The war in Ukraine, the ongoing economic uncertainty and inflation Bulgaria undoubtedly have their impact on people's incomes, as well as their purchasing power. And while the caretaker government timidly begins a conversation with unions and employers to set a new minimum wage in line with current realities, the private sector is facing a reassessment of its past policies related to employee benefits, as well as their additional stimulation with tangible or intangible bonuses.‎

Companies are planning to delight their employees with a themed Christmas gift, but a minimal percentage of them have allocated a budget for a cash bonus, which will amount to up to one third of the employee's salary, according to a survey by an agency - a leader in the selection of personnel among over 100 Bulgarian and international companies from the IT, outsourcing, telecommunications, finance, trade and manufacturing sectors. Nadezhda Vasileva, operations director at the company explains:

"The emphasis is on diversifying the Christmas benefits. The payment of the Christmas bonus remains, at the expense of a smaller size in amount, in combination with the organization of Christmas parties, with giving a tangible gift. Sometimes a Christmas voucher is also given.”

The survey aims to bring attention to the day-to-day issues that recruiters face regarding employee engagement and staffing shortages. ‎

According to Vasileva, employers are becoming more and more inventive in their quest to keep their employees, and for them to have the feeling that they are well taken care of.‎  

"Besides the traditional bonuses for Christmas and Easter, as well as those for a wedding, the birth of a child, recently there has been a lot of emphasis on the development of the employee. The organization of trainings, team buildings and others is becoming an increasingly common practice. More and more employers are realizing that when they show care for their employees, it leads to positive changes and becomes a desired effect."‎

The situation on the labour market is calm, and the companies that plan to reduce their staff are around 14%, according to a study by the Bulgarian Employment Confederation. The remaining 86% want to keep or even increase the number of their employees, human resources specialist Georgi Parvanov told BNR.‎

"Although no one knows what lies ahead, the changes that occur in markets around the world always come to Bulgaria with a certain delay, some 3 to 6 months. A good winter season is expected, which will increase temporary employment, and the trend of importing workforce from third countries will continue."‎

Parvanov also revealed in which sectors of our economy there is the greatest shortage of personnel:

‎‎‎"The most wanted are people for work as service personnel, warehouse workers, lower positions in the hotel and restaurant industry. However, I expect that we will soon start importing engineers and personnel for mid-level expert positions. There may come a time when doctors and teachers may also be foreigners.”‎

As for the Ukrainian refugees in Bulgaria and their possibility of professional realization in Bulgaria, the expert is skeptical about our ability to keep them: ‎

"Despite the huge number (over 300,000) of Ukrainian refugees who have passed through Bulgaria since the beginning of the war, only 6,000-7,000 of them have found work in Bulgaria. The reasons for this is that most of them are women who do not know Bulgarian or English, but only Russian and Ukrainian. The second reason is that they admit that they do not plan to stay here long-term and would return to Ukraine at the first opportunity," explained Parvanov. ‎

On the other hand, more and more Russian refugees are arriving in Bulgaria, and this trend has the potential to intensify. It is important to understand what the position of Bulgaria will be, against the background of polar tendencies in relation to Russian refugees in other European countries. For some, they are welcome, others, however, refuse to issue them not only a work visa, but even a tourist visa.

Compiled by Joan Kolev

Editing by Elena Karkalanova