27.03.2024
NEGOTIATING A HIGHER SALARY WHEN STARTING WORK
Many job seekers are unaware of the fact that most companies actually leave a buffer zone for salary negotiations, as well as bonuses, benefits, and other perks.
A responsible candidate does not go into a job interview without knowing what to expect in terms of salary. Preliminary research will be of great help to you. There are many websites where you can find out about the average salary for different positions in different cities. If you don't find enough information, you can always ask people's opinions in forums and social networks.
It is common for employers to ask about a candidate's past salary history and expectations after offering them a job. An honest answer can be risky as it can turn off the employer if the numbers are too high. However, underestimating your work can also play a bad joke on you. To be on the safe side, you might say that it would be better to find out what the job entails first and only then discuss the salary.
It's a good idea to start the actual negotiations when you have a written job offer. This gives you certainty that the employer really wants you. If approval is only verbal, it is advisable to postpone salary negotiation. It is important to know what you have to offer and highlight the benefits of your work for the company.
This is especially important if the first offer doesn't seem high enough. Wages are usually raised based on the previous rate. In this case, it is appropriate to tactfully ask what the company's salary cap is and use this as a basis for negotiations. If at the beginning the proposed salary does not seem sufficient for your needs, then it will not be any different in the future.
While a paycheck is the biggest motivator for doing the job, it's not the only thing that can compensate for hard work. For example, the new hire may request a more flexible schedule or work environment, sponsorship for continuing education or membership in a professional organization. The benefits of negotiating fringe benefits outside of salary should not be underestimated.
25.03.2024
PROJECTS UNDER THE NATIONAL PROGRAM FOR EMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ARE BEING RECRUITED
Employers and recruitment authorities can now apply with projects under the National Program for the Employment of People with Disabilities 2024 to provide adapted workplaces for them, as well as for qualification and retraining. The application deadline is 17.04.2024.
Under the National Program for Employment of People with Disabilities, funds are allocated to ensure access to existing or new jobs for people with permanent disabilities of working age; adapting existing jobs for them; equipping new ones corresponding to the nature of their disease; qualification and requalification, respectively training for professional and service development. The maximum amount for the various components is up to BGN 20,000, with the exception of the one for qualification, retraining and training, which is up to BGN 2,000 per person with a permanent disability.
The methodology for financing project proposals under the National Program for the Employment of People with Disabilities, as well as the tender documentation, are published on the website of the Agency for People with Disabilities https://ahu.mlsp.government.bg/portal/page/83. Immediately after submitting the project proposal, each applicant is obliged to request from the Agency for People with Disabilities an incoming number with which it is entered in the record-keeping system, no later than the application deadline. The received incoming number proves that the project proposal was submitted on time.
22.03.2024
A NATIONAL ACTION PLAN FOR THE PERIOD 2024-2027 FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF BULGARIA'S NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR ROMA EQUALITY, INCLUSION AND PARTICIPATION HAS BEEN ADOPTED
The Council of Ministers adopted a National Action Plan for the period 2024-2027 for the implementation of the National Strategy of the Republic of Bulgaria for equality, inclusion and participation of the Roma (2021-2030).
The plan contains measures in all priorities of the National Strategy – education, healthcare, employment, housing conditions, rule of law and non-discrimination, culture.
The measures in it are proposed by the responsible institutions and organizations according to their competences. The adopted plan contains new measures, those whose implementation continues from the previous plan for 2022-2023, and others have been updated. They are specific, the sources of financing and the amount of the planned funds are indicated, the indicators that will be measured, the base and target values that have been set are listed.
The plan was consulted with civil organizations that are members of the National Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and Integration Issues and with other active organizations that also participated in the preparation of the National Strategy and the previous plan for the period 2022-2023.
The financial provision of the measures in the action plan will be implemented with funds from the state budget and financial support through the instruments of the EU and other donors (Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area, Norwegian Financial Mechanism and Swiss-Bulgarian Cooperation Program).
21.03.2024
MUNICIPAL LABOR MARKETS ARE BEING RESTORED
The municipalities in the Montana region are gradually overcoming the consequences of the covid crisis and rebuilding their economy. In Brusartsi, Lom and Valchedrum, the number of employed people exceeds the level of 2019. The Municipality of Georgi Damyanovo is second in the country in terms of "loss" of employees. The municipality of Montana is first in the Northwest in terms of the share of employed people. This is shown by the analyzes of the Institute of Market Economy for the year 2022.
The recovery of the regional labor markets is uneven, experts of the Institute of Market Economy note. In the Montana region, the largest number of people started work in the city of Montana. Employment during the reporting period was provided to 14,303 people, which is 3.2 percent less compared to 2019. Calculations show that their share among people over 15 years of age is 36.7 percent. According to this indicator, the municipality is ahead of Vratsa - there it is 34.4 percent and Vidin, where it is 28.3 percent.
Almost three times less citizens - 5150 people - were placed on the labor market in Lom. This is 28.4 percent of the working-age population. The increase in the employed compared to the time before the pandemic was 2.1 percent. From the bottom reached in 2020, the municipality of Valchedrum has pushed back. 909 people were employed there, which is an increase of 0.4 percent. The situation is more favorable in Brusartsi. For the year, 413 people found work, or 11.9 percent of the residents work. The increase is by 5.9 percent compared to 2019. Thus, the municipality of Brusartsi occupies the first place in terms of change in the number of employed people in the district.
In more than two-thirds of the municipalities in the country, the employed remain below the record levels of 2019. This includes the remaining municipalities from the Montana region. In the municipality of Georgi Damyanovo, there is the most significant loss of minus 30.5 percent of working people - first is the municipality of Nikola Kozlevo (-33%), after us are the municipality of Koprivshtitsa and the municipality of Ivaylovgrad (-24%), and the reasons for this are the most -already demographically, as a result of the rapid decline of the working-age population. In the Montana region, they follow the municipality of Yakimovo with minus 15.4 percent, the municipality of Chiprovtsi - with minus 14.8 percent, the municipality of Boychinovtsi - minus 13 percent, the municipality of Berkovitsa - minus 7.2 percent, the municipality of Varshets - minus 5.8 percent . The most serious delays are seen in municipalities with a focus on the local economy in tourism and in those with the most significant demographic problems, the Institute for Market Economy points out.
"Our municipalities with less than 1,000 employees are 80, compared to 82 a year earlier, and those with less than 2,000 - 135, or half of all. As expected given their large population, all the municipalities in the top twenty are regional centers", the Institute for Market Economy points out.
The data show that the fewest people in the district are employed in the municipality of Georgi Damyanovo (287), Medkovets (356), Brusartsi (413), Yakimovo (424), Chiprovtsi (436), Boychinovtsi (715). In the group with less than 2,000 employees is the municipality of Varshets, where 1,109 people were employed on the labor market. More than twice as many, 2701 people, are in Berkovitsa municipality.
"As the labor market recovery appears to be over, at least in the leading municipal economies, it is worth comparing the numbers employed in 2019, a record for the labor market in many places. In 178 municipalities, however, there is a decrease in the number of employees, and this is most visible in Varna (-5.1 thousand employees), Nessebar (-3.3 thousand employees), Kazanlak (-3 thousand employees), Burgas (-2 .5 thousand workers). It seems that the declines are mainly related to the inability of the tourism industry to restore its employment to pre-crisis levels", the experts point out.
The data indicate that the number of employed persons in the country reaches 2.27 million people. In 2020, it fell to 2.2 million, but still far from the record of 2.32 million employed in 2019. The most are in Sofia - 768,000 people, followed by Plovdiv with 143,000 and Varna with 124,000 citizens. There are a total of sixteen municipalities with over 20,000 employees. Industrial regions succeed in creating new jobs the fastest. In Plovdiv's Maritsa and Rodopi, the number of workers increased by 1.7 thousand and 1.5 thousand people respectively, in Bozhurishte - by over 900 people. Here, too, the largest increases are in relatively small municipalities, among them Kovachevtsi (64%) and Novo Selo (53%), according to the observations of the Institute for Market Economy.
20.03.2024
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU EMPLOYED AN ILLEGAL MINOR
The Executive Agency "Main Labor Inspectorate" carries out comprehensive control over compliance with labor legislation in all branches and activities and specialized control over the fulfillment of the requirements of the Civil Servant Act, the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Employment Promotion Act.
Labor inspectors, when carrying out inspection activities, have the power to enter freely without prior warning at any time of the day or night into any enterprise placed under the control of the inspection.
They shall also have the power to proceed with such investigations, inspections and investigations as are deemed necessary to satisfy themselves that the legal provisions are actually being complied with, including questioning in person or in the presence of witnesses of the employer or the personnel of the undertaking on all matters, related to the implementation of legal provisions. They also have the right to inspect all books, registers and documents, the maintenance of which is prescribed by the legislation on the conditions of work, in order to check their compliance with the legal provisions and to make copies or extracts from them, etc.
At the same time, employers, appointing authorities, officials, workers and employees are obliged to assist the control authorities in the performance of their functions. In the case of unlawfully preventing a control body for compliance with labor legislation from fulfilling its official duties, employers and their officials are subject to administrative criminal liability.
What is the procedure for exercising control activities by the Labor Inspectorate regarding the employment of persons under the age of 18?
Labor inspectors exercise control over the employment of persons under 18 years of age by inspecting the workplaces in which they are employed to determine whether the working conditions do not pose a risk to their health.
If a violation is established, that the employer has hired a minor without permission from the Labor Inspectorate, the prosecutor's office is notified and criminal proceedings are initiated. Starting work for a person who has not reached the age of 18, without permission from the control authority, is considered a crime according to Bulgarian legislation.
In the event that employment without a permit from the Labor Inspectorate is found, the control body draws up an act of the employer, when it is a legal entity, issues a criminal decree and sends the materials to the relevant prosecutor's office to establish the commission of a crime.
A review of the practice of the courts shows that, although rare, effective judgments have been issued against employers for employing minors.
Over the years, the procedure for issuing employment permits to persons under the age of 18 has been simplified. Currently, the employer should provide a job description, the results of the risk assessment, the safety measures and a medical report in advance. For persons aged 15 to 16 and distribution of working hours. The labor inspectorate must grant or deny permission within seven days. The refusals are related to work that is harmful to the physical and mental health of minors, as well as to activities on which the life and health of people depend, such as lifeguards.
Reference:
Art. 399 of the Labor Code;
Art. 75, para. 2 of the Employment Promotion Act;
Art. 54, para. 2 of the Act on Health and Safety at Work;
Art. 127, para. 2 of the Civil Servant Act;
Art. 402, para. 1 and para. 2 of the Labor Code;
Art. 12 of the Labor Inspection Act;
Labor Inspection Convention No. 81 of 1947
Ordinance No. 6 of July 24, 2006 on the terms and conditions for issuing work permits to persons under the age of 18
20.03.2024
THE MLSP HAS LAUNCHED A PUBLIC DISCUSSION ON HOW TO RESTRUCTURE THE AGENCY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is starting a public discussion on how to restructure the Agency for People with Disabilities under the Minister of Labor and Social Policy into a State Agency under the Council of Ministers in the most effective way for people. For this purpose, a short survey was developed in which the current concept of the restructuring is presented.
At this stage, the proposals for amendments and additions to the Law on Persons with Disabilities in the context of the upcoming institutional transformation are based on the understanding of delegation of powers to the new State Agency for Persons with Disabilities in a way that would allow it to serve as an intersectoral coordination platform the development and implementation of policies, programs, legislative and institutional changes relating to and related to persons with disabilities.
The survey presents the main functions of the Agency for People with Disabilities, which are planned to continue to be performed by the State Agency for People with Disabilities, as well as those that are planned to be transferred to other agencies under the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs policy with similar powers. New commitments have also been announced, which are expected to be assigned to the future State Agency.
Until April 15, 2024, everyone can express their opinion about the vision for the State Agency for People with Disabilities by completing the survey on the topic "Transformation of the Agency for People with Disabilities into the State Agency for People with Disabilities under the Council of Ministers".
Increasing the effectiveness of policies for people with disabilities is one of the government's priorities, which is why the transformation of the Agency for People with Disabilities into a State Agency is included in the Management Program. The normative change will guarantee the construction of a precise institutional and management structure of the State Agency for People with Disabilities, as well as the accurate forecasting and planning of the necessary budget costs related to the creation of the new agency and the provision of subsequent administrative processes and activities.
Note: In case you have a problem opening the survey, copy this link https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf218YRUQXzJWGwO4ewwMmNo2xKFc_hHYTKnJ237-7FOF9JqQ/viewform and put it in your browser.
19.03.2024
WOMEN WORK PART-TIME MORE OFTEN THAN MEN
In the third quarter of 2023, the proportion of women aged 15 to 64 working part-time (28 per cent) was more than three times that of men (8 per cent) working part-time, Eurostat data show.
Part-time women outnumbered men in all occupations, according to the categories defined by the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO).
The biggest difference between women and men is registered in categories with low qualifications such as caretakers, cleaners and kitchen assistants - as much as 29 percent. 47 percent of women and 19 percent of men work in this part-time category.
In the service and sales sector, 35 per cent of women work part-time compared to 16 per cent of men, and in the administration sector this applies to 29 per cent of women and 9 per cent of men.
The difference is lowest in managerial positions (10 percent of women versus 5 percent of men) and in machine operators (12 percent versus 4 percent).
In most EU countries, women work part-time more often than men. This percentage is highest in the Netherlands - 63 percent compared to 23 percent for men, or a difference of 39 percentage points. High differences were also reported in Austria (38 percent) and Germany (37 percent).
Romania is an exception, where part-time men (4 percent) outnumber women (3 percent).
In Bulgaria, the share of part-time working women and men is equal - 1 percent each.
18.03.2024
JOB ADVERTISEMENTS IN OUR COUNTRY CONTINUE TO GROW
The number of job advertisements in our country continues to grow in almost all sectors, according to the monthly analysis of the HR company and career site "JobTiger".
In February, a growth of 4 percent (1,700 offers more) was recorded compared to the previous January. Year-on-year decline is still reported. The offers are 7 percent (about 3,100) less compared to the same period in 2023, the company said.
Characteristic for this period of the year, there is an increased offers of work in the "Hospitality and restaurant industry" sector - there are 1,200 more advertisements compared to January - an increase of 22 percent. After him in terms of growth in offers are the sectors "Trade and sales" (450 offers more, 4 percent growth), "Construction" (230 offers more, 10 percent growth) and "Administrative and service activities" (190 offers more, 4 percent growth).
The sectors with the biggest drop in offers are "Manufacturing" (370 offers less, 6 percent drop), "Healthcare and Pharmacy" (220 offers less, 9 percent drop) and "Accounting, Audit, Finance" (120 fewer offers, a 5 percent drop).
The sectors "Logistics and Transport", "Production", "Marketing and Advertising" and IT remain unchanged - the number of advertisements in them is at the same level as in January.
On an annual basis, growth is reported in the sectors "Healthcare and pharmacy" (12 percent), "Administrative and service activities" (5 percent), "Trade and sales" (3 percent), "Construction" (2 percent) and "Marketing and advertising" (0.2 percent).
Share distribution
According to the analysis of "Job Tiger", the sector with the largest share of advertisements in February is "Trade and Sales" (24 percent). Due to the increased job offer, the "Hospitality and restaurant industry" sector (16 percent) displaces the "Manufacturing" sector (15 percent) from second place, followed by: "Administrative and service activities" (12 percent), "Logistics and transport" (10 percent), IT (8 percent), "Construction" (6 percent), "Health care and pharmacy" (5.2 percent), "Accounting, auditing, finance" (5.1 percent hundred), "Marketing and Advertising" (3 percent) and "Art" (1 percent).
Work from home
A slight increase of 2 percent was reported in the offers for work from home and/or remote work, and as a share of the total number of ads, this type of offer accounted for 9 percent of the offer in February.
The distribution of this type of offer by sector is as follows: 50 percent in the IT sector, followed by "Administrative and service activities" (19 percent), the outsourcing (BPO) industry sectors (16 percent) and "Trade and sales" (8 percent).
Offers by cities
A positive trend is observed in the leading regional cities, according to the survey. The number of advertisements has changed as follows: Sofia (+1 per cent), Plovdiv (+4 per cent), Varna (+11 per cent), Burgas (+11 per cent) and Stara Zagora (+3 per cent) . The number of proposals in Ruse remains the same as in January.
As for share distribution in Sofia, the ads are 43 percent, and in the other cities they are as follows: Plovdiv (10 percent), Varna (9 percent), Burgas (4 percent), Ruse (3 percent) and Stara Zagora (3 percent).
A Job Tiger analysis released in early February showed a rise in job offers across all sectors in January 2024. The total number of adverts was up 37 per cent (11,200 more adverts) compared to December 2023. On an annual basis basis, a 10 percent drop was reported, with job advertisements being nearly 4,500 fewer than in January 2023. For January, the company also reported the first monthly increase in offers in the IT sector for the last 12 months.
15.03.2024
HOW MUCH ARE WAGES INCREASING IN INDIVIDUAL SECTORS?
In eight economic activities, average wages are above the national average, which at the end of 2023 is BGN 2,123. Those employed in these activities are about 34% of all. However, average wages are lower in eleven economic activities, employing about 66% of all employed. This is shown by data from the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy at the end of 2023.
The highest salaries in our country are in "Creation and dissemination of information and creative products, telecommunications" - BGN 4,852, and in one year the average there has increased by 9.8%. In the economic activity "Production and distribution of electric and thermal energy and gaseous fuels" an average salary of BGN 3,278 was recorded, and its growth for the year was 11.7%.
In "Financial and insurance activities", the average salary is BGN 3,086, and it has risen by 8.2% in a year. Those working in "Professional activities and scientific research" earn BGN 2,820, in "Mining Industry" - BGN 2,797, and in "State Administration" - BGN 2,572, where, however, the average salary has also increased by nearly 15 percent for a year.
The biggest increase was in salaries in "Education" - by 16.7 percent, with the average there now being BGN 2,526. In "Human Health and Social Work" an average salary of BGN 2,185 was reported, which is an annual growth of 10.3%.
Of the 11 sectors with lower wages, the highest wages are in the economic activity "Trade, repair of cars and motorcycles" - BGN 1,803, which has increased by 11.2%. It is followed by "Culture, sports and entertainment" - BGN 1,808, salaries increase by 12.9% on an annual basis, and "Real estate operations" - BGN 1,836, a positive growth on an annual basis of 12.4%.
Wages remain the lowest in "Hospitality and restaurant industry" - only BGN 1,304, despite the growth of nearly 20 percent in a year. In "Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries", an average salary of BGN 1,460 is reported in the fourth quarter of 2023, a positive growth on an annual basis of 5.5%. In "Transport, warehousing and communications" there is also a serious increase in wages - by 17.2%, with the average at the end of 2023 already being BGN 1,742.
The data also show that those working in the public sector receive higher salaries than those in the private sector. In the private sector, an average salary of BGN 2,065 was reported, a 12.7 percent nominal growth compared to the same period in 2022, while in the public sector, the average salary was BGN 2,297, a growth of 14% for the year. In the public sector, the highest salaries are in the economic activity "Financial and insurance activities" - BGN 5,102, and they beat those in the private sector, where the highest average remuneration is in "Creation and dissemination of information and creative products; telecommunications" - BGN 4,906, in one year the average salary there has grown by 9.5%.
There is also a serious difference in wages in different areas in our country. The region with the highest average salary is Sofia (capital) - BGN 2,900, 36.6% higher than the average salary for the country, compared to the quarter of 2022, it increased by 6.5%.
The district with the lowest average salary is Vidin - BGN 1,397. It is about 65.8% of the average for the country, compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, it increases by 2%. Other districts with low average wages are Blagoevgrad - BGN 1,417 (66.7% of the national average), Kyustendil - BGN 1,424 (67.1% of the national average), Smolyan - BGN 1,433 (67, 5% of the national average). The largest increase in the average salary in the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to the same period of 2022, was recorded in Vratsa (11.4%) and Targovishte (9.9%), the smallest in Vidin - 2.0%.
14.03.2024
HOW COMPANIES GET MONEY TO HIRE THE UNEMPLOYED
From March 8, the Employment Agency started accepting applications for the "Starting a job - Component 3 "Employment" project, which is part of a comprehensive package of measures aimed at the labor integration of unemployed and inactive persons with an emphasis on persons in a disadvantaged position.
A total of 14,400 people are expected to be employed under the project, and its duration is until the end of 2026, the agency announced.
Employers can now submit requests from 08:30 a.m. for the project in an electronic environment and within just one month - until 11:59 p.m. on 04/07/2024 (Sunday) inclusive. The electronic application that must be completed is available on the official website of the Employment Agency.
After the expiration of this one-month period, the Employment Agency will rank the requests in the order of their arrival and, if there is a remaining financial resource, the project will be open for applications for a new period, information about which will be published in due course.
The target groups that can be included in the project "Starting work - Component 3 "Employment" are inactive and unemployed persons, incl. inactive and unemployed persons in a disadvantaged position and inactive and unemployed persons with permanent disabilities (with an established degree of reduced working capacity/type and degree of disability 75% and over 75%).
The period of subsidized employment of the persons employed within the project is determined based on their belonging to one of the following categories:
- unemployed and inactive persons - for a period of up to 6 months;
- unemployed and inactive disadvantaged persons - for a period of up to 12 months;
- unemployed and inactive persons with permanent disabilities - for a period of up to 24 months.
Funds that will be reimbursed to project employers are in the form of unit costs (standard unit cost table). And employers who retain the employment of a person employed by them after the expiry of the relevant period of sustainable employment will receive additional one-time incentives in the form of a standard table per unit of expenditure.
Requests for vacancies can be submitted by employers from the real sector, incl. municipalities and municipal enterprises. In order to achieve the main goal of the project to the maximum extent, additional conditions have been set that must be met by the applicant employers in order to be approved for participation.
Thresholds of the maximum permissible number of vacancies that can be claimed by an employer will be applied under the project - depending on the percentage of registered unemployment in the municipality in whose territory the jobs are opened.
Employers and persons wishing to join the project "Starting a job - Component 3 "Employment" can get more detailed information in all labor offices in the country, as well as on the official website of the Employment Agency or here.
