Bulgarian Cabinet Bans State Servants Bonuses

Bulgaria's former health insurance fund director, Neli Nesheva, admitted to receiving over BGN 12 000 of bonuses in 2011 and quit under public, opposition, and PM Borisov's pressure. Photo by BGNES

Employees from all levels of Bulgarian State administration will no longer be eligible to receive bonuses on top of their regular wages, according to amendments in the State Administration Act.

The amendments banning bonuses for work State servants do in committees, commissions, working or expert groups, as managers or in the control of distribution of funds are being voted Wednesday by the Council of Ministers.

The goal of the amendments, which have been prepared by the Finance Ministry, is to eliminate any option to give employees monetary rewards not based on achieved results. Instead, there will be a new methodology to assess job performance and increase wages accordingly. The assessment will be done once every year.

These changes came on the heels of the large-scale "bonus scandal" that flared in Bulgaria after it emerged that senior State servants have given themselves and employees close to them huge bonuses.

The scandal started with revelations about the bonus of the Director of the National Health Insurance Fund, NZOK, Neli Nesheva, who was forced to resign while Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, ordered all ministers, their deputies, members of political cabinets, regional governors and their deputies to return all bonuses they have received in the last 2 years.

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