Hire in Myanmar (Burma)

EOR in Myanmar

If a lack of speed or local expertise are among your top concerns when expanding to or employing workers in Myanmar, an employer of record may may be the best option for achieving your global growth objectives.

An employer of record, sometimes known as an international PEO, enables you to quickly hire and onboard workers in Myanmar ―often in as little as two weeks―without having to take on the cost and risk of establishing a local entity.

Learn about the hiring, employment, payroll and benefits requirements for workers in Myanmar and how our employer of record service, EOR, and local HR experts can help you manage your international employment needs.

Hiring in Myanmar

The various labor laws that exist in Myanmar are the:

• Leave and Holidays Act
• Workmen’s Compensation Act
• Social Security Law, Factories Act
• Payment of Wages Act
• Employment and Skills Development Law
• Minimum Wages Act.

These laws cover minimum wage, overtime, hours of work, holidays, leave, wage payment and termination pay.

Employment contracts in Myanmar

As you look to hire employees in Myanmar, here are some standard regulations you’ll need to know to create a compliant contract, as well as how an employer of record and PEO can provide support for your unique HR needs.

Working hours

The regular workweek may vary for different employers and workers, but the maximum is 48 hours per week and eight hours per day. Saturday and Sunday are weekly days off.

Compensation

As you consider the appropriate salary to offer new employees, keep in mind:

• Effective May 14, 2018, the daily minimum wage is MMK 4,800 for a standard eight-hour workday.
• Employers are required to pay two times the normal wages for overtime work.
• Employees required to work on a public holiday must be paid at double the usual rate.

As your employer of record in Myanmar, we can provide you with resources and insights about employee compensation, so you are better equipped to make a competitive employment offer.

Bonuses

It is common to provide employees with a yearly bonus equal to one month’s salary, but no law is in effect regarding bonuses.

Termination and severance

Employers are required to give prior notice to termination. The minimum notice period is the same as the wage payment period. For example, an employee that is paid monthly must be given a month’s notice.

Alternatively, employers may pay the amount that the employee would have received during the period of notice as payment in lieu of notice.

Employees with at least six months of employment are eligible to receive severance pay. Severance pay is calculated based on the employee's last monthly salary, as follows:

• Six months to one year of employment - half of the employee’s last monthly salary
• One to two years - last monthly salary
• Two to three years - one and one-half times the last monthly salary
• Three to four years - three times the last monthly salary
• Four to six years - four times the last monthly salary
• Six to eight years - five times the last monthly salary
• Eight to 10 years - six times the last monthly salary
• 10 to 20 years - eight times the last monthly salary
• 20 to 25 years - 10 times the last monthly salary
• More than 25 years - 13 times the last monthly salary.

Employee benefits and paid leave in Myanmar

When negotiating terms of an employment contract with a candidate in Myanmar, here are some of the statutory benefits and paid leave requirements to keep in mind, as well as how an employer of record can support your company’s benefits strategy.

Maternity leave

Female employees are entitled to six weeks of leave before pregnancy and a minimum of eight weeks after the birth of a child, for a minimum of 14 weeks of leave.

Vacation

Employers are required to grant employees who have worked longer than a year a minimum of 10 paid days of leave per year.

Holidays

The following are the public holidays in Myanmar:

• International New Year’s Day
• Independence Day
• Union Day
• Peasants’ Day
• Full Moon Day of Tabaung
• Armed Forces Day
• Maha Thingyan (Water Festival (four days in April before New Year’s Day of the Myanmar Era Calendar)
• Myanmar Era Calendar New Year’s Day (The day that from the perspective of Myanmar, the sun transits into the constellation of Aries from the constellation of Pisces)
• May Day (Labor Day)
• Full Moon Day of Kasong
• Martyrs’ Day
• Full Moon Day of Waso (Beginning of Buddhist Lent)
• Full Moon Day of Thadingyut (End of Buddhist Lent)
• Full Moon Day of Tazaungmone
• National Day
• Christmas
• International New Year’s Eve

Additionally, some employers, especially employers in Myanmar’s State of Kayin (Karen), provide paid leave to employees in recognition of the New Year’s Day celebrated by the Kayin (Karen) ethnic group of Myanmar. As with the New Year’s Day of the Myanmar Era Calendar as a whole, the Kayin New Year’s Day also does not occur on the first day of the first month of the Myanmar Era Calendar years. Kayin New Year’s Day occurs on the first day of Pyatho, which is the 10th month of the Myanmar Era Calendar year.

Health coverage

The maximum monthly amount of wages paid to an employee upon which social security contribution rates may be assessed on the employee and employer is MMK 300,000.

Employers are assessed a social security contribution rate of 3%, with a maximum monthly contribution of MMK 9,000, and employees are assessed a social security contribution rate of 2%, with a maximum monthly contribution of MMK 6,000.

The contribution may be in kyats or an equivalent amount in the currency in which employees are paid.

Social security in Myanmar covers sickness, maternity, employment injury, unemployment, old age, and death insurance benefits.

Additional benefits

In addition to healthcare benefits, employees in Myanmar are entitled to pension, which is funded by government tax revenues, as well as workers compensation, which is covered through mandated employer insurance.

Employer social costs will cover a large portion of employee benefits in Myanmar, but we can consult with you about supplemental coverage options, such as additional pension contributions or life insurance if needed.

Updated: July 12, 2024

Employee onboarding with an employer of record in Myanmar

We write and validate all local employment contracts, streamlining the onboarding process for you and your Burmese employees—all you have to do is provide relevant information and review and approve the employment agreement. As your employer of record in Myanmar, we will:

• Schedule a welcome call to discuss HR and employment information for Myanmar, as well as answer any questions
• Prepare a customized employment contract in English or other local language
• Share the employment contract and benefits information with the new employee for signature and review
• Gather tax and banking information from the employee to set up payroll
• Provide a local point of contact to the employee to answer any questions regarding their employment, local HR or payroll

The entire onboarding process for the employee is often completed in as little as two weeks.

Partner with Safeguard Global as your Myanmar employer of record and PEO

With over a decade of service, we are the longest-serving employer of record and PEO provider in the international market. Organizations around the world rely on EOR, our employer of record solution, to expand and hire in 170+ countries around the world, quickly and compliantly.

We’ve seen just about every global employment circumstance imaginable—and with our extensive knowledge of local law and culture, we know what it takes to get employment right in Myanmar. We provide written contracts in the local language, salaries in the local currency and HR support in your employees’ time zone.

Additionally, as a global payroll provider we support payroll administration—including payments, filings and other calculations— all around the world and can accommodate the payroll outsourcing needs of any size organization.

Whether you’re looking to hire as part of a strategic expansion or to meet specific talent needs, our global solutions advisors can walk you through your international hiring options so you can make the right choice for your organization. Contact us today.

Disclaimer

The information provided on or through this website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Safeguard Global expressly disclaims any liability with respect to warranty or representation concerning the information contained herein, including the lost essence, interpretation, accuracy and/or completeness of the information in transit and language translation.