Employ in Lithuania with ease.
Remote makes employment in Lithuania easy. With our localized contracts, easy invoice management, and best-in-class compliance, you can grow your global team with confidence.
Remote-Owned Local Entity
We own our own entity in the countries where we operate to shield your company from risk and provide you and your employees with the signature Remote experience.
Capital city
Vilnius
Currency
Euro
(€, EUR)Languages spoken
Lithuanian
Services available:
Facts & Stats
The Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublika) is a unitary semi-presidential republic in northeastern Europe bounded by Latvia, Belarus, Poland, and Russia.
Lithuania is filled with natural beauty including over 6,000 lakes. A third of its landmass is covered in lush woodland, home to 19% of the species identified across Europe. Beyond its incredible biodiversity, Lithuania has a passionate adoration for basketball a rich reserve of amber, and some of the fastest, cheapest, and most reliable internet on Earth.
For businesses looking for an Eastern European base, Lithuania holds much potential with an advancing economy, high human development rankings, and a burgeoning tech sector. Lithuania has a low cost of living compared to its Western neighbors, so setting up and running a team here is a relatively affordable option.
Capital city
Vilnius
Currency
Euro
(€, EUR)Languages spoken
Lithuanian
Population size
2,793,694 (est. 2020)
Ease of doing business
Very easy
Cost of living index
47.66 (2021)
Payroll frequency
Monthly
VAT - standard rate
21%
GDP - real growth rate
4.3 (2019)
Grow your team in Lithuania with Remote
Looking to employ workers in Lithuania? Companies hiring in Lithuania must either own a legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solutions provider, usually one that provides employer of record services.
Remote can employ your team in Lithuania on your behalf through our local legal entity in the country and handle payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance for your Lithuania team. You can also pay contractors now in Lithuania with Remote.
Employing in Lithuania
Employment regulations in Lithuania are spelled out in the Labor Code of 2017 which defines provisions for employee protections and workers’ rights for Lithuania’s workforce of 1.3 million. Employees in Lithuania enjoy protections against discrimination based on age, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, and race.
Common questions that could come up during the hiring process include the minimum wage, overtime rates, and guaranteed paid time off. Remote can help you offer a complete, competitive, and compliant benefits package to your employees in Lithuania.
Onboarding Time
We can help you get a new employee started in Lithuania fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 8 working days.
Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.
For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.
Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.
Competitive benefits package in Lithuania
At Remote, we’re obsessed with helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in practicing “fair equity,” which means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive (and that will allow you to attract the best local talent).
Our benefits packages in Lithuania are tailored to fulfill the local needs of your employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:
- Health Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Mental Health Support
- Pension or 401(K)
- Life and Disability Insurance
Calculate the cost to hire an employee
in Lithuania
Taxes in Lithuania
Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Lithuania.
Employer
0.32% - guarantee fund and long-term unemployment fund
1.47 – 3.5 % - social security contributions including unemployment social security (lit. nedarbo socialinis draudimas) and social insurance against accidents at work and occupational diseases (lit. nelaimingų atsitikimų darbe ir profesinių ligų socialinis draudimas)
Employee
19.50 - 22.5% - social security contributions (lit. socialinio draudimo įmokos)
20% or 32%* - personal income tax (lit. gyventojų pajamų mokestis), noting that the 32% personal income tax rate in Lithuania is applicable only to employment income exceeding an annual salary of EUR 81,162.
8.72% - pension insurance (lit. pensijų draudimas)
2.4% - 3%- additional pension insurance (optional) (lit. papildomas pensijų draudimas)
6.98% - health insurance (lit. privalomasis sveikatos draudimas)
2.09% - sickness social security (lit. ligos socialinis draudimas)
Taxation of salaries is divided into two parts: the Employer Taxes listed below are paid on top of the gross salary whereas the Employee Taxes listed below are withheld from the gross salary. The total cost of employment consists of the gross salary amount indicated in the employment contract plus the taxes paid on top of the gross salary.
Types of leave
Paid time off
Employees are entitled to at least 20 business days of paid annual leave (if working 5 days per week) or at least 24 business days (if working 6 days per week). If the number of working days per week is less or different, the employee must be granted leave of no less than 4 weeks. Leave is calculated in business days.
Additional paid time off (PTO)
It is relatively common practice in Lithuania to provide more than the minimum number of leave for key employees. Additional PTO is commonly used as a supplemental benefit to motivate and retain top talent.
Public holidays
There are 11 public holidays annually and employees are entitled to end work an hour earlier on each working day before a public holiday.
Sick leave
Employers are required to pay employees full wages for the first two days of an illness. Starting on the third day, employees can draw sickness benefits equivalent to 62.06% of their normal wages from SODRA, the State Social Insurance Fund.
Employees who’re taking time off work to nurse ailing relatives are entitled to sickness benefits equivalent to 65.94% of their normal wages.
Maternity leave
Female employees in Lithuania are entitled to 70 calendar days of maternity leave before childbirth and 56 calendar days after childbirth (in case of a complicated birth or birth of two or more children this can be extended to 70 calendar days).
If the employee does not take maternity leave, the employer must grant 14 days of leave immediately after giving birth. Employees appointed as guardians of newborns are granted a leave for the period from the date on which custody is established until the child reaches the age of 70 days.
Parental leave
Parents are entitled to 30 calendar days of uninterrupted parental leave granted after the birth of a child. This leave can be taken at any time from the birth of a child until the child reaches the age of one.
Adoption parental leave
Within three months of the entry of the decision on adoption, employees are granted 30 calendar days of uninterrupted paternity leave. In the case of the adoption of two or more children, this leave is granted within six months from the date of entry of the decision. This leave shall not be granted if the child of the spouse has been adopted or if the adoptive parent has already been granted paternity leave.
Child care leave
Any relative who is raising a child (or a child’s official guardian) is granted child care leave until the child reaches the age of three. Leave can be taken all at once or in instalments. Employees entitled to this leave may take it alternately. When an employee intends to take child care leave or to return to work before the end of such leave, they must notify the employer in writing at least 14 calendar days in advance. A collective bargaining agreement may provide for a longer notice period in some cases.
Other leave
- Creative leave: Employees can request up to 12 months off for undergoing a creative endeavor, such as creating artwork, or undertaking a scientific project.
- Unpaid personal leave: Employees can request unpaid time off to attend to family affairs, care for ailing relatives, get married, or attend a relative’s funeral.
- Education leave: Employees can request up to 30 calendar days at a single instance to attend to their academic pursuits.
Employment termination
Termination process
The employee must be notified in writing of their specific shortcomings in performance, the parties must have concluded a performance improvement plan for two months, and the employee must have failed to fulfill the plan.
We advise that the following documents be prepared to complete a termination due to non-performance: termination notice, notice explaining performance shortcomings, and a written performance improvement plan.
Notice period
After completing a year of employment, employees are entitled to one month’s notice period. This is reduced to just two months for workers who have been employed for less than a year.
Special considerations are made for:
- adoptive parents of children below 14
- disabled employees
- parents raising disabled children below 18
- employees due to retire in two years or less
The aforementioned category of employees is entitled to three times the standard notice period to help them plan as to any disruption a termination may create in their lives.
Severance pay
Severance packages range from one month’s wages for workers who have been employed for an entire year, to six months’ wages for workers who have worked with their employer for up to 20 years.
Probation periods
There are no provisions for mandatory probation periods in Lithuania, but otherwise, it’s a widespread practice and typically lasts around three months.
