Living and working conditions in Lithuania 9 May

Living and working conditions in Lithuania 9 May 2010 Bialystok EURES adviser Sonata Marcinkevičiūtė Living and working conditions in Lithuania E-mail: sonata. marcinkeviciute@ldb. lt

Location Lithuania is located at the western end of the East European Plain, on the shores of the Baltic Sea. It borders: p Latvia to the north (576 km) p Belarus to the east and south (660 km) p Russian Federation, Kaliningrad district to the south west and south (273 km) p Poland to the south west and south (103 km) Target country: Lithuania 2

Location Target country: Lithuania 3

General information p Full country name: Republic of Lithuania p Area: 65, 300 sq km p Population: approx. 3. 32 million habitants p Capital city: Vilnius (pop. over 560, 000) p Official language: Lithuanian p Currency: Lithuanian Litas (LTL) p Ethnic groups: 84. 6 % Lithuanian, 6. 3% Polish, 5. 1% Russian p Religion: 79% Roman Catholic p Independence Day: 16 February Target country: Lithuania 4

SITUATION IN LABOR MARKET 2010 m. april 1 th Unemployment rate in Lithuania - 14, 3% p 1 st of April, 2010 : p Unemployed registered - 307, 1 thousand p out of them: women - 129, 1 th. (12 % ) p Men - 178, 0 th. (16, 5% ) p Young unemployed up to 25 years - 44. 3 thousand or 14. 4% p Long-term unemployed - 76, 8 th. p Receiving unemployment benefits 68, 0 th. p Target country: Lithuania 5

Labour market situation (2010 March 1 Target country: Lithuania st) 6

Working conditions in Lithuania Opportunities for unskilled workers: p manufacturing industry labourers transport labourers and transshippers p domestic and related helpers, cleaners, launderers p p garbage collectors , yard keepers p Couriers, messengers and related workers. Target country: Lithuania 7

Working conditions in Lithuania Opportunities for specialists: p Opportunities for service employees and qualified workers: business service managers p sales agents p administrators p accountants p p sales agents p p General education teachers Engineers Stock clerks p p Salesman and product demonstartors cooks tailors heavy truck and lorry drivers Carpenters, painters and building finishers Bakers and confectionery makers p welders p barmen and waiters p p Target country: Lithuania 8

Shortages on the Labour market Shortages -medical doctors, high qualified accountants, finance specialists, cooks, welders, lorry drivers. Target country: Lithuania 9

Surpluses on the Labour market Surpluses – unskilled jobseekers, agriculture workers, sewing-machine operators (in some regions), primary school teachers. Target country: Lithuania 10

Registration procedures p EU citizen may arrive and stay in Lithuania not longer than 3 months per half a year, however, such EU citizen looking for a job or intending to carry out other legal activity in Lithuania, may stay additional 3 months in Lithuania. Family members of the EU citizen may arrive to Lithuania together with the EU citizen and stay for the same period p A foreign resident, who has been granted a temporary residence permit in the Republic of Lithuania, within seven days after his/her arrival to the Republic of Lithuania, must notify the migration authorities about the arrival Target country: Lithuania 11

Temporary residence permit If EU citizen is intending to: n n n start working or carry out other legal activity in Lithuania stay in Lithuania longer than 3 months study in Lithuania He must apply to Migration authority for a temporary residence permit Target country: Lithuania 12

Work permit p Work permits are not required for EU citizens and their family members intending to work under the employment contract in Lithuania Target country: Lithuania 13

Wages in Lithuania p The Government of the Republic of Lithuania sets a minimum hourly rate and a minimum monthly salary according to the Labour Remuneration Act of the Republic of Lithuania. p The current minimum monthly salary is LTL 800 (~232 EUR), while the minimum hourly rate is LTL 4. 85 Target country: Lithuania 14

Living conditions prices (€) gfdgfg 1 l of milk – 1. 90 1 kg of sugar – 3. 20 1 big bread - 3. 00 1 music CD – 18. 00 1 kg of potatoes – 0. 70 1 ticket of public bus – 1. 50 1 kg of coffee – 9. 00 1 beer – 2. 00 Target country: Lithuania 15

Looking for job How to look for a job: p If you intend to look for work in Lithuania, you can get registered at local labour exchange (state employment institution) www. ldb. lt p Privat recruitment agencies p Job ads in newspapers and on the internet p Speculative applications p Personal contacts p Lithuanian language is a must (except of some international companies) Target country: Lithuania 16

CV p p p Typed CV’s are common in Lithuania There are no strict rules for CV in Lithuania, but your CV shouldn’t be too long Make it look professional Do not list all the facts about yourself, highlight only those that may seem useful to an employer Many now have a scanned photo in the top right hand corner If you have got written references, just mention that references are available upon request Target country: Lithuania 17

Cover letter should accompany your CV p Content of a cover letter: p n n explanation why you are writing showing the desire to work in this job/in this company providing personal information suggesting a follow-up meeting; A good cover letter must be short p All statements should be grounded on facts p Address the letter to a particular person p Target country: Lithuania 18

Recognition of qualifications p p The recognition of diplomas and qualifications is governed by both EU legislation and the national laws of the Republic of Lithuania The Department of Science and Higher Education under the Ministry of Education and Science recognizes higher education qualifications and provides related information (http: //www. mokslas. lt ) Other qualifications acquired abroad are assessed by the Lithuanian Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education (http: //www. skvc. lt ) The list of regulated professions in Lithuania and the responsible authorities can be found at http: //www. profesijos. lt (only in Lithuanian) Target country: Lithuania 19

Employment contract p The employment contract must be concluded in writing according to a standard format. Written contracts are drawn up in duplicate. One of the signed copies is given to the employee, the other remains with the employer. The employer is responsible for the proper conclusion of the employment contract. Target country: Lithuania 20

Working time p p p In Lithuania, working time cannot exceed 40 hours per week. Working hours should not exceed eight hours per day. The maximum number of working hours over seven days, including overtime, should not exceed 48 hours For workers employed in more than one workplace or doing two or more jobs in the same workplace, a working day, including breaks, cannot exceed 12 hours Special rules for certain categories (medical doctors etc. ) Target country: Lithuania 21

Looking for accommodation p p p Real estate agencies Personal contacts Ads in the newspapers and on the internet Rent prices of flats in the capital vary from 400 LTL (116 €) to 8000 LTL (2319 €). Rent for a house costs from 2000 LTL (580 €) to 14 000 LTL (4058 €) per month When buying or renting a home, it is important to organise all legal documents properly. You can contact estate agents or the offices of notaries for assistance Target country: Lithuania 22

Social security p State Social Insurance Board “SODRA” – www. sodra. lt Lithuania has a state social security system providing for compulsory social insurance for all permanent residents in Lithuania and social assistance from state funds p Income tax is deducted on a regular basis by the employer from wages before they are paid. Employer contributes 24% of the company payroll and employees pay 3% of their wages and salaries, for a combined rate of 27% Total social security contribution is 33. 98%(30. 98% by the employer and 3% by the employee) p Target country: Lithuania 23

Social security p Benefits provided by state social insurance include: n n n pensions sickness allowances maternity and child-birth benefits child care benefits unemployment benefits Target country: Lithuania 24

Starting up a business q p p p Choose the most suitable legal form; Prepare all documents in relation to a certain legal form of company; Obtain a statement of use of the premises; Notarize the documents; Register the company with the Register www. kada. lt. Useful links: n n n Lithuanian development agency for small and medium sized enterprises www. smeda. lt Lithuanian development agency www. lda. lt Lithuanian Tax authority: www. vmi. lt Target country: Lithuania 25

Useful links p p p For recognition of qualifications look at: Lithuanian Centre for Quality Assesment in Higher Education http: //www. skvc. lt Lithuanian Development Agency http: //www. lda. lt comprehensive information on tax system, business environment, social security in Lithuania etc. EURES Lithuania web page: http: //www. ldb. lt/eures CV online: http: //www. cvonline. lt – here you can find useful information concerning job search in Lithuania (writing CV, application letter, preparing for job interview etc. ), add your CV, search for a job in Lithuania. Job search site http: //www. cv. lt Target country: Lithuania 26

Useful links Lithuanian Ministries p p p p Government www. lrv. lt Agriculture www. zum. lt Environment www. am. lt Culture www. lrkm. lt National Defence www. kam. lt Education and Science www. smm. lt Finance www. finmin. lt Foreign Affairs www. urm. lt Health Care www. sam. lt Interior www. vrm. lt Justice www. tm. lt Economy www. ukmin. lt Social Security and Labour www. socmin. lt Transport www. transp. lt Target country: Lithuania 27

Thank you for your attention! For more detailed information write to: sonata. marcinkeviciute@ldb. lt Target country: Lithuania 28