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 20 days a year. For employees over 45 year, the paid time off will increase up to 30 days per year.

Public Holidays

In Hungary there are 11 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 range in Hungary is 18.5%.

Employer Cost

Approximately, 17% of employee salary.

Contract Details

Employee agreement can be bilingual. All requirements of the agreement must be in writing.

Probation Period

The maximum probation period is 3 months.

‍Minimum Wage Requirements

The Minimum Wage is HUF 167,400 per month and for job positions with higher education HUF 219,000 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. Employees wil receive 70% of their salary from the Social Security System.
• 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. Is common practice to extend paternity leave up to 15 days paid by the employer.

Sick Leave

In Hungary, employees are entitled to 15 days of sick leave per year. During this time they will receive 70% percent of their salary. This cost is covered by the employer. Starting the 16th day of sick leave in calendar year, the Social Security System of Hungary will take care of this payment. However, the employer will still have to pay 30% of the salary.

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.

Severance

Employees may be entitled to a severance payment if their employment is terminated on notice by the employer for operational reasons. The minimum amount is 1 month's pay and a maximum of 6 months', depending on length of service.