Work-life balance

Croatia-flag-140The result of a survey by ABSRJ (Advances in Business-Related Scientific Research Journal) into the work-life balance in Croatia came to the conclusion that men and women have different needs.

The work – life balance is relatively the same around Europe except maybe in France where they have only 35hour work week. It is a balance that everyone is striving to achieve but with the growing work load and work place pressure and rising unemployment in Croatia everyone is under pressure to spend more time at work.

Weekends for Croatians are family time and they are very strict about it.

National holidays

Public holidays in Croatia are regulated by the Holidays, Memorial Days and Non-Working Days Act.

  • Date       –      English name     –     Local name   
  • January 1st – New Year’s Day –    Nova Godina
  • January 6th –  Epiphany      –       Bogojavljenje, Sveta tri kralja
  • Variable dates – Easter and the day after Easter and Easter Monday –  Uskrs i uskrsni ponedjeljak
  • May 1st –  International Worker’s Day  – Međunarodni praznik rada
  • Variable date – 60 days post Easter, Corpus Christi –  Tijelovo
  • June 22nd –  Anti-Fascist Struggle Day – Dan antifašističke borbe
  • June 25th –  Statehood Day – Dan državnosti
  • August 5th –  Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of Croatian defenders  – Dan pobjede i domovinske zahvalnosti i Dan hrvatskih branitelja
  • August 15th –  Assumption of Mary  –  Velika Gospa
  • October 8th –  Independence Day  –  Dan neovisnosti
  • November 1st  –   All Saints Day   –  Dan svih svetih
  • December 25th  –   Christmas   –  Božić
  • December 26th   –  St. Stephen’s Day  –  Prvi dan po Božiću, Sveti Stjepan, Štefanje

Note: Citizens of the Republic of Croatia who celebrate different religious holidays have the right not to work on those dates. This includes Christians who celebrate Christmas on January 7 per the Julian calendar, Muslims on the days of Ramadan Bayram and Kurban Bayram, and Jews on the days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

In Croatia, all employees are entitled to a minimum of 20 working days annual leave. Saturdays can be included, even if company offices are not open on Saturdays. This is left for employers and employees to agree.

For further information, please see:

Working hours

Croatian official working hours are 40 hours per week, a typical working day is 8 hours plus 30 minutes lunch break, the start and end of the day depends on the sector you work for. People working for government institution starts earlier than people working for private companies. They are entitle to at least 20 working days per year. There are forms of protection in case of maternity leave or for employees who are temporarily or permanently disabled. Under certain conditions, employers may require employees to work up to 10 hours per day to a maximum of 52 hours per week, or 60 hours in the case of seasonal jobs.

Work culture

The work culture in Croatia is formal and very professional, the government has a number of legal measures protecting workers. All companies have to adhere to government regulations in the areas of health and safety, discrimination, minimum wage levels, part-time employment, and equal opportunities.

Health insurance

Croatia’s healthcare system is a mixture of public and private services, citizens are entitled to free health care as long as they have their insurance card. All employers are supposed to pay the health insurance of their employees monthly with social security. The private clinics and hospitals charge for their services and if you can afford it the services are faster than the public sector hospitals.

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