Republic of Bulgaria
Bulgaria is the country in Southeastern Europe. This country is rather industrial with developed agriculture. There are 3 main economical districts: Western, Southeastern, Southwestern. In general, the country is one of the poorest countries in Europe but there are great hopes on the IT industry which is rapidly growing and developing. Besides that, Bulgaria's resorts attract a lot of tourists during the summertime.
Country Description
Bulgaria is the country in Southeastern Europe. This country is rather industrial with developed agriculture. There are 3 main economical districts: Western, Southeastern, Southwestern. In general, the country is one of the poorest countries in Europe but there are great hopes on the IT industry which is rapidly growing and developing. Besides that, Bulgaria's resorts attract a lot of tourists during the summertime.
Income Tax
The Personal Income Tax is a tax collected from individuals, amounts to 10% and is imposed on various sources of income like labor, pensions, interest, and dividends.
The Corporate Income Tax amount to 10% and the taxable profit is the annual financial result adjusted for tax purposes. It is based on the net income companies obtain while exercising their business activity, normally during one business year.
Social Тax
In total, Social Security Insurance (the official title for the social tax) paid by the employee in Bulgaria amounts to 12.9%, whereas, the employer’s rate corresponds to 17.9%.
Notice Period
Labour code Art. 326 (2) defines that the notice period for termination of a permanent contract is 30 days unless the parties have agreed on a longer period however it shall not exceed 3 months.
The notice period for termination of fixed-term contracts is 3 months but shall not exceed the remaining term of the contract.
Dismissal Conditions
A strong reason to be presented, up to 4 months severance.
Termination of the activity of the company, partial closure of the enterprise or dismissals is among the reasons why the employer should issue a written notice to the employee for ending the contract. In cases where the employer decides to dismiss an employee, he can do against compensation. The employee must then accept the proposal and notify in writing within 7 days after receipt of the offer of compensation. Beyond this period, it is considered that the proposal was not accepted.
If the employee accepts the proposal, the employer owes compensation equal to, at least, 4 times the gross monthly salary, unless the other has been agreed on by the parties.
If the compensation is not paid within one month from the date of termination of the contract, then it is considered that the labor contract is not broken.
Hiring Period
Office Rent
The cost of office rent is $5-14/m2. It depends on the city of office location and office class as well as the furniture availability.
IT Headcount
The IT market of Bulgaria amounts to nearly 25K specialists who are considered amidst the most skilled in Europe. There are numerous reasons that have lead Bulgaria to the TOP IT outsourcing destinations in Europe:
- vast talent pool
- beneficial geographic location
- low tax rate
- low cost labour
Large companies like HP, Microsoft, Luxsoft, SAP, and many others choose Bulgaria as their target location for the R&D centers. One of the biggest local companies is Mnemonica which is one of the fastest growing IT companies in the country.
One of the interesting facts about Bulgaria is that the country has one of the best Internet connection in terms of quality and speed which is another huge advantage.
IT Graduates
Bulgarian system of education is known for vast number of educational institutions. IT includes over 200 of high-schools providing tech education including software engineering, information technologies, and other IT related subjects. Also, there are more than 15 higher education establishments offering ICT classes. Moreover, Bulgarian students study both Bulgarian and English languages as compulsory, and over 70% of students also study the third language of their own choice. Bulgarian universities graduate 3.5K specialists annually. The TOP universities providing technical education are
- The University of Sofia
- Specialized Higher School of Librarian Knowledge and Information Technology – Sofia
- Technical University of Gabrovo
- Technical University of Sofia
- Technical University of Varna
- European Polytechnical University
Average Salary
Salaries for Bulgarian IT specialists were viewed as low some years ago if compared to other popular IT outsourcing destinations. However, in recent times, the situation has improved labor, the average salaries in the industry are as follows:
- Junior Software Engineer – $750
- Middle Software Engineer – $1700
- Senior Software Engineer – $2750
- Technical Lead – $3700