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Unemployed persons and other jobseekers

You can register with the Croatian Employment Service as an unemployed person or as other jobseekers.

The Croatian Employment Service offers among other things:

  • Information on vacancies,
  • Assistance in defining work potential, defining activities that will improve your employability, define occupations where you have the highest employment opportunities,
  • Information on the labour market situation – the structure of unemployment, sought and less-sought occupations,
  • Workshops through which knowledge and skills are acquired for successful orientation in the labour market (how to write a resume and an application, how to present yourself to an employer, self-assessment methods, active job search techniques),
  • Legal advice,
  • Assistance in additional self-assessment of personal opportunities, assistance in selecting a program of education and training, determining the remaining work ability.

An unemployed person is a person between 15 and 65 years of age who:

  • Is fully or partly capable to work,
  • Is not employed,
  • Is not self-employed.
  • Is actively searching for a job, and
  • Is available for work.

An unemployed person:

  • May not own a registered company or any other legal entity, i.e., they do not have more than a 25%-share in a company or any other legal entity, they do not have a registered small business (craft business), they do not practice a liberal profession, and they do not perform business activities in the agriculture and forestry sector;
  • May not be a pension beneficiary (except for a pension beneficiary who is entitled to a disability pension due to professional incapacity for work, i.e., a pension beneficiary who is entitled to a disability pension due to a partial loss of working capacity, and a survivors’ pension beneficiary to whom this pension is not paid);
  • May not meet the requirements for old-age pension;
  • Is not a part of a social inclusion programme based on the findings and the opinion of a professional rehabilitation centre that the person is temporarily unfit for employment; or
  • Is not enrolled in a full-time study programme (secondary or higher education).

An active job search includes the unemployed person’s participation in the following activities:

  • Counselling sessions;
  • Individual consultations;
  • Group information sessions;
  • Identifying activities for preparing the unemployed person for employment;
  • Identifying activities and goals for their Professional plan, as well as completion deadlines;
  • Identifying activities and goals for their Agreement on entering the labour market, as well as completion deadlines;
  • Implementing activities defined in their professional plan;
  • Searching for vacancies on the Croatian Employment Service website;
  • Applying for vacancies on their own initiative;
  • Keeping their job search diary;
  • Workshops for developing career management skills;
  • The process of professional selection;
  • The process of career guidance.

Entitlements and obligations of unemployed persons

The entitlements and obligations of unemployed persons are regulated by the Labour Market Act (Official Gazette, no. 118/18, 32/20, 18/22 and 152/24).

Entitlements

  • Entitlement to financial assistance and reimbursement of expenses during education and training period
  • Extended pension insurance beneficiaries are entitled to financial assistance based on the fixed-term employment contract for permanent seasonal jobs;
  • Entitlement to one-time financial assistance and reimbursement of travel and relocation expenses
  • Entitlement to pension insurance if a person has been granted a right to unemployment benefits and meets the age requirement for old-age pension, and misses no more than 5 years of service for old-age pension
  • Entitlement to unemployment benefits (at least 9 months of employment in the last 24 months; registration with the HZZ and submitting a claim for unemployment benefits within the legally prescribed deadline)

Obligations

  • Regular contacts with an employment counsellor at the appointed times
  • Attending individual counselling sessions
  • In cooperation with their job advisor, the unemployed person must draft a professional plan for job seeking / an Agreement for entering the labour market and adhere to the activities set out in the professional plan / Agreement for entering the labour market
  • Drafting a professional job search plan with an assistance of employment counsellor and adhering to the activities from the plan
  • Submitting applications to employers and applying to job vacancies
  • Being available for work and accepting invitations of the Croatian Employment Service for employment preparation activities and employment at the times established in the professional plan
  • Carrying out activities in order to prepare oneself for employment: participation in group counselling – workshops aimed at developing active job search skills and participation in the professional selection – selection for a specific job or training.

Other jobseekers

Other jobseekers are persons who are currently employed, but would like to change their jobs, full-time students in higher or secondary education, and other persons who would like to use the services of the Croatian Employment Service but are not considered to be unemployed persons.

Other jobseekers cannot use unemployment entitlements.

More info

 

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