Independent contractors or freelancers are self-employed individuals who provide services to companies as a non-employee. This is one of the most common ways companies tend to hire non-local designers, engineers, support reps, etc.
For legal and tax purposes, independent contractors are not classified as employees. They may work for multiple clients, set their own work hours, negotiate their pay rate, and decide how a job gets done.
For example, the IRS says that if an independent contractor or freelancer does work that can be controlled (what will be done and how it will be done) by an employer then they are, in fact, classified as an employee.
As you can imagine, hiring someone as an independent contractor versus an employee is a fine line to tread.
While there are benefits when you choose the contractor route, there are quite a few drawbacks to consider and you’ll need to weigh them carefully to determine the best fit for your company.
A foreign subsidiary is a company that operates overseas as part of a larger company who’s HQ is in another country.
Establishing a foreign entity is great for having an international presence and accessing new markets. Though, setting up a subsidiary in Haiti can be expensive, stressful, and time-consuming. It's not for the faint of heart.
To set up a subsidiary in Haiti, you have to:
If you're lucky, this process can take months. If you're not so lucky, it can take up to a year. And on average, it costs about $50k-$80k, all-in-all, to get setup. And that's just for Haiti.
An employer-of-record (EOR) is a company that hires and pays an employee on behalf of another company.
An EOR is typically used to overcome the financial and regulatory hurdles that often come with employing remote workers.
Each country has its own payroll, employment, and work permit requirements for non-resident companies doing business in their jurisdiction. Meeting those demands can be a huge obstacle when it comes to hiring remotely.
At Panther, we help companies employ and pay people in over 160 countries, without having to set up a foreign subsidiary. Payroll, benefits, taxes, compliance, and more are all handled by us, at a fraction of the cost.
Outside of saving you months and tens of thousands of dollars, other advantages of using Panther are:
Because you no longer have to set up your own subsidiary, you’ll save a ton of time and tens of thousands of dollars using Panther.
Paying employees in Haiti is not the same as paying workers in your own country. Employees have to be paid using Haiti's employment and payroll standards.
This means that you have to know, understand, and keep up with 1) fluctuating currency changes, and 2) local payroll and tax laws in the countries you’re looking to hire in.
Outside of the laws and regulations around payroll, there may be different conditions surrounding leave, overtime, termination, and more. As you can imagine, maintaining this kind of regulatory knowledge can be challenging. But it is crucial and necessary to follow local legislation.
After, you’ll have to determine the best way to pay your international employees. This can be done in a number of ways, including but not limited to:
One of the most challenging (and expensive) parts of paying international employees is setting up the infrastructure to do so.
Before you start to run payroll, you have to register your company as the local employer in the country the worker resides in. As you can see in the “Set up a subsidiary” section, this is a multi-step process that can take up to a year and put you on your way to bankruptcy.
Outside of EORs acting as the full admin employer, many also provide remote payroll.
For example, at Panther, in just 1-click, you’re able to pay your entire global team, anywhere in the world. We send you an invoice each month, charge you in US Dollars, and pay your employees the same amount in their local currency.
We factor in currency fluctuations and use the mid-market rate plus any applicable fee passed on by our provider at cost at the time of billing.
The standard working hours is 48 hours a week, or eight hours a day over six days.
Generally, employees in Haiti has a maximum overtime allowed is two hours a day, 80 hours every quarter of the year or 320 hours per year.
Employer
Sickness & Maternity Insurance
Occupational Accident Insurance
National Old Age Insurance
Employees in Haiti are generally paid on a monthly basis.
In Haiti, 13th month salary is mandated by law and is paid as a bonus in December of each year.
Employees in Haiti receive 15 days of paid leave, including 13 working days and two Sundays. Vacation days are not cumulative.
Employees with less than one year of service are entitled to annual leave that equals 1.25 times the number of months worked.
There are 12 public holidays in Haiti.
In Haiti, employees receive 15 days of paid sick leave a year after one year of service.
Employees with less than one year of service are entitled to sick days on a prorated basis.
Employees must provide a medical certificate.
Female employees are entitled to 12 weeks of paid maternity leave. A minimum of four weeks must be taken before birth.
Six weeks is paid by the Office of Occupational Accident Insurance, Sickness, and Maternity (OFATMA), provided the employee registers.
The remaining six weeks are paid for by the employer.
There are no statutory laws for paternity leave in Haiti.
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Employment may be terminated at the end of a fixed term contract, by mutual consent, by the employer (with or without cause) or by the employee.
Employers can terminate an employee without providing notice for threatening or abusive conduct, damage to property, unauthorized absence for three consecutive days or four days in a month, failing to follow accident prevention measures, lying about qualifications, imprisonment for more than one month or breach of contract.
Notice is only required for employees with over three months of service and varies depending on the length of service.
Severance pay is not required by law in Haiti.
Employees may be dismissed without notice within the probation period.