The National Classification of Occupations and Positions (UCTD) in the Republic of Bulgaria

The national classification of professions and positions (UCTD) in the Republic of Bulgaria is applied by all enterprises and organisations, regardless of the form of ownership. It is designed to ensure unity in the definition, grouping and differentiation of posts and in the approach to their use, in the management of work and employment relations. In view of the requirements of Article 66(4) of the Labour Code, when concluding, changing or terminating employment relationships in the country, the name of the post is determined according to the National Classification of Occupations and Positions (NCTD). According to the Commission Recommendation of 29.10.2009 and Regulation (EC) No 1022/2009 (OJ L 283 of 30 October 2009), the Republic of Bulgaria has aligned the UCTD with the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO), developed by the International Labour Organisation and in structural and conceptual terms, the UCTD follows the principles on which ISCO has been established. With the development and implementation of the UCTD, in line with international standards, conditions have been provided for the collection, classification and aggregation of information on the professional and job structure of the population, opportunities for international comparisons and broad exchange of information in this area. The terms and conditions for the use, updating and maintenance of the UCTD are laid down in the UCTD Implementing Rules. According to Article 14(1) of the Rules, the classification is updated by order of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy, after consultation with the President of the National Statistical Institute. Changes in the high levels — class, subclass and group are made only in case of changes in ISCO, and changes to the list of posts are made when duplication of names is established or new posts arise. Changes to the list of posts may be made once a year with effect from 1 January of the following calendar year. If changes to the list of posts are required by regulatory changes, they may also enter into force in the course of the calendar year on an exceptional basis. The files present the UCTD in two fields — “Code” and “Name” The UCTD has four hierarchical levels: class, subclass, group and single group. The layout of the UCTD item code is: X — Class marked with an unambiguous numeric code XX — Subclass marked with two-digit numeric code XXX — Group marked with three-digit numeric code XXXX — Single group with four-digit numeric code XXXX XXXX — A position marked by an eight-digit numeric code in which the first four characters indicate the single group, the fifth character indicates the minimum educational and qualification level for the post and the last three digits are the serial number of the position in the single group.