Salary Subsidies for Employing Persons with Disabilities

Employing persons with disabilities is an important step toward creating an inclusive and equal society. To encourage and support employers in this process, the state provides certain subsidies, along with specific obligations that employers must be aware of.

EMPLOYER OBLIGATIONS

• Employers with fewer than 20 employees are not required to employ a person with a disability.
• Employers with 20 to 50 employees are required to employ at least one person with a disability.
• Employers with more than 50 employees must employ at least 5% of persons with disabilities in relation to the total number of employees.

This obligation does not apply to newly established companies during the first 24 months from the start of operations.

Additionally, if an employer hires a person with 80% or higher disability, this is legally considered as employing two persons with disabilities.

SALARY SUBSIDIES

Employers who hire persons with disabilities are entitled to subsidies from the Fund for Professional Rehabilitation, and the amount depends on the degree of disability of the employee:

• For persons with 50% or greater disability → the subsidy amounts to 75% of the gross salary for the entire employment period.
• For persons with less than 50% disability:
• 1st year → 75% of the gross salary
• 2nd year → 60% of the gross salary
• 3rd year and each subsequent year → 50% of the gross salary

The application for the subsidy must be submitted to the Fund for Professional Rehabilitation within 45 days from the date of employment. If the application is submitted after this deadline, the right to subsidy is granted from the day the application is submitted.

SPECIAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND OBLIGATIONS

• Employers with fewer than 10 employees → no obligation to pay special contributions.
• Employers with 10 to 20 employees → although they are not required to hire a person with a disability, they must pay a special contribution of 5% of the average monthly salary in Montenegro.
• Employers with more than 20 employees → if they do not fulfill the obligation to hire persons with disabilities, they must pay a special contribution of 20% of the average monthly salary for each unfilled position for a person with a disability.

Hiring persons with disabilities is not only a legal obligation – it is also an opportunity to create an inclusive work environment. Subsidies significantly reduce employer costs while providing both social and business benefits through the diverse perspectives and talents these individuals bring to the team.

Our team provides full support to employers in all stages:

• informing about rights and obligations,
• consulting on subsidies,
• preparing and submitting documentation to the Fund for Professional Rehabilitation.