Employer of Record Albania
You can hire a person in Albania and leave company formation out of it. Whoever you pick signs an Albanian employment contract with us; we run lek payroll, withhold income tax and pay social and health contributions to the tax authority. The daily work stays yours to lead.
Start hiringThe EOR portal
Can you hire in Albania quickly and still get it right?
Yes. The portal keeps each contract, payslip and filing for your Albanian staff in one place, and a named person checks every step against the Kodi i Punës (Labour Code).
- Follow each new starter from signed offer to tax registration and first payslip
- Sign off each lek pay run ahead of payday
- Record pay rises, leave and sick notes as they happen
- Keep payslips and signed contracts ready for a labour inspection
Employment, handled
Why is no Albanian company needed to employ there?
Your hires sign an Albanian employment contract with us, and we run their payroll while you set their work and goals. One payroll rule changes your budget: employer social insurance stops at a monthly salary of ALL 186,416 (2026), so on higher salaries the on-cost falls below the headline 16.7%.
Before day one we declare each new hire to the General Directorate of Taxes (DPT) on its e-filing system. Every month we file the listëpagesa (monthly payroll list) and pay tax and contributions by the 20th. When someone leaves, we file the leaver declaration and settle notice and any seniority pay.
Employment costs
How much does an employee in Albania cost per year?
Rates apply from 1 January 2026. Euro figures use the Bank of Albania rate of ALL 91.98 to €1 on 2 October 2026.
Employer contributions, 2026
The employer adds 16.7% to gross pay: 15% social insurance (sigurime shoqërore) and 1.7% health insurance (sigurime shëndetësore). Contributions are never charged on less than the ALL 50,000 minimum wage. Social insurance has a monthly ceiling of ALL 186,416 (about €2,027), which caps the employer share at ALL 27,962.40 a month; health insurance has no ceiling. So the rate is 16.7% up to the ceiling and drops as pay rises beyond it: at ALL 200,000 a month it is 15.68%.
Taken from gross pay
Two items come out of gross pay each month and go to the DPT with the employer share.
- Income tax: none on monthly pay up to ALL 50,000; above that, 13% after an allowance, and 23% on the part above ALL 200,000 (2026 table, Law 29/2023).
- Employee contributions: 9.5% social insurance on the same capped base plus 1.7% health insurance on the full wage, 11.2% in all. Tax is worked out on gross pay, so these contributions do not lower the taxable amount.
Worked example
A senior developer on ALL 2,400,000
Yearly outlay
ALL 2.78m
ALL 2,776,348.80 a year (about €30,184): salary plus capped social and full health insurance.
Employee keeps
ALL 1.88m
ALL 1,881,485.76 a year, or ALL 156,790.48 a month, after 21.6% in tax and contributions.
Based on a Tirana role at ALL 200,000 a month over 12 equal payments, 2026 rates, a tax-resident employee with one employer, no child deductions, bonus or benefits in kind. Taxable income lands exactly on ALL 2,040,000, the top of the 13% band, so no 23% tax is due. The EOR fee (from €599 a head monthly) is not part of these statutory figures.
One monthly invoice covers gross salary, the employer’s contributions and the EOR fee. Salary reaches the employee by bank transfer in lek, as the Labour Code requires. The 20th is the DPT deadline for last month’s listëpagesa and for paying its tax and contributions in one transfer.
Before day one and every month
What happens when you hire through us in Albania?
Three steps come before the first payslip. The rest is a cycle that restarts on the 1st.
Each new employee must be declared electronically to the DPT 24 hours before the start date. The Labour Code also requires a written contract; if it is not signed on the first day, the employer has 7 days to sign. Article 21 lists its contents, from place of work, duties, pay date and weekly hours to probation and any collective agreement.
We draft the contract under the Labour Code. Open-ended employment is the default, and a fixed term needs an objective reason linked to temporary work. Probation can last up to 3 months, with 5 days’ notice on either side. For software roles we add an express clause on intellectual property, because the Code only lets an employer use such work as far as the contract’s purpose allows.
Every month you approve hours, bonuses and leave in the portal, then gross pay is turned into net pay, a payslip is issued and salary goes into the employee’s bank account at month end. A bonus is taxed in the month it is paid, so a December bonus raises December’s tax. The listëpagesa then goes to the DPT with one payment of tax and contributions. Staff with two employers may also have to file a DIVA, the annual personal income return.
Albanian citizens need no permit, and EU citizens staying over 3 months get a free online certificate. Most other nationals need a leje unike (unique permit), a combined residence and work permit filed on e-Albania once the National Agency for Employment and Skills (AKPA) approves the job.
Permit work matters because the permit lasts as long as the contract. A digital nomad permit is no substitute: it does not cover work for an Albanian employer.
Pay expectations differ by sector. INSTAT put the Q1 2026 average gross wage at ALL 90,119 a month, with ALL 131,747 in information and communication and ALL 157,434 in finance and insurance. Where a collective agreement applies, it can set overtime rates or bonuses above the Code, and the contract must name it.
Signed offer to first lek payslip
What sets the start date for an Albanian hire?
Forming an SHPK means QKB registration, a tax number, a bank account and DPT set-up before anyone is paid. Through us, the candidate’s notice period sets the date.
Share the offer
Send the role, gross salary in lek, start date and probation length.
We draft the contract
Terms follow the list in Article 21 of the Labour Code, ready for signature.
Declared to the DPT before day one
The hire is entered on the e-filing system ahead of the start date, as the law requires.
Bank and payroll
Salary is paid by bank transfer in lek, with a payslip every month.
Permits for foreign hires
We prepare the unique permit file; a provisional permit covers the wait for the card.
First payroll filed
Last month’s listëpagesa and payment are due at the DPT on the 20th.
A single account manager
Who looks after your Albanian employees from month to month?
At EOR Albania, one payroll manager runs your account, from the first contract to each listëpagesa, for staff in Tirana, Durrës, Vlorë or elsewhere.
Our peopleOwn company or EOR
Should you set up an SHPK or employ through a service?
Employing in Albania works one of two ways. You register a shoqëri me përgjegjësi të kufizuar (SHPK, limited liability company), or we employ your staff while you run the work.
Route one: your own SHPK
Registration with the National Business Centre (QKB) runs online through e-Albania, normally within a day. The company then gets its NIPT (tax number), records beneficial owners, opens a bank account and registers staff with the DPT.
On paper an SHPK is cheap: capital can be ALL 100 (about €1.09), and firms with turnover up to ALL 14,000,000 pay 0% corporate tax until the end of 2029. The real costs come later, in accountancy, payroll and the hours a director spends on filings.
- Monthly listëpagesa by the 20th
- Annual corporate tax return by 31 March
- Financial statements to QKB by 31 July
- E-invoicing and fiscalisation on every sale
- VAT registration once turnover passes ALL 10,000,000
Route two: employ through us
The Albanian contract sits between your hire and us, and pay flows through our payroll, so nothing gets registered in your name. For one employee our fee costs more than forming an SHPK. What it removes is the wait for a bank account and a company that keeps filing returns long after the hire.
- No QKB registration or NIPT
- Contract drafted under the Labour Code
- Listëpagesa and DPT payments handled
- Unique permit paperwork for foreign hires
- Leave, sick pay and notice tracked
So which one should you pick?
Choose the service
If you are hiring one or a few people, testing demand before you commit, or want someone working before a company and bank account exist. It also fits when you would rather not keep an accountant on retainer for a handful of payslips.
Choose your own SHPK
If you plan a larger team, will invoice Albanian customers or want to hold assets there. At one employee an SHPK costs less to set up than a year of our fee; the trade-off is the filing calendar listed above and the time a bank account takes.
Not sure which fits? Tell us your hiring plan and we will set out the first-year cost of both routes.
Employee entitlements
What leave and pay must employees in Albania receive?
The Labour Code (Law No. 7961 of 1995, as amended) sets the floor below. The State Labour and Social Services Inspectorate (ISHPSHSH) enforces it, with fines of up to ALL 1,500,000 in 2026 for pay, leave or hours breaches.
Annual leave
Law 91/2024 set the minimum at 22 working days a year, with public holidays on top. Leave builds up pro rata in the first year, must be used by the end of the next year’s first quarter and can only be paid out on leaving.
Public holidays
The 2026 calendar has 15 public holidays, among them Summer Day, Nevruz, both Eids, Catholic and Orthodox Easter and Alphabet Day. A holiday on a rest day moves to the next working day.
Sick pay
The employer pays at least 80% of salary for the first 14 days of illness, against a raport mjekësor (medical certificate). From day 15 the Social Insurance Institute (ISSH) pays sickness benefit: 70% of the average daily net base, or 80% for people insured for more than 10 years. Paid certificates can run to 6 months in total, and nobody can be dismissed while on paid incapacity.
Maternity and birth leave
Work is barred 35 days before and 63 days after birth. With 12 months of contributions, ISSH pays maternity benefit for 365 days: 80% of the net base until 150 days after birth, then 50%.
Parental leave
Each parent can take at least 4 months of unpaid leje prindërore (parental leave) before the child turns 6, after one year’s service and with 2 weeks’ written notice.
Childcare absence
A parent may be absent on full pay for up to 12 days a year when a dependent child needs necessary care. When a child under 3 is ill, the allowance rises to 15 paid days plus up to 30 unpaid, backed by a medical certificate.
Who keeps track of leave and pay?
We do, inside payroll. Leave is counted in working days, a substitute day is added when a holiday lands on a weekend, and the employer’s 14 days of sick pay appear on the payslip. Overtime at +25%, or +50% on a rest day or holiday, is paid in the month it is worked.
Our services
Which tasks are ours?
Employer of Record Albania takes on each stage of employing staff you recruit there, from the signed offer to the leaver declaration. Hiring decisions, goals and daily direction remain with you.
All services ›Hiring before any SHPK exists
We become the legal employer of your hire and issue the contract, so you can start without registering an SHPK.
Payroll and income tax
Monthly gross-to-net in lek on the 2026 table: no tax up to ALL 50,000, then 13%, and 23% above ALL 200,000, all reported on the listëpagesa.
HR and Labour Code compliance
Probation, notice, overtime and dismissal procedure applied as the Code sets them, including the written invitation and hearing before any termination by the employer.
Benefits and pay extras
Bonuses, allowances and benefits in kind added to payroll, with benefits in kind kept within 20% of monthly pay.
Employing in Albania
Straight answers onincome tax rules|in Albania
The hub explains each part of employing staff in Albania with 2026 figures, from the 13% and 23% tax bands to notice of 2 weeks to 3 months and seniority pay after 3 years of service.
Read the Albania hiring guide ›Our approach
What is different about the way we work?
At Employer of Record Albania, the person who prepares your payroll is the one who answers your emails. Every payslip can be checked line by line against the 2026 DPT withholding table before you approve the run.
Why choose usCommon questions
No. You need no SHPK, no NIPT and no Albanian bank account, because the employment contract is signed with us. You can still form a company later if your team grows.
As soon as the contract is agreed and the hire has been declared to the DPT ahead of the first day. In practice the candidate's notice period sets the date: 2 weeks to 3 months under the Labour Code, depending on length of service. Foreign hires also need a unique permit; since April 2026 a provisional permit is issued within one working day of applying.
The difference is who finds the worker and who directs them. A temporary agency assigns its own staff to a user company for a set task, and the Labour Code splits employer duties between the two. Here you choose the person and lead their work; we hold the contract and run payroll.
A monthly fee from €599 per employee, plus the employer's 2026 contributions on gross salary: 15% social insurance up to a monthly base of ALL 186,416 and 1.7% health insurance. For a developer on ALL 2,400,000 a year, statutory cost is ALL 2,776,348.80 (about €30,184); adding our fee brings the year to about €37,372.
Have a role in Albania to fill?
Send us the job title, the town and a target gross salary. We reply with the full monthly cost in lek and euros.
Hiring someone without an Albanian or EU passport? We include the unique permit steps and fees.
Get a cost estimate
Next step
Talk to us about hiring in Albania
Book a short call with EOR Albania and get a costed plan for your first employee.
Not taking new enquiries just now
Our Albania team is at capacity at the moment, so we have paused new enquiries. Please check back soon.