What do you need to know to hire in Albania?
Albania raised its minimum wage to ALL 50,000/month on 1 January 2026, employer social insurance runs at 16.7%, and maternity leave stretches to 365 days with the first 150 days paid at 80% of salary. Each guide below takes one layer.
· Albania guide
How does Teamed handle Albanian hiring for you?
Teamed becomes your legal employer of record in Albania for from $599 per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up in any currency.
Payroll, contracts, and the full Albanian employment law stack run on one platform.
Real HR and legal experts manage every Albanian hire, from the first offer letter to the final settlement. An actual person, not a chatbot or a pooled queue, handles your Albanian team alongside EOR, contractor onboarding, and entity payroll on one platform. There is no setup fee and no exit fee. Employer cost passes through at cost, itemised on every invoice.
An Albanian contractor who converts to payroll keeps their record, and that same employee can graduate from EOR to your own Albanian entity without re-onboarding. Run the Crossover Calculator to see the month the model flips. EOR is the right model for a first Albanian hire, until it isn't.
- Albania raised its minimum wage to ALL 50,000/month on 1 January 2026. Council of Ministers Decision No. 776 (19 December 2025) set the new monthly floor and the matching hourly rate of ALL 287.30/hour. Most competitor pages still show the old figure.
- Severance requires three years of service, not one. The Albanian Labour Code (Art. 144) only triggers the statutory severance formula once an employee has 3 years of continuous service. Below that threshold, no statutory severance is owed on ordinary dismissal. The termination guide covers the formula and the cap.
- Albania has no separate mandatory pension scheme. The social insurance contribution bundles old-age pension, disability, and survivor benefits into a single State Social Insurance scheme. There is no additional occupational pension on top of the 16.7% employer social insurance rate.
Hiring in Albania adds 16.7% employer social insurance on top of gross salary. That single contribution covers pension, health, disability, and survivor benefits together.
The minimum wage rose to ALL 50,000/month from 1 January 2026. Statutory annual leave is 22 days of working days under Law No. 91/2024.
Teamed runs Albanian payroll, contracts, and compliance through an EOR entity holding the required Albanian registrations.
This page is the map. Each guide below is the detail.
Zero FX. No setup fees. 48-hour onboarding. The price your finance team can forecast against without an asterisk.
How much does it cost to hire an employee in Albania in 2026?
An Albanian hire costs roughly 117 to 120 percent of gross salary once social insurance is added.
Employer social insurance is 16.7% and sits on top of gross pay.
Employer social insurance runs at 16.7% on earnings up to the contribution ceiling. That single rate covers pension, health, disability, and survivor benefits. Albania has no separate mandatory pension contribution on top. There is no statutory 13th or 14th month salary. Teamed's Albania fee sits inside the total cost envelope.
Teamed's Albania price is a starting rate, with zero FX in any currency pairing. No setup fees. No exit fees. Salaries, taxes, and benefits passed through at cost on every invoice.
The full breakdown, with worked examples at current statutory rates, is in the cost guide.
Do you need an Albanian entity to hire employees in Albania?
No. An Employer of Record runs Albanian payroll and contracts from day one.
Your own Albanian entity becomes cheaper than EOR somewhere around 5 to 8 employees, depending on salary.
Setting up a company in Albania requires registration with the National Business Centre and takes several weeks. An Employer of Record is faster and cheaper at low headcount. Teamed runs Albanian payroll, contracts, and compliance from day one.
The crossover point depends on Albanian salary levels and your local accounting costs. For most roles it lands around 5 to 8 employees. The EOR vs entity guide runs those numbers.
Most EOR providers will not tell you when you have crossed it. We do, and we help you move. You progress from contractor to EOR to your own Albanian entity on one platform under Teamed's Graduation Model, with tenure preserved.
What changed in Albanian employment law in 2024 and 2026?
Law No. 91/2024 amended the Labour Code and raised statutory annual leave to 22 days of working days, effective 25 August 2024.
Council of Ministers Decision No. 776 raised the minimum wage to ALL 50,000/month from 1 January 2026.
Law No. 91/2024, in force from 25 August 2024, raised the statutory annual leave floor from four calendar weeks to 22 days working days. That change improved leave entitlements for full-time employees across the country. The Nachweisgesetz-equivalent obligation in the Albanian Labour Code requires written contract terms from day one.
The minimum wage increase effective 1 January 2026 was set by Council of Ministers Decision No. 776 (19 December 2025). The monthly floor is now ALL 50,000/month and the hourly rate is ALL 287.30/hour, based on a 174-hour working month. Payroll tax filings and social contributions are both due by the 20 daysth of the following month. The hiring guide covers day-one obligations in detail.
What benefits must you provide Albanian employees in 2026?
The statutory floor is 22 days of paid working days' leave, employer-paid sick pay at 80% of salary for the first 14 days, and maternity leave of up to 365 days.
Albania counts annual leave and public holidays separately.
Statutory annual leave is 22 days working days under Law No. 91/2024. Albania counts public holidays separately from annual leave. Sick pay is 80% of salary for the first 14 days of absence, paid by the employer. After that, the State Social Insurance Fund takes over.
Maternity leave runs up to 365 days. The first 150 days after birth are paid at 80% of the reference salary. The remainder is paid at 50%. Probation is capped at 3 months under the Labour Code. The benefits guide covers each entitlement and the employer obligations in full.
Read the full Albania benefits guide
What are payroll taxes in Albania in 2026?
Employer social insurance is 16.7% on earnings up to the contribution ceiling.
Employees pay 11.2% social insurance and income tax starting at 13% on the first ALL earned.
Albanian social insurance is a unified scheme covering pension, health, disability, and survivor benefits. The employer rate is 16.7% and the employee rate is 11.2%. Both apply on earnings up to the contribution ceiling. There is no separate mandatory pension contribution. Social contributions and payroll tax withholdings are both due by the 20 daysth of the following month.
Income tax starts at 13% from the first ALL earned. Albania has no personal allowance or zero-rate band. Earnings above ALL 2,040,000 a year are taxed at 23%. The top marginal rate is 23%. The tax and payroll guide sets out every rate, ceiling, and filing deadline.
How do you terminate an employee in Albania?
Albanian statutory notice scales with tenure. It is 14 days for the first six months of service.
Notice rises through 30 days at six months to two years, 60 days at two to five years, and 90 days at over five years.
Notice is governed by the Albanian Labour Code (Art. 143). The employer must give 14 days for service under six months, 30 days for six months to two years, 60 days for two to five years, and 90 days for over five years. The statutory maximum is 13 weeks. During probation, either side needs only 5 days notice.
Statutory severance under Art. 144 requires 3 years of continuous service. The accrual rate is 15 days of wages per year of service, capped at 12 months of total salary. Below the three-year threshold, no statutory severance is owed on ordinary dismissal. The termination guide covers the full process, including grounds and documentation.
What should you know before hiring in Albania?
Two things catch US buyers out. The first is the three-year severance threshold.
The second is that income tax starts at 13% from the first lek earned, with no personal allowance at all.
Severance requires three full years. Albania's Labour Code (Art. 144) only triggers the severance formula once an employee has 3 years of continuous service. US buyers used to at-will employment or to countries with immediate severance rights sometimes plan for earlier payouts. Budget for notice pay only in the first three years.
There is no personal allowance in Albania. Income tax at 13% starts on the first ALL earned. Employees with low salaries still pay income tax. This affects take-home pay projections when benchmarking Albanian salaries against regional competitors. The tax and payroll guide covers the full structure.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to hire an employee in Albania?
Plan on roughly 117 to 120 percent of gross salary once employer social insurance at 16.7% is added. Albania has no separate mandatory pension on top of that rate. Teamed's Albania fee is one flat number per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up in any currency pairing. The cost breakdown guide has worked examples.
Can a US company hire in Albania without an entity?
Yes. An Employer of Record like Teamed runs Albanian payroll, contracts, and compliance through its own registered entity. You direct the work. Teamed becomes the legal employer of record. Setup takes 48 hours once terms are confirmed.
What is the minimum wage in Albania in 2026?
The national minimum monthly wage is ALL 50,000/month from 1 January 2026, set by Council of Ministers Decision No. 776 (19 December 2025). The equivalent hourly rate is ALL 287.30/hour, based on 174 working hours per month.
What are the statutory notice periods in Albania?
Notice under Labour Code Art. 143 is 14 days for service up to 6 months, 30 days for 6 months to 2 years, 60 days for 2 to 5 years, and 90 days for over 5 years. The maximum is 13 weeks. During probation either side can give 5 days notice.
When does severance apply in Albania?
Statutory severance under Labour Code Art. 144 only applies once an employee has 3 years of continuous service. The formula is 15 days of wages per year of service, capped at 12 months of total salary. Below the three-year threshold, no statutory severance is owed on ordinary dismissal.
What is the statutory annual leave in Albania?
Statutory minimum paid annual leave is 22 days working days under Law No. 91/2024 (in force 25 August 2024). Albania counts annual leave and public holidays separately. Employers can grant more leave by contract.
Albania's Labour Code is more structured than buyers expect. Notice bands, a three-year severance threshold, a unified social insurance scheme, and a straightforward two-bracket income tax. The 2024 amendment to annual leave and the 2026 minimum wage increase are both in force now. The risk is not complexity. It is working from outdated figures. These guides use the current statutory rates.
Albania has clear rules. A 2026 minimum wage of ALL 50,000/month. Social insurance at 16.7%. Severance that only triggers after three years of service.
Most of the surprises in Albania come from guides that have not caught up with Law No. 91/2024 or the January 2026 minimum wage increase.
Read the right Albania guide before the first hire, not after the first filing.
