Minimum wage and equal treatment of foreign workers in North Macedonia, 2026
The minimum wage from March 2026 to February 2027 is 38,507 denars gross, or 26,046 denars net, and it applies to foreign workers on the same terms.
The minimum wage for the period March 2026 to February 2027 is 38,507 denars gross, or 26,046 denars net, under the Public Revenue Office announcement of the new level. The same figure applies to a foreign worker. The Labour Relations Act does not permit weaker conditions on grounds of nationality, and the State Labour Inspectorate tests that against the payroll rather than the contract.
How the 2026 figure is calculated
The new level is not a free hand decision, it follows a formula. The increase is derived from the 9.6 percent growth in the average gross wage paid in 2025 and from annual inflation of 4.1 percent, as set out in the 2026 minimum wage announcement. That is why the figure changes in March rather than January and holds until February of the following year.
The figure has a second, fiscal role. The minimum wage is also the lowest base for calculating social contributions. An employer that declares a lower base for a foreign worker shows up immediately at the Public Revenue Office, because the calculation cannot fall below the threshold without leaving a trace. Underpaying a foreign worker is not a private matter between two parties, it is a gap the system records every month.
What equal treatment means in practice
Equal treatment does not stop at the wage figure. The foreign worker's employment contract is subject to the same provisions of the Labour Relations Act, consolidated text of 2023, that apply to a domestic worker: working time, overtime, daily and weekly rest, annual leave and protection on dismissal. A clause granting a foreign worker shorter annual leave or longer hours is void, whether or not the worker signed it.
Three places where a difference most often creeps in:
- Overtime is paid at the same supplement as for domestic workers, not absorbed into a flat monthly figure.
- Accommodation or transport costs may not push pay below the minimum wage; they are a separate item, not a deduction from the base.
- Probation periods and notice periods are identical, so a longer probation for a foreign worker breaches the same act.
What the inspector puts side by side
An inspection does not read a single document. It compares three sources and expects them to agree.
| Source | Who holds it | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Employment contract | the employer | agreed wage, working time, position |
| M1 and M2 registration | Employment Agency | registration and deregistration, start date, base |
| Wage paid and contributions | Public Revenue Office | the amount actually paid and contributions settled |
A mismatch in any one of the three is an offence. The most common finding is not hidden cash but a plain inconsistency: the contract says 42,000 denars, the registration sits at the minimum base, and the payment is a third figure. The second common finding is a missing start date in the Employment Agency registration, where the worker had already been on site for two weeks.
There is a timing dimension employers miss. The figure of 38,507 denars gross applies from March 2026, so a contract signed in January at the old level has to be brought into line with the March payment, without waiting for an annex at the end of the year. The inspector looks at the March payment, not at the date the contract was signed. For a foreign worker that is sensitive, because the contract filed in the procedure before the Interior Ministry carries the old figure while the payroll has to carry the new one.
What follows a finding is set out in the Law on Minimum Wage (Official Gazette 11/2012, last amended by 41/2022). The inspector bans the employer from operating for 15 days, orders the minimum wage and the wage contributions to be paid to the employees, and files for misdemeanour proceedings. During the ban the employer still owes the minimum wage and the contributions, and once it lifts, headcount may not be cut for the following three months. The fine for failing to pay the minimum wage runs from 300 to 400 euro for a micro or small employer that is a legal entity, 500 to 600 euro for a medium one and 800 to 1,000 euro for a large one, with a further 150, 300 or 400 euro for the responsible person depending on the size of the employer.
Penalties and the course of an inspection are covered in labour inspection and fines, the registration duty in registering the start of work, and the permit sequence in the residence and work permit procedure.
For 2026 planning, take 38,507 denars gross as the floor of every calculation, check that the base declared to the Employment Agency matches the contract exactly, and confirm that the payment recorded at the Public Revenue Office shows the same figure. Those three checks take less than a working day. A 15 day ban on operating takes three working weeks.
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