Hiring in Montenegro: Employer Costs, Labor Laws and How to Hire

How to hire in Montenegro

Hiring in Montenegro comes down to two decisions: who you hire, and how you employ them.

1. Find the person. Write the role, set the salary against Montenegrin pay levels, then source and interview candidates. You can run the search yourself with a job post, or use a placement service that delivers a shortlist.
2. Choose how to employ them. A Montenegrin entity running payroll, an employer of record or a contractor agreement. Each option is explained below.
3. Make the offer. The contract has to meet the rules in the employment table above.

Your options for employing someone in Montenegro

• Montenegrin entity: you register a company in Montenegro, run payroll, withhold income tax and pay the contributions yourself. It suits a team of several people in Montenegro.
• Employer of record (EOR): a third-party provider becomes the legal employer and runs Montenegrin payroll for a monthly fee per employee. Your company directs the work.
• Contractor: the person invoices you through their own business. The relationship has to be genuinely independent, or it can count as employment.

Euro Remote Talent does not employ people on your behalf. We handle the placement: we find and shortlist the candidate, and you employ them through the route that fits.

What an employee costs in Montenegro

Since 1 October 2024 employers pay no pension contribution. Under the Law on Contributions, the employer pays 0.5% for unemployment insurance, and there is no health insurance contribution. Take a gross salary of €1,500 a month. The employer pays:

• Pension and disability insurance: €1,500 x 0% = €0
• Unemployment insurance: €1,500 x 0.5% = €7.50

The employer's cost under the Law on Contributions is €1,500 + €7.50 = €1,507.50 a month. From the gross salary, the employee pays 10% for pension and disability insurance (€150) and 0.5% for unemployment insurance (€7.50), €157.50 in total. The employer also withholds income tax at the rates below. Other levies set in separate laws are not included in this example.

Minimum wage and pay

Montenegro sets its minimum wage in the Labour Law, as a net monthly amount. Since 1 October 2024 it is at least €600 for jobs up to qualification level V and €800 for level VI and above. Since April 2026 the Government sets the amount on the proposal of the Social Council, for two years at a time. See the full breakdown on our Montenegro minimum wage page. The average gross salary was €1,245 in September 2026 and the average net salary €1,043, according to MONSTAT, the statistical office. See our average salary in Montenegro page.

Income tax in Montenegro

Income from employment is taxed at 3 rates in 2026, set in the Law on Personal Income Tax as amended in December 2025:

Each rate applies only to the part of taxable income inside its band.

The euro in Montenegro

Montenegro uses the euro, but it is not in the European Union or the euro area. The Central Bank of Montenegro says the euro has been the official means of payment since March 2002, and that using the euro as legal tender differs entirely from membership in the euro area. Pay and prices are in euros.

Work permits

Montenegro is not in the European Union, so EU free movement rules do not apply there. Foreign nationals working in Montenegro need a temporary residence and work permit under the Law on Foreigners, issued by the Ministry of Interior. The application includes a written job offer from the employer for a specific job, and the permit allows work only in that job for that employer.

How Euro Remote Talent can help

We do placement. We source, screen and interview remote professionals across Europe, then deliver a shortlist of 3 candidates within 21 days for a flat $6,500, or your deposit back. Prefer to run the search yourself? Post a job for $299 and reach candidates who want to work remotely.

See how placement works, post a job or book a 30-minute call. Browse remote jobs in Montenegro to see who is hiring there now.