Sick leave by country / Bulgaria
Sick leave and sick pay in Bulgaria
Who pays when someone is ill, how much, for how long, and what the certificate rules are — in plain English, whether you run a team in Bulgaria or work on one.
In Bulgaria the employer pays the first two working days of sick leave at 70% of average daily gross pay, and the National Social Security Institute takes over from the third day at 80% of the average daily insurable income of the previous 18 months — 90% where the incapacity comes from a work accident or occupational disease. The benefit needs six months of insurance record, waived for under-18s and for work accidents, and sick notes are issued electronically.
Disclosure: some software links on this page are affiliate links. If you sign up through one, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend tools we have set up and used, and commission never affects placement or verdicts. Not legal advice: this page summarises publicly available state agency guidance for general information. Verify with the linked agency or an employment attorney before acting on it.
How it works
Article 40(5) of the Social Insurance Code makes the employer pay the first two working days at 70% of the average daily gross remuneration for the month in which the incapacity began, and never less than 70% of the agreed daily wage. That was three working days until the end of 2023: the 2024 State Social Insurance Budget Act simply replaced the word “three” with “two” in the provision, moving a day of cost off employers and onto the state fund from 1 January 2024. From the third working day the National Social Security Institute pays 80% of the average daily insurable income over the preceding 18 months. Article 40(1) conditions the benefit on six months of insurance record for the general illness and maternity risk — a requirement that does not apply to people under 18, or to work accidents and occupational diseases, which are paid at 90% from the first day.
Worth knowing: Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026 at the fixed rate of 1.95583 lev to the euro. Benefit floors and ceilings are now set in euro in the annual social insurance budget act, but the percentages themselves did not change at the changeover — only the unit they are expressed in.
If you run a team in Bulgaria
Pay the first two working days yourself at 70% of average daily gross pay; the third day is no longer yours. Register the electronic sick note and file the benefit data with NOI within the statutory deadline — the fund pays the employee directly from day three. Bulgaria joined the euro on 1 January 2026, so every threshold you apply for 2026 is a euro figure, converted at the fixed rate of 1.95583 lev.
If you work in Bulgaria
Your doctor issues the sick note electronically, so there is no paper slip to hand in — but you still have to tell your employer you are off. The employer pays your first two working days at 70%; from the third day NOI pays 80% of your average insurable income over the previous 18 months. You need six months of insurance record to qualify, unless you are under 18 or the incapacity comes from a work accident.
Sickness and annual leave
Sickness during paid annual leave interrupts the leave, and the untaken remainder is used later. Time on certified temporary incapacity counts as service for the purposes of accruing annual leave.
The annual leave entitlement itself is covered on our Bulgaria annual leave page — 20 working days minimum.
Keeping the record straight
Sick pay rules turn on dates: the day the illness started, the day the certificate was due, the day the employer's obligation ends and the benefit takes over. In Bulgaria those dates decide who pays and how much, and they have to be provable months later — to a payroll auditor, an insurer, or the employee. A shared spreadsheet rarely survives that; a tracker like Leavo records each absence with its dates and approvals alongside annual leave, so the record exists before anyone asks for it. We compare the options in our leave management software guide, and the policy side — carryover, payout, accrual — in our guides.
Sick leave in Bulgaria: common questions
Does the employer still pay the first three days?
No. It has been two working days since 1 January 2024, when the 2024 social insurance budget act replaced “three” with “two” in article 40(5) of the Social Insurance Code. NOI now pays from the third working day instead of the fourth.
What if I have less than six months of insurance record?
Article 40(1) requires six months of insurance record for the general illness and maternity risk, so without it there is no cash benefit. The requirement does not apply to people under 18, or where the incapacity results from a work accident or an occupational disease.
Are amounts still in lev?
No. Bulgaria joined the euro area on 1 January 2026, and the 2026 social insurance budget act expresses every figure in euro at the fixed rate of 1.95583 lev to the euro.
What happens if I fall ill during my annual leave in Bulgaria?
Sickness during paid annual leave interrupts the leave, and the untaken remainder is used later. Time on certified temporary incapacity counts as service for the purposes of accruing annual leave.
Source
Primary source: Кодекс за социално осигуряване, чл. 40 (ал. 5 изм. с ЗБДОО 2024, ДВ бр. 106/2023). Rates and caps change — often every January or April — and collective agreements frequently improve on the statutory scheme. Confirm against the current text before acting. See our methodology.