Is it permissible for employees in the same sales position, but working in different regions of Bulgaria, to receive different remuneration? Can factors such as location, cost of living and pay levels in the relevant local labour market, for example Sofia compared with other regions in the country, be considered an objective and sufficient basis for justifying pay differences?

It is entirely possible for employees working in different regions of the country to receive different remuneration, provided there are objective reasons for this. However, factors such as location, for example, cannot in themselves be a sufficiently valid reason for such a difference. Rather, factors such as workload, working conditions, responsibility and similar criteria should be considered. For example, a grocery store in Sofia, especially in a more central area, may have a much higher daily customer flow than a grocery store in a smaller town. Objectively, the workload and volume of work are higher in the Sofia store.