly salary. In cases where the harm is caused by a manager, the liability is limited to the extent of the harm, but cannot exceed three times the agreed monthly salary.
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