The Labour Law requires an employer to sign a written employment contract before you start work and to register you for compulsory social insurance from your first day, filing the registration within eight days. If the contract is not signed in time, you are deemed to have a permanent employment relationship from your first working day, and the employer must sign such a contract within five days. For work without a contract or without registration a company pays 2,000 to 20,000 euros, the responsible person 200 to 2,000 euros and a sole trader 500 to 6,000 euros. Since 21 May 2026 an inspector with a court order can also carry out inspections in a flat and other premises.
This guide explains what an employer must do before your first working day, what applies if you work without a contract, what undeclared work costs, what you lose without registration and how to report undeclared work.
What must an employer do before your first working day?
- The employment contract is signed before you start work, in writing, and counts as concluded once you and the employer, or a person it authorises, sign it.
- On your first working day the employer hands you a copy of the employment contract.
- The employer registers you for health, pension and disability and unemployment insurance from your first day and files the registration with the authority within eight days.
- It hands you a copy of the registration at the latest five days after the authority issues it.
- At its premises or the work site the employer keeps its operating permit, a copy of your contract and your insurance registration, so an inspector can check them on the spot.
What applies if you work without a contract?
- If the employer does not sign a contract before you start work, you are deemed to have a permanent employment relationship from your first working day.
- In that case the employer must sign a permanent employment contract with you within five days of your first working day.
- If you do not meet the requirements for the post in the job classification act, the employer must offer you another post, retraining or severance pay, as for an employee whose job is no longer needed.
- The Labour Law sets the fines for work without a contract and without registration for the employer.
What does undeclared work cost?
| Employer's offence | Company | Responsible person | Sole trader |
| no employment contract before work starts | 2,000 to 20,000 euros | 200 to 2,000 euros | 500 to 6,000 euros |
| no insurance registration from the first day, or registration not filed within eight days | 2,000 to 20,000 euros | 200 to 2,000 euros | 500 to 6,000 euros |
| no contract and insurance registration kept at the work site | 2,000 to 20,000 euros | 200 to 2,000 euros | 500 to 6,000 euros |
| copy of the contract or of the registration not handed over in time | 1,000 to 10,000 euros | 100 to 1,000 euros | 500 to 5,000 euros |
- On top of the fine, the employer still has to sign a permanent contract with you and register you for insurance.
What do you lose while you are not registered?
- For a period without registration the employer pays no contributions, so that period is not entered into your insurance record for a pension.
- Without registration you have no health insurance through your job, and sick pay and unemployment benefit depend on being insured.
- If you are injured at work, proving the employment and your insurance rights becomes harder, even though the law treats you as a permanent employee.
- Ask for a copy of the contract on your first day and a copy of the registration within five days of its issue. If you do not get them, that is a clear sign you are working off the books.
How do you report undeclared work?
- You report work without a contract or without insurance registration to the labour inspectorate, which supervises the application of the Labour Law.
- The inspector checks contracts and insurance registrations on the spot, and since 21 May 2026 can, with a court order, also inspect a flat and other premises, which matters for domestic work.
- You can also seek protection of your rights before the Agency for the Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes or in court.
- An employee who has started proceedings to protect their rights may not suffer any detriment because of it.
What happens after an accident at work is covered in our guide to workplace injury, and pay during illness in our guide to sick leave. The rules for contracts with an end date are in our guide to fixed-term contracts, and salary in job ads and equal pay in our guide to equal pay.
Frequently asked questions
What is the fine for undeclared work in Montenegro? For work without a contract or without insurance registration a company pays 2,000 to 20,000 euros, the responsible person 200 to 2,000 euros and a sole trader 500 to 6,000 euros.
What if I work without an employment contract? You are deemed to have a permanent employment relationship from your first working day, and the employer must sign such a contract within five days.
How soon must my employer register me for insurance? Registration applies from your first working day, the employer files it within eight days and hands you a copy within five days of its issue.
How do I know whether I am registered? Ask for a copy of your insurance registration, which the employer must hand you and keep at the work site. If you do not have it, contact the labour inspectorate.
Who do I report undeclared work to? To the labour inspectorate, and you can also seek protection before the Agency for the Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes or in court.
Can the inspectorate enter a flat? Yes, since 21 May 2026 an inspector with a court order can also inspect a flat and other premises.
Sources
The contract before work starts, insurance registration, documents at the work site and fines are set by the Labour Law (Official Gazette of Montenegro 74/2019 as amended, Articles 19, 29, 30, 33, 206, 208 and 209), whose consolidated text was published by the Government of Montenegro, and inspections in a flat with a court order by the Law supplementing the Law on Inspection Supervision (Official Gazette 64/2026). The information was checked on 28 September 2026. Fijaka is a classifieds platform; this text is not legal advice.