Most applicants, considering different directions to move, first of all, pay attention to salary, standard of living, future prospects, and only then to migration legislation.

Working in Hungary for foreigners is a good start for moving to Europe permanently or temporarily supplementing the family budget. Of course, it's not all that simple. In any EU state, the labour force from third countries is practically under the microscope. So, let's try to find out.

Features of employment in Hungary

The Hungarian labour law is built with the interests of locals and EU citizens in mind. In other words, these two categories have the right to work in the first place. If a Hungarian employer wishes to hire a specialist from a country outside the European Union, a special permit is required. For that purpose, information about the vacancy must be submitted to the local labour office. In order for the application to be approved, three basic prerequisites must be fulfilled:

• No Hungarian or EU citizen has applied for the position for at least 15 days;

• The experience, education and qualifications of the foreigner are appropriate for the job;

• The foreign specialist's satisfactory state of health is confirmed (medical certificate).

From this we can conclude that it is quite difficult to find a job in Hungary, but the requirements in other developed countries are identical. If you compare the level of competition and add relatively low wages, which are not very attractive to EU citizens, the Hungarian labour market is quite accessible. At least professionals, especially those with knowledge of Hungarian, sometimes only English, have a good chance of employment.

For some workers from abroad permission from the labour office is not required at all, so the procedure for moving to Hungary is greatly simplified, for example:

• Professional athletes with a valid employment contract.

• Researchers and artists who work in Hungary at the invitation of one of the accredited universities or cultural institutions.

• Managers of representative offices of foreign companies in Hungary.

• Top managers in Hungarian companies with foreign capital.

• Employees of diplomatic departments.

• Employees of companies with a significant share of foreign investment, provided that the number of foreign specialists does not exceed 2% of the total staff.

• Key employees holding positions in Hungarian firms on the basis of international agreements.

Jobs and wages in Hungary

Unfortunately Hungarian salaries today are among the lowest in the EU. If your main goal of labour immigration to Hungary is to increase your income level many times over, forget it. On the other hand, these are quite acceptable figures. According to the local statistical office, the average wage in Hungary in 2023 – 1,250 euros per month, and after deducting taxes remains about 1,020 euros.

This is more than in Romania or Bulgaria, but less than in Latvia or Lithuania. By the way, in 2022 the growth of average wages in Hungary was about 10%. The minimum wage in Hungary from January 1, 2023 is 580 euros per month (232,000 forints) for unskilled workers and 740 euros (296,400 forints) for skilled workers.

When choosing a job in Hungary in 2023 for foreigners, when it comes to a prestigious and well-paid job, the focus should be on the numerous representative offices of international companies. The lion's share of such companies is located, of course, in the capital of Hungary – Budapest. For example, Vodafone, Nestle, Phillips, Nokia, IBM and many others.

Programmers and experienced engineers have good chances to find jobs in Hungary. There are vacancies in the field of banking, accounting, management. International drivers (truck drivers) with experience are often in demand. There is also a demand for unskilled labour, sometimes without strict Hungarian language requirements.

Usually these are jobs in agriculture or service personnel in the tourism, hotel and restaurant business. In general, foreigners in Hungary can count on a salary of 500-700 euros per month, and skilled workers about 1,000 euros.

Quality of work and employment - a vital issue, with a strong economic and humanitarian impact

Good working conditions are important for the well-being of European workers. They contribute to the physical and psychological welfare of Europeans, and contribute to the economic performance of the EU.

From a humanitarian point of view, the quality of working environment has a strong influence on the overall work and life satisfaction of European workers. From an economic point of view, high-quality job conditions are a driving force of economic growth and a foundation for the competitive position of the European Union. A high level of work satisfaction is an important factor for achieving high productivity of the EU economy.

It is therefore a core issue for the European Union to promote the creation and maintenance of a sustainable and pleasant working environment – one that promotes health and wellbeing of European employees and creates a good balance between work and non-work time.

Improving working conditions in Europe: an important objective for the European Union.

Ensuring favourable working conditions for European citizens is a priority for the EU. The European Union is therefore working together with national governments to ensure a pleasant and secure workplace environment. Support to Member States is provided through:

• the exchange of experience between different countries and common actions

• the establishment of the minimum requirements on working conditions and health and safety at work, to be applied all over the European Union

Criteria for quality of work and employment

In order to achieve sustainable working conditions, it is important to determine the main characteristics of a favourable working environment and thus the criteria for the quality of working conditions.

The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Euro found) in Dublin, is an EU agency that provides information, advice and expertise on, as the name implies, living and working conditions. This agency has established several criteria for job and employment quality, which include:

• health and well-being at the workplace – this is a vital criteria, since good working conditions suppose the prevention of health problems at the work place, decreasing the exposure to risk and improving work organisation

• reconciliation of working and non-working life – citizens should be given the chance to find a balance between the time spent at work and at leisure

• skills development – a quality job is one that gives possibilities for training, improvement and career opportunities

• The work of Eurofound contributes to the planning and design of better living and working conditions in Europe.

Health and safety at work

The European Commission has undertaken a wide scope of activities to promote a healthy working environment in the EU Member States. Amongst others, it developed a Community Strategy for Health and Safety at Work for the period 2021-2027. This strategy was set up with the help of national authorities, social partners and NGOs. It addresses the changing needs in worker’s protection brought by the digital and green transitions, new forms of work and the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the framework will continue to address traditional occupational safety and health risks, such as risks of accidents at work or exposure to hazardous chemicals.

The Community policy on health and safety at work aims at a long-lasting improvement of well-being of EU workers. It takes into account the physical, moral and social dimensions of working conditions, as well as the new challenges brought up by the enlargement of the European Union towards countries from Central and Eastern Europe. The introduction of EU standards for health and safety at the workplace, has contributed a lot to the improvement of the situation of workers in these countries.

Improving working conditions by setting minimum requirements common to all EU countries Improving living and working conditions in the EU Member States depends largely on the establishment of common labour standards. EU labour laws and regulations have set the minimum requirements for a sustainable working environment and are now applied in all Member States. The improvement of these standards has strengthened workers’ rights and is one of the main achievements of the EU’s social policy.

For any kind of queries and details regarding working in Hungary or anything you need to know about your new journey overseas, contact EU helpers!!