Bulgaria’s sick leave design is unusually clean: three working days on the employer at 70%, then the National Social Security Institute at 80% for as long as the medical certification runs. Two payers, two rates, one handover point.

What is not clean is the certification layer sitting underneath it. A GP can only sign off so many days before the case has to go to a medical commission, and the limits are cumulative across the year — which means an employer processing a routine three-day absence in November may find the certificate has come from a different authority than the identical absence in February.

Key takeaways

  • The employer pays the first three working days of temporary incapacity at 70% of the average daily gross remuneration for the month in which incapacity began.
  • From the fourth day, the National Social Security Institute (NSSI) pays 80% of the average daily insurable income.
  • For work accidents and occupational disease, the benefit is 90% and there is no employer-paid opening period.
  • Employees need six months of insurance to qualify; the requirement does not apply to those under 18.
  • A GP may certify up to 14 consecutive calendar days, and no more than 40 calendar days with interruptions in a calendar year. Beyond that the case goes to a medical advisory commission (LKK).
  • Continuous incapacity is assessed by TELK after 180 days; the outer limit for temporary incapacity is 18 months.

Who pays which days

The employer’s obligation sits in the Labour Code and the benefit in the Social Insurance Code, administered by NSSI.

Period Payer Rate
First 3 working days Employer 70% of average daily gross remuneration for the month
Day 4 onwards NSSI 80% of average daily insurable income
Work accident / occupational disease NSSI 90% of average daily insurable income, from day one

Three points do most of the damage in practice.

The employer’s three days are working days. An absence beginning on a Friday and running through the weekend uses one employer-funded day, not three.

The two rates sit on different bases. The employer’s 70% is calculated on average daily gross remuneration for the month in which incapacity arose. NSSI’s 80% is calculated on average daily insurable income over the statutory reference period. They are not interchangeable, and applying one base to the other percentage is a common payroll error.

The three-day employer period is per incapacity, not per year. Every new period of temporary incapacity carries its own three employer-funded days. For a workforce with frequent short absences, that adds up quickly — and it is exactly the pattern the design is intended to price into employers.

Qualifying conditions

To draw the NSSI benefit an insured person needs six months of insurance length. The six months need not be continuous or with the same employer, but they must exist. Employees under 18 are exempt from the requirement.

An employee who fails the test still gets the employer-funded first three days — the Labour Code obligation is not conditional on insurance history — but receives nothing from NSSI afterwards. New hires from outside the Bulgarian system are the group most likely to fall into this gap, and it is worth flagging at onboarding rather than discovering at the first absence.

The certification ladder

The Medical Expertise Regulation governs who can certify how much:

  1. The GP (personal physician) may issue a sick note for up to 14 consecutive calendar days for one or more conditions, and up to 40 calendar days with interruptions within a calendar year.
  2. The medical advisory commission (LKK) takes over beyond those limits. It may certify up to 30 days at a time, to a total of 180 continuous days.
  3. TELK — the territorial expert medical commission — assesses working capacity after 180 continuous days, and also where 12 months of interrupted leave have been used across the two preceding calendar years and the year of illness.
  4. The outer limit for temporary incapacity is 18 months; beyond it, the case moves to a permanent capacity assessment.

For employers, the practical significance is that the 40-day annual GP limit is a cumulative counter running across all of an employee’s absences. An employee who has taken several short absences may hit the limit mid-year, and a subsequent routine two-day illness will then require LKK involvement — with the delay that implies.

Documentation and the electronic sick note

Bulgarian sick notes are issued electronically into the national register and flow to NSSI. The employer’s obligation is to submit the accompanying data — insurable income, working days, bank details — within the statutory deadline so NSSI can pay the employee directly from day four.

NSSI pays the employee, not the employer. That is a meaningful difference from the reimbursement models used in Croatia or Romania: the Bulgarian employer never advances the state’s share, so there is no receivable to chase. What there is is a reporting obligation whose failure delays the employee’s money and generates the complaint.

Common employer pitfalls

1. Counting the employer’s three days as calendar days

They are working days. Weekend-spanning absences consume fewer employer-funded days than a naive calendar count suggests.

2. Using one base for both percentages

The employer’s 70% and NSSI’s 80% are calculated on different bases. Reusing the same figure for both produces a wrong number on one side of the handover.

3. Assuming three employer days per year

The three days attach to each period of temporary incapacity. Frequent short absences mean repeated employer-funded periods.

4. Ignoring the six-month insurance test

An employee without six months of insurance length gets the employer’s three days but no NSSI benefit. Identify this at onboarding, not at the first absence.

5. Treating a work accident like ordinary sickness

Work accidents and occupational disease are paid at 90% from day one, with no employer-funded opening period. Running them through the ordinary path underpays the employee and mis-states the employer’s cost.

6. Late submission of the employer data

NSSI pays the employee directly, but only once the employer’s data arrives. Delays here look to the employee like a benefit failure and to the employer like nothing at all — until the complaint.

For the wider regional picture, see our comparison of sick leave across Europe. For Bulgaria’s paid-holiday rules, read annual leave in Bulgaria, and for multi-country operations, our guide to managing leave across Europe.

Frequently asked questions

Who pays sick leave in Bulgaria?

The employer pays the first three working days at 70% of the average daily gross remuneration for the month in which incapacity began. From the fourth day the National Social Security Institute pays 80% of average daily insurable income, directly to the employee.

How much is Bulgarian sick pay?

70% from the employer for the first three working days, then 80% from NSSI. Work accidents and occupational disease are paid at 90% from day one, with no employer-funded period.

Does an employee need a qualifying period?

Yes — six months of insurance length for the NSSI benefit. Employees under 18 are exempt. The employer’s three-day obligation applies regardless.

How long can a GP sign someone off in Bulgaria?

Up to 14 consecutive calendar days for one or more conditions, and no more than 40 calendar days with interruptions in a calendar year. Beyond those limits the medical advisory commission (LKK) certifies, up to 30 days at a time and 180 continuous days in total.

What is the maximum period of sick leave?

Temporary incapacity runs to a maximum of 18 months. TELK assesses working capacity after 180 continuous days, or where 12 months of interrupted leave have been used across three relevant calendar years.

Does the employer pay the NSSI benefit and claim it back?

No. NSSI pays the employee directly. The employer’s role is to submit the required data on time so the payment can be made.

Putting it into practice

  1. Configure the employer’s three days as working days, per incapacity period.
  2. Keep the 70% and 80% bases separate in payroll — they are not the same figure.
  3. Check insurance length at onboarding for hires new to the Bulgarian system.
  4. Route work accidents and occupational disease down a separate 90%-from-day-one path.
  5. Watch the cumulative 40-day GP certification counter for employees with frequent short absences, and warn them before the LKK threshold arrives.
You can take advantage of the free 14 days trial and explore Leave Balance.

Bulgaria rewards employers who track two counters properly: the per-incapacity employer window and the employee’s cumulative certification days across the year. Both are easy to model in software and almost impossible to keep straight in a spreadsheet once a team passes a couple of dozen people.

Sources

Last updated: 21 July 2026. This article is general guidance, not legal advice. For contested certification or long-term incapacity cases, consult a Bulgarian-qualified employment lawyer.