Currency: Hungarian forint (HUF)

Capital: Budapest

Official language: Hungarian

Payroll Cycle: Monthly

Paid Time Off

Statutory paid holiday entitlement is set at a minimum of 3 weeks’ paid annual leave. Employees working five days a week are entitled to 15 days a year.

Public Holidays

• New Year’s day
• Revolution Day
• Good Friday
• Easter Monday
• Labor Day
• Whit Monday
• May Day Holiday
• Whit Sunday
• St Stephen's Day
• Republic Day
• All Hallow's Day
• Christmas Day
• Boxing Day

Individual Income Tax

The Individual tax rate in Hungary is 15% flat

Employer Tax

Approximately, 15.5% of employee salary

Probation Period

The maximum probation period is 3 months. Should a shorter probationary period be stipulated, the parties may extend the probationary period once, not exceeding three months in total.

Minimum Wage Requirements

The Minimum Wage is HUF 161,000 per month.

Maximum working hours and overtime

Normal working hours over a five-day period must not exceed 40 hours a week, 8 daily.

Parental Leave

Employees are entitled to unpaid leave for the purpose of taking care of the child, from the end of the maternity leave until the child reaches the age of three. Either parent is entitled to take the leave, but only one parent may take the leave at any time. During parental leave the employee may receive a social security benefit.

• Maternity Leave: employees are entitled to 24 weeks of maternity leave and unless otherwise agreed, the leave is to commence 4 weeks prior to the expected date of birth. During the 24 weeks of maternity leave, workers are entitled to receive child-care benefits for 168 days if all the conditions are met. The gross amount is up to 70% of the daily average income in the preceding calendar year
• Paternity Leave: employees are entitled to five days of paid leave that must be taken within two months of the child’s birth on the days chosen by the employee, reimbursed by the State upon employer’s request.

Sick Leave

Sick leave is unlimited provided that the employee brings a certificate from a doctor. If the illness or injury was work-related, the first 30 days are covered by the employer. After that, it is covered by social security.

There are two types of dismissals:

• Regular dismissal: in case of redundancy, incompetence, or misconduct. The employee is entitled to severance pay. Those who served between one year and 10 years, the employee receives 1/5 of the average salary from the previous three months for every year served. For those who served more than 10 years, severance is ¼; over 20 years gets 1/3.
• Extraordinary: when an employee commits a crime, fails to show up for work, presents false data, declines a transfer, and other serious breaches. The termination must be delivered in writing and express the reason for the termination and must be delivered in person.

In both cases, the employer must inform the employee in writing and provide an opportunity for the employee to present a defense.

Notice Period

In Hungary, the notice period is based on the length of the labor relationship:

• Up to 1 year of employment - 2 weeks’ notice
• 1 - 2 years of employment - 1 month’s notice
• 2+ years of employment - 1 month’s notice plus two days for every year served above two.