In order to be able to exercise the right to an unemployment benefit, the employment relationship must not cease due to your fault or with your consent.

You cannot acquire the right to unemployment benefit if your employment relationship has ceased:

• When you terminated the employment relationship, except in case of extraordinary termination of the employment contract caused by the employer’s conduct,
• By mutual written agreement on the termination of employment (except if proposed by the employer, in case of collective disposal of surplus workers in accordance with the special regulation),
• By a court settlement which established the termination of the employment relationship,
• Because you have not successfully passed the probation or internship period or have not successfully and in a timely manner passed the state exam,
• As a result of the infringement of obligations arising from employment (dismissal caused by inappropriate conduct on the part of the employee), as well as a serious infringement of working obligations (extraordinary dismissal) or official duties,
• Due to imprisonment longer than three months.

You cannot acquire the right to unemployment benefit if your self-employment was terminated without any justified reasons. Justified reasons are the following:

• Insolvency or illiquidity,
• Conclusion of bankruptcy proceedings,
• Business at a loss,
• Loss of business space,
• Loss of the privilege or the license to carry out the activities prescribed by a special regulation,
• Illness of an insured person in case of unemployment,
• Loss of a business partner,
• Serious damage to property of the insured person in case of unemployment,
• Natural disasters and catastrophes caused by force majeure,
• Other reasons that prove to be justified.

In order to exercise the right to unemployment benefit, you must register with the Croatian Employment Service within 30 days of the termination of employment or self-employment and apply for the unemployment benefit.

If you were on sick leave, i.e. maternity leave after the termination of your employment or self-employment, you must apply within 30 days of the termination of one of these circumstances.

You apply and submit the application at the regional service/regional office of the Croatian Employment Service where you have registered place of residence or place of stay.

If you apply for a cash unemployment benefit after the termination of your employment, the amount of your unemployment benefit depends on the salary you made before the termination of the employment because the basis for determining the amount of cash benefit is the average gross salary earned in the quarter preceding the termination of the employment or service.

If you apply for a cash benefit upon termination of self-employment, the amount of cash benefit is the average of the basis on which contributions for compulsory insurance have been calculated and paid in the quarter preceding the termination of self-employment.

Unemployment benefit for the first 90 days of use is 60%, for the period from 91 to 180 days of use it is 35%, and for the remaining period of use 30% of the base.

The lowest and the highest amount of unemployment benefit is prescribed.

The highest amount of unemployment benefit depends on the average salary paid in the Croatian economy in the previous year, and the unemployment benefit for the first 90 days of use cannot exceed 70%, for the period from 91 to 180 days of use it cannot exceed 40% and for the remaining time of use may not exceed 35% of this salary.

The lowest amount of unemployment benefit depends on the minimum salary in the Republic of Croatia reduced by contributions for compulsory insurance, and the unemployment benefit may not be less than 50% of this salary.

You can receive financial compensation for unemployment (unemployment benefits) for a period of 90 to 450 days, depending on the total period of employment and if you have ever received unemployment benefits before. These facts are taken into account in the process of re-establishing the right to unemployment benefits, since only the period of employment after the last period of receiving unemployment benefits is included in the period of employment that is used to determine the duration of the period in which you have the right to receive unemployment benefits.

• 90 days if you have worked within the period from 9 months to 2 years,
• 120 days if you have worked more than 2 years,
• 150 days if you have worked more than 3 years,
• 180 days if you have worked more than 4 years,
• 210 days if you have worked more than 5 years,
• 240 days if you have worked more than 6 years,
• 270 days if you have worked more than 7 years,
• 300 days if you have worked more than 8 years,
• 330 days if you have worked more than 9 years,
• 360 days if you have worked more than 10 years,
• 390 days if you have worked more than 15 years,
• 420 days if you have worked more than 20 years,
• 450 days if you have worked more than 25 years.

Exception: if at the time of termination of employment you were under 30 years old, you are entitled to the cash benefit for a period of 90 days if you spent between six months and two years at work.

There is an exception to this rule:

If you have worked for 32 years and you have no more than 5 years until meeting the age requirement for an old-age pension, you are entitled to unemployment benefits until you are re-employed, or until another circumstance arises for the termination of the right to unemployment benefits. To determine the duration of the right to unemployment benefits, the time you spent at work in any EU Member State, including Croatia, will be taken into account.

If you need proof of employment or self-employment in the Republic of Croatia in order to be entitled to financial compensation in another EU Member State, you can submit an application for the issuance of U1 (PD U1) transfer form in person at any Regional Office of the Croatian Employment Service, at the Central Office, or by mail to the address “Central Office of the Croatian Employment Service, Savska cesta 64, 10000 Zagreb”.  If you submit your application by mail, you must also enclose a personally signed Request and a copy of your ID or passport.

If you exercise the right to unemployment benefit in the Republic of Croatia and you decide to look for a job in another Member State of the European Union, you can retain your benefit for a maximum of three months if you meet the following conditions:

• You must be registered at the Croatian Employment Service as an unemployed person for at least 4 weeks after you became unemployed,
• You must notify the Croatian Employment Service of your departure and ask for the issuance of the U2 form,
• You must register at the employment service of the country in which you are seeking employment within 7 days from the date you ceased to be available to the Croatian Employment Service,
• You must actively look for a job and be available for work in that country.

If you meet the requirement regarding 4 weeks registration as an unemployed person at the Croatian Employment Service, the Croatian Employment Service will issue a U2 (PD U2) document upon your request. The U2 form proves to the employment service of the country in which you are seeking employment that the export of your unemployment benefit has been approved. The application for the issuance of the said U2 transfer document is submitted to the regional/local office of the Croatian Employment Service in which you are registered.

The Croatian Employment Service will continue to pay your unemployment benefit directly to your bank account in the amount established in the Republic of Croatia, but only if the employment service of the State in which you seek employment notifies the Croatian Employment Service, by means of official form (U013), whether you regularly sign up and meet all the requirements regarding active job search and availability.