Expand your business into Myanmar - without an entity
New Horizons provides global employment solutions for businesses wanting to hire employees and distribute payroll in Myanmar. Through our Myanmar PEO and Employer of Record we manage your company’s payroll, benefits, and expenses in Myanmar. Additionally, we oversee HR duties, as well as employment and tax compliance.
New Horizons will act as your employees’ Employer of Record, which means you can begin doing business in Myanmar without a local entity. This not only allows your business to go to market faster, but also has the potential to save your business thousands in expansion costs.
As the only Myanmar PEO with an in-house recruitment team, New Horizons will source, hire, and onboard your Myanmar workforce. We hire employees in accordance with Myanmar labor regulations and coordinate all expense claims and benefits payments. Although we act as your employees’ Employer of Record, you still maintain full autonomy and control over all employees.
Our Myanmar PEO simplifies your expansion
New Horizons enables your business to expand its operations into Myanmar – without setting up a legal subsidiary.
Fast Market Entry
New Horizons will enable you to hire and onboard professionals across Myanmar in as little as 48 hours
Cost Savings
Without needing to establish a legal entity in Myanmar, partnering with our Myanmar PEO solution can help you benefit from cost savings of up to 85%.
Payroll Outsourcing
Accurate, on-time salary and payroll processing, individual income tax declaration, expense management, statutory benefits administration, and social benefits contribution.
Employee Onboarding
Utilize the relevant provision for all types of Myanmar labor contracts, whether a fixed-term or open-ended contract.
Onsite Legal & HR Team
In-country legal guidance through employee acquisition, contract renewals and termination, benefits distribution, and HR compliance; as well as local tax, law, and financial expertise.
Stay Compliant
We ensure that employment contracts are compliant and meet Myanmar labor laws and best practices.
New Horizons ensures day-to-day guidance to help your business navigate Myanmar labor laws and regulations. We also provide mandatory monthly payroll requirements, and absorb all local employment liabilities. Partnering with our Myanmar PEO is the quickest and most cost-effective way to enter the Myanmar market.
Employment & Labor Laws in Myanmar
Employment contracts in Myanmar
Employment contracts in Myanmar must be drafted in writing and in the local Burmese language. Contracts can have a set duration or an indefinite term.
The Myanmar government requires employment contracts to follow a specified format and include a fixed-term clause. Contracts should include provisions regarding the following:
- Terms of compensation
- Benefits
- Termination clauses
Employers who do not follow Myanmar’s compensation laws can be subject to fines or delays when incorporating their business.
When your business partners with New Horizons’ Myanmar PEO, we’ll help you to draft locally compliant employment contracts that meet Myanmar rules and regulations.
Work hours in Myanmar
Employees in Myanmar typically work eight hours per day and 44 hours per week. In most cases, rest periods are unpaid. Employees are entitled to a rest period of at least 30 minutes after five hour’s work. A standard work day should not exceed 10 hours, including all rest periods.
Overtime pay is provided for employees who work more than eight hours per day or 44 hours per week. Overtime is paid at 2x an employee’s normal hourly pay rate. Employees in shops and establishments should not be asked to perform more than 16 hour’s overtime per week. Additionally, these employees should not be asked to work after midnight.
Factory workers should not be asked to perform more than 20 hour’s overtime per week. This includes up to 15 hours from Monday to Friday and five hours on Saturday. Male factory employees accrue overtime hours after working more than 48 hour’s per week.
Holidays in Myanmar
In Myanmar, public holidays that fall on a rest day or separate holiday cannot be taken on another day. For employees who are not Buddhist, religious holidays can be taken on days that the employee and employer agree to. These days do not have to be paid.
Employees who work on a public holiday are paid at twice the rate of their normal pay, plus a cost-of-living allowance.
Because many of Myanmar’s holidays surround moon risings or religion, dates can vary from one year to the next. The government publicly announces the holiday dates ahead of time. Leave of 10 days is provided to workers to celebrate Myanmar New Year.
Date | Description | 1 Jan | New Year’s Day |
|---|---|
4 Jan | Independence Day |
5-6 Jan | Independence Day Holiday |
12 Feb | Union Day |
2 mar | Peasants’ Day |
8 Mar | Full Moon Day of Tabaung Holiday |
9 Mar | Full Moon Day of Tabaung |
27 Mar | Armed Forces Day |
10 Apr | Thingyan Holiday |
11-16 Apr | Thingyan Holiday |
17-20 Apr | Burmese New Year |
1 May | Labour Day |
6 May | Full Moon Day of Kasong |
19 Jul | Martyr’s Day |
20 Jul | Martyr’s Day Holiday |
31 Jul | Eid ul-Adha Day Holiday |
1 Aug | Eid ul-Adha Day |
3 Aug | Full Moon Day of Waso |
29 Oct | Thadingyut Holiday |
30 Oct | Pre-Full Moon Day of Thadingyut |
31 Oct | Full Moon Day of Thadingyut |
1 Nov | Post-Full Moon Day of Thadingyut |
2 Nov | Thadingyut Holiday |
14 Nov | Deepavali |
27-28 Nov | Tazaungmone Holiday |
29 Nov | Pre-Full Moon Day of Tazaungmone |
30 Nov | Full Moon of Tazaungmone |
9 Dec | National Day |
25 Dec | Christmas Day |
31 Dec | New Year |
Myanmar tax
Individual income is taxed at the progressive rates ranging from 3% – 50% in Myanmar. Foreigners are considered tax residents who will be taxed at the progressive rates between 3% – 30%, if they have been in Myanmar for 183 days or more. Non-resident foreigners are taxed at a flat rate of 35%, or at the progressive rates mentioned above, whichever is greater.
Myanmar corporate tax rate is 30% and charged on the income derived from sources in Myanmar and foreign-sources outside Myanmar.
Myanmar’s Social Security Fund provides benefits due to illness, death, workplace injury, disability, maternity, and superannuation. Under this fund, employees can claim a portion of their medical expenses. Employers pay 3% of contributions and employees contribute 2% of their earnings to the fund – subject to some exceptions.
Health benefits
Employees who have made 180 month’s worth of contributions to the Health and Social Care Fund are entitled to medical treatment at government hospitals.
Vacation leave
Employees who have worked for the same employer for one or more years are entitled to 10 day’s paid annual leave. Employees accrue casual leave throughout the year and can only take three day’s leave at one time. Employers pay the base salary for six days of casual leave every year.
After completing three year’s company service, employees are entitled to 30 day’s religious leave.
Sick leave
Employees with more than six month’s company service receive 30 day’s paid sick leave per year, so long as they provide a medical certificate to their employer.
Employees with less than six month’s company service are only eligible to take unpaid sick leave.
Myanmar compensation and benefits
Myanmar compensation laws
Myanmar’s minimum wage is 4,800 Myanmar Kyat (MMK) per day. In 2018, this figure was raised from 3,600 MMK per day. To maintain compliance with the Payment of Wages Act, employers must pay daily and part-time employees via cash, check, or bank transfer. Payment must be in-line with an employee’s fixed-wage period.
Permanent employees should be paid monthly, at the end of their payment cycle.
Minimum Wage Country Comparison Chart | (Per month in USD) |
|---|---|
Switzerland (Geneva) | $4,000 |
Italy | $2,255 |
China | $308 |
Myanmar | $63 |
Uzbekistan | $22 |
Guaranteed benefits in Myanmar
To maintain compliance with employment law, employers are required to provide certain benefits to employees. And with 24 public holidays in Myanmar each year, employers must be mindful that employees are given their entitled days off. These public holidays include 10 day’s off during Myanmar’s New Year’s celebrations. For each of these days, employees are entitled to leave with pay. Additionally, employees are entitled to one paid day off per week, as a vacation entitlement.
Employees in Myanmar are also entitled to 30 day’s sick leave per year. This is provided they present sufficient medical documents as evidence of their injury or illness.
Myanmar’s Leave and Holidays Act governs maternity leave. Female employees are entitled to 14 week’s paid maternity leave — to be taken as six weeks prior to childbirth and eight weeks post childbirth. Any employees that are actively contributing to Myanmar’s Social Security Fund should also receive additional time off.
Myanmar benefit management
Employers in Myanmar are strongly advised to provide their employees with more than the required statutory requirements. This can not only help businesses to attract talent, but also improve employee retention rates. Whilst these benefits are not compulsory, many employees will expect them as part of their compensation.
Some common supplemental benefits include:
- Time off for non-Buddhist religious holidays
- Additional annual paid vacation
- Education or housing allowances
- Performance-based or annual bonuses
Benefits and compensation restrictions
For expanding businesses, one of the major restrictions to benefits and compensation involves setting up a local entity. Employers are generally prohibited from hiring and paying employees without first establishing a subsidiary in Myanmar. This process can take months to complete, which causes significant business delays.
With New Horizons’ Myanmar Employer of Record & PEO, businesses can begin operating in Myanmar in as little as 48 hours. New Horizons acts as your employees’ Employer of Record, which means there’s no need to establish a subsidiary in Myanmar. And as the only global PEO with an in-house recruitment team, we can help you source, hire, and onboard top local and international talent.
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Why choose New Horizons' Myanmar PEO?
New Horizons’ Myanmar PEO and Employer of Record service allows your business to quickly and compliantly begin trading in Myanmar, without the burden of establishing a local entity. This allows your business to commence Myanmar operations in as little as 48 hours. It also has the potential to save you up to 85% in expansion costs.
New Horizons will manage your company’s payroll, benefits, and expenses in Myanmar. Additionally, we oversee HR duties, as well as employment and tax compliance. And as the only global PEO with an in-house recruitment team, New Horizons will source, hire, and onboard your Myanmar workforce.
Contact us today to discover how our Myanmar PEO can support your expansion.
