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.
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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 North Macedonia can be expensive, stressful, and time-consuming. It's not for the faint of heart.
To set up a subsidiary in North Macedonia, 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 North Macedonia.
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 North Macedonia is not the same as paying workers in your own country. Employees have to be paid using North Macedonia’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 in North Macedonia is 40 hours over five days.
In Liechtenstein, employer may only require an employee to work overtime when there is an urgent need, and the overtime is capped at eight hours per week, up to 190 hours a year.
The rate for overtime hours is normally set by a collective agreement and is generally not less than 135% of the employee’s standard hourly rate.
Employer is not required to contribute for social security.
North Macedonia employees are paid monthly on the 25th of each month.
Bonuses are common in North Macedonia. Eligible employees, those that have worked in excess of 150 hours over regular hours and have not been absent from work for more than 21 days during the year, are entitled to an additional salary supplement/bonus payment.
In North Macedonia, employees receive one additional day of annual leave for each five years of service with an employer, up to a maximum of 26 days for employees with 30 or more years of service.
A minimum of 20 days of paid annual leave, which is often extended to as much as 26 days by contract or collective agreement.
There are 11 public holidays.
The rate of sick pay is normally determined by collective agreement. Under the agreement applicable to the private sector, the employer pays :
-70% of the average North Macedonian salary for the first seven days,
-80% for days eight-15, and
-90% for days 16-30.
Employees receive unlimited sick leave, with the employer paying for the first 30 days of illness.
The employee should provide a medical certificate, and further examinations may be required in the event of a long-term illness.
The expectant mother must present a medical certificate of her pregnancy before beginning her leave and must notify her employer of when she plans to begin and end her maternity leave.
Female employees receive nine months of paid maternity leave, or 15 months if they give birth to multiple children.
A woman who takes maternity leave is entitled to return to her job after the leave or, if that is not possible, to another suitable position.
The father of a baby is entitled to up to seven days of paid leave for the birth.
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Childcare Leave- Unpaid leave has no legal provision in North Macedonia.
Employees in North Macedonia are entitled with marriage leave, discretion of the employer.
Discretion of the employer for the number of days that an employee is entitled.
An employee because of the employee’s misconduct, the employer must first warn the employee and advise them of the possibility of dismissal if the misconduct continues.
An employer may only terminate an employee because of misconduct or breach of workplace duties or rules, or because of the needs of the business.
In addition, an employer may dismiss an employee without notice if the employee is absent from work for more than three days without permission.
Employees performing seasonal work may be terminated with seven days of written notice.
The employer is required. 2 months’ notice is required if the termination is for more than 150 employees or 5% of the workforce
Employees who are terminated in a collective dismissal are entitled to severance pay.
The amount of severance pay is based on an employee’s length of service and ranges from one month of salary to six months of salary.
Probation period is 4 months.
