• Employment contract

There are following employment agreement options:

• Employment agreement for indefinite term
• Employment agreement with fixed term

The basis for conclusion of fixed-term contracts is limited (work the duration of which is pre-determined by a deadline, by a completion of certain work, or occurrence of a specific event), the maximum duration of fixed-term employment agreements is 36 months (increased from 24 months by New Labour Act).

The time the employee spent working with the employer through a staff leasing agency counts towards the 36 month-limit. If the employee continues to work for the employer after the expiry of the 36-month limitation, the employment is converted into indefinite engagement.

Probation period — defined in the collective agreement or employment contract and must not exceed six months. It is common to practice in Montenegro for probation periods to be three months.

• Service agreement

As per the new Labour law, service agreements may be concluded only for the jobs which are outside the employer’s business activities.

For each calendar year, the employee has the right to 20 working days of annual leave. Workers with a six-day working week are entitled to 24 working days. At least 10 continuous working days must be used in the allocated calendar year, and the remaining unused days can be carried over until June 30 of the following year. Unpaid leave up to 30 days per calendar year in the specific cases.

Women have the right to be absent for 365 days on maternity leave. Maternity leave starts four weeks before the delivery date. The employer is obligated to pay the total amount of the employee’s last salary during the maternity leave. In the first 10 days after the payment of the monthly salary, the employer has to submit the request form for reimbursement. Reimbursement for an employee on maternity leave is limited to two average national salaries.

Workers can use parental leave after maternity leave for a duration of 365 days. Each parent has the right to an equal part of the leave. Parental leave can be transferred from one parent to another after 30 days have passed since the start of the parental leave. In this case, the parent who transferred the right to the other does not have the right to continue using parental leave.

Employees receive 70% compensation from their employer for the first 60 days of sick leave and then after from social security. Employees are obligated to provide their employers with a medical certificate within three days of starting their sick leave.

An employee shall be entitled to be absent from work, with fringe benefits

(paid leave), to a maximum of seven working days during a calendar year, in the cases of:

— Marriage – five working days;

— Birth of a child – three working days;

— Care for a child with developmental delay – three working days;

— Death of a relative, outside the immediate family, up to the third-degree blood kinship inclusive, or the second-degree kinship by marriage – one working day;

— Serious illness of an immediate family member – seven working days;

— Eliminating the effects of natural disasters caused to the household – three working days;

— Participation in trade union cultural, sporting or other public manifestations of national and international importance – two working days;

— Use of prevention of work-related disability and recreation leave, within the meaning of Article 60 of the present collective agreement – five working days;

— Moving employee’s own household in the area of the same populated place – one working day, and moving from one populated place to another – three working days;

— Voluntary blood donation – one working day;

— Voluntary donation of tissues and organs – in accordance with medical records;

— Taking professional exam – five working days.

Any individual who intends to stay and work in Montenegro for a period longer than three months has to obtain a residence permit. Investors who are looking to open a company in Montenegro also need a residence permit for lawfully doing business. There are two types of residence permits in Montenegro: temporary and permanent. The application for a temporary residence permit has to be submitted with the Montenegrin police, it has to be accompanied by specific documentation and is processed within 30 days from submission. After 5-years stay in Montenegro, the temporary residence permit can be exchanged for a permanent one

TOURIST VISAS AND VISA-FREE TRAVEL

The citizens of many countries, including Australia, Canada, the EU, UK and US, can enter Montenegro without a visa and stay for up to 90 days if they have a passport. EU citizens can enter Montenegro with only a government ID card and stay for up to the 30 days. The citizens of other countries will have to apply for a visa that allows for stays of up to 90 days.

TEMPORARY RESIDENCE PERMIT (PRIVREMENI BORAVAK)

Primary qualifications for getting a temporary residence permit for Montenegro include full-time work, study, family reunification, owning developed real estate and seasonal employment.

• Procedure for obtaining approval.
• Consultations with an immigration adviser and collecting all the documents.
• Finalizing all procedures regarding employment, registration in tax authorities and state medical insurance (except the “boravak” for property owners)
• Applying for the temporary residence permit at the police station and getting your approval (“boravak”)
• Time frame. Around 1-1.5 months.

Temporary residence permits are valid for one year and can be renewed for subsequent one-year terms.

After 5-years stay in Montenegro, the temporary residence permit can be exchanged for a permanent one.

After 10-years living in Montenegro, you can apply for full citizenship.

Starting from January 2019, the Montenegrin government launched a citizenship-by-investment program (CIP). This is the fastest way to Montenegrin citizenship.

If you own a yacht or crew for one that that has an agreement longer than 90 days with any of Montenegro’s marinas, you can apply for temporary residency.

The grounds for termination of the employment contract are:

• Consensual termination of employment

The agreement shall be concluded in writing, the exact date of termination must be determined in the agreement. The mutual agreement is legally effective only after it has been certified by a notary, court, or municipal authorities. The employer may pay out the severance pay to the employee.

• Cancellation by employee

If the employee initiates the termination, the notice of termination must be delivered to the employer at least 30 days prior to the day stated as the day of termination. Employee is obliged to compensate the employer if he or she fails to observe the deadline. The employee’s notice of termination must also be certified by one of the above-mentioned authorities.

• Cancellation by employer

The employer may cancel the labor contract with the employee, if there is a justified reason to do so regarding working capacity of the employee, his behavior and needs of the employer. The employer shall be obliged, before canceling the labor contract, to warn in writing the employee about the existence of reasons for canceling the labor contract, and to give him the deadline of at least five business days from the day of submission of the warning to respond to the statements referred to in the warning. The employee who is not satisfied with the decision shall be entitled to initiate a dispute before a competent court for protection of his rights within 15 days from the day of submission of the decision. 

• Termination by the force of law based on specific cases described by the local law.

Severance pay is given to employees who have worked for that employer longer than 18 months.

The severance pay is given as the sum of one third of the employee’s average gross salaries paid over the previous six months, for each year of work with that employer, or 1/3 of the average monthly salary without taxes and contributions in Montenegro if this is more favorable for the employee.

Severance pay cannot be lower than three average monthly salaries without taxes and contributions in the past 6 months, or three times the average monthly salary without taxes and contributions in Montenegro, if this is more favorable for the employee.