On 29 September 2026, the State Gazette published the Act amending and supplementing the Labour Code (‘LC’), submitted by the Council of Ministers, which introduces a new mechanism for calculating the minimum wage (‘MW’) in the country.
Until now, the MW for each subsequent year was determined by 1 September of the current year. Its amount was fixed at 50 per cent of the average gross wage for a 12-month period.
The final amount of the MWW will now be determined earlier – by 15 August of the current year. The key change relates to the removal of the link between the MW and the average gross wage. Instead, the minimum wage will be determined on the basis of various socio-economic criteria, namely:
• The purchasing power of the national minimum wage, taking into account the cost of living;
• The overall level of wages and their distribution;
• The rate of wage growth;
• Long-term levels of labour productivity in the country.
This breaks the automatic mechanism for setting the minimum wage and allows it to be aligned with indicators that take into account the country’s specific social and economic conditions.
The legislator’s aim, as evident from the motives to the bill, is to achieve a fairer level of the minimum wage that takes into account current inflation in the country and other economic factors. However, the question remains as to what extent the introduction of such relatively more abstract criteria will actually guarantee a higher minimum wage compared with the previous mechanism.
An assessment of the adequacy of the national minimum wage will be carried out once every three years, taking into account the following reference values: 60 per cent of the gross median wage and the cost of living. Data on the cost of living will be published by the National Statistical Institute, with the aim of ensuring objectivity. The Chairman of the National Statistical Institute is to approve the procedure and method for determining and publishing data on the cost of living within nine months of the Act coming into force.
Proposals to reduce this period to two years were rejected, which would likely have provided even greater security for workers and employees on minimum wages. However, the rule that the national minimum wage cannot be lower than that set for the previous year has been retained, which creates predictability.
Naturally, a higher minimum wage may be agreed in collective labour agreements at sectoral and industry level.
The intended outcomes of the changes include guaranteeing adequate incomes for those on the minimum wage, ensuring stability and predictability in the planning of business operations and the state budget, and reducing inflationary pressure. It remains to be seen what the actual effect of introducing this new mechanism will be.
This article has been prepared for and is part of the Legal Digest issued by Penkov, Markov & Partners. The publications therein do not constitute legal advice and are not binding. Penkov, Markov & Partners reserves all rights to this material, and any distribution thereof is subject to the prior written consent of the law firm.
