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.
.svg)
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 Morocco can be expensive, stressful, and time-consuming. It's not for the faint of heart.
To set up a subsidiary in Morocco, 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 Morocco.
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 Morocco is not the same as paying workers in your own country. Employees have to be paid using Morocco’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.
Working hours for employees shall not exceed 8 hours a day or 44 hours a week.
For additional hours between 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. employees will receive 125% their normal rate, 150% their normal rate from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., and 150%-200% their normal rate for work done on one of the weekly holidays.
Employer
Hourly workers should be paid at least twice a month and salaried employees should be paid monthly.
There is no law requiring a 13th salary.
PTO is calculated by the:
There are 12 public holidays.
The duration of sick leave entitlement provided to workers is dependent on how long they have been employed by their employer:
Pregnant employees receive 14 weeks of maternity leave, 7 of which must be used after birth.
Fathers receive 3 days of leave within the first month of the child’s birth.
There is no parental leave apart from maternity and paternity leave.
Leave for Circumcision: 2 days
Leave for surgery on the spouse or dependent child: 2 days
The employee: 4 days
child of the employee or of a child from a previous marriage of the employee’s spouse: 2 days
Spouse, of a child, of a small child, of an ascendant of the employee or of a child from a previous marriage of the employee’s spouse: 3 days
Brother, a sister of the employee, a brother or sister of the employee’s spouse or an ascendant of the spouse: 2 days
In order to terminate an employee, an employer must have sufficient reasons and provide notice.
The notice period in Morocco is:
For executives and similar positions:
For employees:
The employee in the contract is entitled to compensation in the event of dismissal after 6 months of work in the same company.
The amount of the termination indemnity for each year or fraction of a year of actual work is equal to:
The termination indemnity is calculated on the basis of the average wages received during the fifty-two weeks preceding the termination of the contract.
All employment begins with a 1-week trial period.
Probation periods are set at:
The trial period with regard to fixed-term contracts may not exceed:
