Am I allowed, as an employer, to hire a foreign worker?

Yes, you are. Legal or natural persons who are Croatian residents have the option of hiring foreign workers.

Who is responsible for health and safety at work procedures of foreign workers?

In accordance with Croatian regulations, for fulfilment of obligations related to health and safety at work of foreign workers, the responsible party is the Croatian employer.

Is it important for me as the employer to know which country the worker is coming from?

Certain documentation from their home countries can be acknowledged in Croatia, but there are significant differences related to the country of origin. In this sense, we should differentiate:

• third country workers (countries outside EEA: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Nepal, China etc.)

  These workers’ documentation won’t be validated in Croatia. All the activities related to health and safety at work remain for the Croatian employer to ensure in Croatia, in accordance with Croatian regulations. Only the documentation issued in Croatia will be considered valid proof.

• European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss Confederation workers (EEA: EU member states + Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway)

  These workers’ documents will be validated in Croatia if they were issued in their home countries and if they are equal to Croatian version of documents. They must also be translated to Croatian language and Latin script by an official translator. This means that, as an employer, you won’t have to perform certain activities related to health and safety at work for these employees, if the foreign workers can provide you with documents confirming they have completed these activities in their home countries.

  These documents are:

• professional qualification
• qualification in evacuation and rescue procedure
• qualification in first aid administration
• health certificate
• qualification in safe manner of work (still, practical check should be performed in Croatia as well)

Lastly, keep in mind that, regardless of the other documents, you are obligated to provide your worker with instructions on safe work manner in a language that he or she will understand.