Overview

BIT LAW advises local and international employers on the full range of employment, labour and business immigration matters in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and across the wider region.

We support clients throughout the full employment lifecycle — from setting up local employment structures and preparing employment documentation, to day-to-day HR support, workforce management, immigration support, internal policies, reorganisations, termination processes and employment disputes.

Our employment practice is focused on practical, business-oriented advice. We work closely with management and HR teams to help them implement legally sound solutions that are also operationally workable, clear for employees and aligned with the client’s internal policies and business needs.

We regularly assist foreign investors and multinational groups entering or operating in the region, including in relation to local employment set-up, management contracts, employment compliance, workforce transfers, collective redundancies, employee benefits, engagement of foreign nationals, work and residence permits, secondments and cross-border employment matters.

We also provide employment law support in M&A transactions and corporate reorganisations, including employment due diligence, review of workforce-related risks, transfer and integration of employees, harmonisation of employment documentation and post-closing HR implementation.

Services

Employment set-up and documentation

preparation of employment agreement templates and individual employment agreements;
management employment contracts and executive arrangements;
non-compete, confidentiality, intellectual property and data protection-related employment clauses;
internal employment rulebooks, workplace regulations, job systematisation acts and HR policies;
working time, remote work, hybrid work and workplace organisation arrangements;
employment documentation for local subsidiaries, branches and representative offices;
onboarding documentation and employment-related corporate procedures.

Employment compliance and HR support

employment health checks and compliance reviews;
review of mandatory employment documentation and internal policies;
advice on salaries, benefits, bonuses, leave, working time, overtime and employee rights;
support with annual leave, paid and unpaid leave, transfers, changes of workplace and changes of employment terms;
advice on disciplinary matters, performance issues, employee misconduct and internal investigations;
ongoing support to HR teams and management in day-to-day employment matters.

Terminations, reorganisations and redundancies

advice on individual terminations of employment and related documentation;
support in mutual termination arrangements and negotiated exits;
performance-related and misconduct-related termination processes;
workforce reorganisations and changes to job structures;
collective redundancies and redundancy programmes;
preparation of redundancy documentation, employee communications and implementation steps;
advice on severance, notice periods, unused annual leave and other termination-related payments.

Business immigration and cross-border employment

advice on engagement of foreign nationals and local employment requirements;
support with work permits, residence permits and related immigration procedures;
employment and immigration support for foreign directors, managers, employees and secondees;
secondment of employees to and from Serbia and the wider region;
employment structuring for regional and cross-border operations;
coordination with foreign counsel on multi-jurisdictional employment and immigration matters.

Collective employment matters

support in collective bargaining processes;
drafting, reviewing and amending collective bargaining agreements;
advice on trade union and employee representative matters;
support in consultations with employees and employee representatives in restructuring and redundancy processes.

Employment disputes

representation of employers before courts and competent authorities in employment disputes;
advice on pre-litigation strategy and risk assessment;
preparation of termination, disciplinary and redundancy documentation with a view to dispute risk management;
support in settlement negotiations and dispute resolution;
advice on inspections and employment-related regulatory proceedings.

Employment support in transactions

employment due diligence in M&A transactions and corporate reorganisations;
review of employment contracts, management arrangements, internal policies and workforce-related liabilities;
identification of employment risks affecting transaction structure, pricing, warranties, indemnities and post-closing obligations;
advice on transfer, integration and harmonisation of employees after closing;
support in post-closing employment implementation and HR alignment.

Sectors

Our Employment work covers a broad range of sectors, including technology, telecommunications, healthcare, retail and consumer goods, manufacturing, real estate and construction, energy, infrastructure, financial services and other regulated industries.

We regularly support international employers operating in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as local companies managing day-to-day HR matters, workforce changes, reorganisations, compliance issues, immigration matters and employment disputes.

Selected matters

A representative slice of recent matters, anonymised. We don't publish client names; references are available privately on request.

advising international corporate groups on the establishment of local employment structures in Serbia, including employment agreement templates, internal policies, management arrangements and ongoing HR support;

providing day-to-day employment law advice to multinational employers on hiring, working time, salary and benefits, leave, disciplinary matters, employee performance, terminations and internal HR procedures;

supporting clients in workforce reorganisations and collective redundancy processes, including preparation of redundancy programmes, selection criteria, employee communications, severance calculations and implementation documentation;

advising clients on sensitive individual termination processes, including performance-related exits, misconduct-related terminations, mutual separation arrangements and dispute risk mitigation;

advising foreign investors and regional groups on employment aspects of M&A transactions, including employment due diligence, management arrangements, workforce liabilities, employee transfers and post-closing integration;

preparing and updating full sets of employment documentation for local subsidiaries, including employment agreements, internal rulebooks, job systematisation acts, workplace policies and related HR templates;

advising international employers on business immigration matters, including engagement of foreign nationals, work and residence permit procedures, employment structuring for foreign directors and employees, and coordination of immigration-related steps with local employment documentation;

advising clients on secondments, regional employment structuring and coordination of cross-border employment issues;

representing employers in employment disputes before courts and competent authorities, including disputes relating to termination of employment, employee claims and employment-related liabilities;

advising clients on employment compliance health checks, identifying documentation gaps and implementing practical remediation steps.

Have a matter in employment?

Senior lawyers respond personally to every inbound enquiry. We will tell you quickly whether we can help and how we would approach it — including a realistic view of timing and cost.

Get in touch office@bit-law.com