Jamaica
On this page, you’ll learn how to hire remote talent in Jamaica without running into months or onboarding, legal struggles, and fees. Learn the obligations, risks, and the easiest path to hiring great talent abroad.
Country snapshot
CURRENCY
Jamaican Dollar (JMD)
EMPLOYER TAXES
12.50%
PAYROLL FREQUENCY
Monthly
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE
English
It’s the fastest way to hire globally
Hiring employees takes months, at the minimum. When you hire with Thera's locally-generated contracts, it’s a matter of days or weeks. This means you can hire the best talent, fast, without losing them to a hellish procession of paperwork.
It’s a lot cheaper
It costs just $0 to sign up for Thera, then $25 per month to hire your contractors with Thera. If you hired employees manually (or did contracting on your own), you’d likely be on the hook for thousands of dollars each month. Setting up an entity alone can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
It’s more flexible for you & your team
Can be less risky than hiring employees
Hiring employees is a bigger commitment, and can open you up to increased liabilities and regulations. When you hire contractors overseas, your biggest risk is misclassification—but laws surrounding contractor classification are often significantly more straightforward.
Some people want to be employees
The contractor life isn’t for everyone—some people want the security that being an employee often appears to provide. Though it’s rare, this does happen, and it’s one disadvantage of manage an all-contractor team.
You might not have as much control over your talent
Most countries’ contractor-employer relationship laws stipulate that the employer can’t set fixed working hours, among other things. These laws give contractors more freedom over how and when they do their work than an employee would have. In reality, however, most contractors are willing & able to work on the company’s schedule—it’s a matter of setting expectations beforehand.
Jamaica: A gorgeous country with plenty of great remote talent. If you want to hire there, you’ll have to make a choice: Employee, or contractor? Below are the key differences between the two/
Hire talent as contractors
Hire talent as employees
If you’ve read up until this point, you’ll know that it’s easier, cheaper, and more flexible to hire contractors in Jamaica than employees. Still, there are valid reasons why you might want to hire employees instead. The content below is for you—we’ll cover employer taxes and obligations in Jamaica.
Employer tax
National Insurance Scheme (NIS)
National Housing Trust (NHT)
Education Tax
Human Employment & Resources Training (HEART)
Paid Time Off (PTO)
PTO is calculated by the:
- Employees are granted 2 weeks of paid leave per year.
- 3 weeks of paid leave is granted to employees with over 10 years of continuous service.
Public Holidays
There are 10 public holidays.
Sick Days
The duration of sick leave entitlement provided to workers is dependent on how long they have been employed by their employer:
- Employees are entitled to 10 days of paid sick leave after 110 days of employment.
Maternity Leave
Employees receive 56 days of paid maternity leave.
For employees to receive benefits they must have 52 weeks of continuous employment and provide notice to the employer.
Paternity Leave
No Statutory Requirements.
Parental Leave
No Statutory Requirements.
Other Leave
None.
Marriage Leave
None.
Bereavement Leave
None.
Termination Process
Employers should provide a written statement or notify termination in front of a credible witness.
A notice of termination must also be given.
Notice Period
The notice period in Jamaica is:
Employers are required to provide notice determined by the length of employment.
- Up to 5 years of employment entitles workers to 2 weeks’ notice.
- 5-10 years entitles workers to four weeks’ notice.
- 10-15 years entitles workers to 6 weeks’ notice.
- 15-20 years entitles workers to 8 weeks’ notice.
- 20 + years entitles workers to 12 weeks notice.
Severance Pay
Severance pay is only required for cases of redundancy. Severance for redundancy is 2 weeks’ pay per year for the first 10 years and 3 weeks´ pay per year, from the 10th year onwards.
Probation Period
There is no requirement for a probationary period, however, collective agreements generally stipulate a 3 to 6-month period.
Working Hours
Full-time employment is considered 40 hours weekly. Hours may be spread over 5 days if the worker chooses.
Overtime
Overtime is defined as work exceeding 40 weekly hours, work on a rest day, or work on a holiday.
Overtime pay is 150% the normal pay for each additional hour worked, or whatever contractual agreement the employee and employer have agreed upon.
Double time is paid on Sunday and Public Holidays.
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