Employer of Record
Spinning up a legal entity in any Balkan country takes 8–12 weeks, costs €4–8K up front, and requires a local director, accountant, and bank relationship. Merot's EOR collapses that into a 5-day kickoff: we hire the person on our local payroll under a country-compliant contract, and you direct their work and pay one monthly invoice. When the engagement ends, we handle the local termination paperwork — no entity to wind down.
Concrete deliverables
- Country-compliant employment contract drafted by local counsel — Macedonian Cyrillic for MK, Albanian for AL/XK, Serbian for RS, Bulgarian for BG, Montenegrin for ME, plus an English working-translation rider.
- Monthly gross-to-net payroll: PIT withholding, social contributions, MPIN/PDDGI/equivalent filings, payslips delivered in the local language.
- Statutory benefits: paid annual leave (20 days MK; 18 XK; 20 AL/RS; 20 BG; 18 ME), sick leave, maternity/paternity, public-holiday observance per local calendar.
- Optional supplementary benefits: private health insurance, equipment allowance, training stipend, lunch vouchers (where tax-favoured).
- Local labour-law compliance: probation, notice periods, fixed-term vs indefinite rules, termination grounds. We push back if your termination ask is non-compliant.
- One monthly invoice in EUR or USD; payroll runs in local currency. Mid-month FX is locked at the prior month-end ECB reference rate, so your cost is predictable.
How it works
Scope call (60 min)
Tell us the role, country, base salary, and start date. We confirm whether the country fit is right or recommend a contractor model instead.
Quote + statement of work (24 hours)
Itemised cost sheet: gross + employer contributions + Merot fee. No surprises later.
Local contract drafted (2–3 business days)
Country-specific employment contract sent to the candidate for review. We answer their questions in the local language.
Day-one onboarding (1 day)
Equipment shipped or picked up, payroll account opened, local tax registration filed, first day welcome kit.
Monthly run + you direct the work
We invoice on the 25th, payroll runs on the 15th of the following month (local norm). Your manager owns 1:1s, performance, and day-to-day direction.
How we charge
Employer of Record — by country
north macedonia
Local taxes, statutory leave, salary ranges.
View →kosovo
Local taxes, statutory leave, salary ranges.
View →albania
Local taxes, statutory leave, salary ranges.
View →serbia
Local taxes, statutory leave, salary ranges.
View →bulgaria
Local taxes, statutory leave, salary ranges.
View →montenegro
Local taxes, statutory leave, salary ranges.
View →Hiring for which role?
software engineer
Salary by country, typical profile, time-to-hire.
View →sales
Salary by country, typical profile, time-to-hire.
View →customer service
Salary by country, typical profile, time-to-hire.
View →account manager
Salary by country, typical profile, time-to-hire.
View →virtual assistant
Salary by country, typical profile, time-to-hire.
View →FAQ — Employer of Record
What's the difference between EOR and a contractor?
An EOR employee is a real employee under local labour law: paid annual leave, social contributions, severance protections, IP assignment built into the contract. A contractor is invoice-based and faster to set up, but exposes you to misclassification risk and weaker IP protections in the EU. Use EOR for full-time long-term hires; contractor for short-term or genuinely independent project work. See /outsourcing/compare/eor-vs-contractor for the full breakdown.
Do you hold the employee's IP?
No. Every EOR contract assigns IP, inventions, and work product to you (the client) on creation, signed by the employee on day one. Merot is the legal employer for payroll/tax purposes only — the work belongs to you.
Can the employee work from another country?
For short trips (< 30 days/year), yes — visiting friends or family is fine. For longer relocations, we re-paper the contract in the new country (assuming we cover it). Permanent moves outside our 6-country footprint require ending the engagement; we'll point you to a partner EOR for the new country.
How do you handle termination?
Per local statute. MK is 1 month statutory notice (or pay in lieu), XK is 30 days, AL is 1–3 months depending on tenure, RS is 8 days during probation then 30 days, BG is 30 days minimum, ME is 30 days. Severance follows local rules where applicable. We file the termination paperwork and final payroll. If you want to terminate without statutory cause, we coach you on the right approach to avoid wrongful-termination exposure.
Can I convert an EOR employee to my own entity later?
Yes. Once you set up your own subsidiary, we transfer the employee with full tenure preserved (sick leave balances, annual leave accrual, seniority — all carried over). Typical transfer takes 2 weeks.
What about data privacy / GDPR?
MK, XK, AL, RS, BG, ME all have GDPR-aligned local laws (EU member states or candidates). Merot is the data controller for payroll data only; you're the controller for everything related to the employee's work. We sign a DPA on request.
How is the price quoted — is the salary bundled?
We quote three separate lines: (1) gross salary the employee receives, (2) employer-side contributions (statutory %; passed through), (3) Merot management fee. You see the cost breakdown before the contract is signed. Nothing is bundled or marked up.
What if the employee is sick or on extended leave?
Statutory sick pay (typically 70–90% of gross, paid by social insurance after the first few days) follows local rules. Maternity is 9 months in MK (paid by state), 9 months in XK, 12 months in AL. We handle the paperwork; the salary continues per statute. Long-term illness rules vary — we'll walk you through the country-specific case if it arises.
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