Sick and short of money? How sick pay (bolovanje) works in Croatia, and the insurance catch for new arrivals

When a doctor signs you off sick, your employer pays for the first 42 days and HZZO takes over from day 43. The law sets a floor of 70% of your recent average pay, and a monthly minimum of €353.15 and a cap of €995.45 on the part HZZO pays. Newer workers face one condition.

Published 2026-10-11 · Source checked 2026-02-21

Autumn colds, a back injury or a bad tooth infection can leave you unable to work. In Croatia, sick leave is called bolovanje, and the official term is temporary incapacity for work (privremena nesposobnost za rad, PNR). You are paid a benefit called naknada plaće while you are certified as unable to work. Nobody should go to work ill because they fear losing a month of income, so it helps to know how the system pays.

Who pays depends on how long you are off. According to HZZO, the Croatian Health Insurance Fund, for illness or an injury outside work the employer pays the benefit from its own funds for the first 42 days. From day 43, HZZO's money is used, although the employer normally still calculates and pays it out and then claims the money back. For a worker recognised as a work-disability case (invalid rada) the employer's period is only seven days.

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How much? The benefit is worked out from your average pay over the last six months. HZZO says it cannot be lower than 70% of that base, and Poslovni dnevnik and Dnevno.hr note that your contract, your employer's work rules or a collective agreement may set a higher rate, so check them. For the part paid from HZZO funds, the benefit is limited to between €353.15 and €995.45 a month for full-time work (the limits rose on 1 August 2025). HZZO pays 70% of the base for the first six months of continuous sick leave and 80% after that. Our example: with a base of €1,500, 70% is €1,050 for the month, so the cap of €995.45 would apply to the HZZO-paid part.

Here is the catch for newer workers. HZZO's page says the full HZZO-paid benefit requires prior insurance of at least nine months without a break, or 12 months with breaks, in the last two years. If you do not meet it, the benefit paid from HZZO funds is only €353.15 a month for full-time work, whatever your wage. Tportal and Poslovni dnevnik both call this the key condition. If you started your job only a few months ago, ask your employer and HZZO how this applies to you before a long illness.

Work accidents are treated differently. HZZO says that for a recognised injury at work or an occupational disease the benefit is 100% of the base with no monthly cap, from the first day, paid through the employer and refunded by HZZO. That is a big reason to report any injury at work to your employer and doctor the same day, and not to keep going and hope it passes.

What to do: if you have not yet chosen a family doctor (izabrani liječnik), do it now, because it is the first step to getting sick leave certified. See a doctor on the first day you cannot work and keep every certificate. Tell your employer promptly and check your contract for any deadline. Then read your payslip (obračun plaće) for a sick-pay line (naknada plaće za bolovanje) and compare it with 70% of your normal pay. If the payment is late or too low, ask the accountant, then HZZO, and then the State Inspectorate's labour inspection.

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