July 07, 2024
On 1 January 2024, the new Civil Service and Public Service Salaries Act (Official Gazette 155/23) came into force, which brings significant changes to the payroll system for employees in these sectors. This law regulates the principles of the wage system, job evaluation, evaluation of work efficiency and the allocation of supplements to the basic salary. The aim of the new law is modernization, transparency and fairer distribution of wages. A particularly important aspect of this law are the new salary calculation coefficients and the new salary grades for civil servants.
Basic salary
According to Article 12. of the Civil Service and Public Service Act, the basic salary consists of the product of the coefficient for calculating the position to which the employee is assigned or for which he or she has concluded an employment contract and the basis for calculating the salary. If this amount is less than the minimum prescribed by law, then the minimum prescribed statutory salary will be considered as the basic amount. The basis for the calculation of salaries shall be determined by a collective agreement.
Salary calculation coefficients
One of the key elements of the new Act are the coefficients for the calculation of salaries, which are described in detail in Article 14. These coefficients are determined on the basis of the conducted job evaluation using standardized criteria defined by the Act itself. The coefficients must be within the range of the salary grade to which a particular position belongs. This means that each job has its own specific coefficient that reflects the complexity of the job, responsibilities and the necessary qualifications.
Salary grades
Salary grades represent categories within which different jobs are grouped according to their complexity and responsibilities. The salary scale consists of 16 salary grades, within which the coefficients for calculating salaries are determined in the range from 1.00 to 8.00. The salary grade defines the range of possible coefficients. Each employee will be classified within a specific salary grade according to the above criteria. Posts of civil servants and employees shall be classified into salary grades on the basis of job evaluation using standard criteria for evaluation and classification.
The coefficients for the calculation of salaries, salary scale and salary grades are not defined by the Act itself, but by separate regulations adopted and amended by the Government of the Republic of Croatia, after consultation with the trade unions representative for negotiating the conclusion of a collective agreement.
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