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 Guyana can be expensive, stressful, and time-consuming. It's not for the faint of heart.
To set up a subsidiary in Guyana, 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 Guyana.
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 Guyana is not the same as paying workers in your own country. Employees have to be paid using Guyana’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 work week in Guyana is 40 hours per week, over six days.
Employees generally work eight hours per day and receive a 60-minute break.
In Guyana overtime is paid at 1.5 time the standard rate.
Overtime may be paid at double the standard rate if worked on certain public holidays.
Employees receive one day of rest every week, and one half-day off on every alternative Sunday. Employees also receive a 15-minute break every four hours while working overtime.
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Guyana employees receive their salary in monthly basis.
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Employees paid daily receive one day of paid leave for every 20 days worked. Employees paid hourly receive one paid day of leave for every 160 hours worked.
Employees paid on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis receive one day of paid leave for each month of service. Additionally, there are 5 public holidays.
There are 15 public holidays.
Sick leave in Guyana includes complex rules on the duration of the leave. Eligible employees in Guyana receive 70% of their average wage after the third day of illness for up to 26 weeks.
Payment for sick leave is made by the National Insurance Scheme after the 3rd day of illness.
To qualify, employees need to have been employed immediately prior to becoming sick, have made at least 50 contributions and eight contributions in the 13 weeks before becoming ill.
Female employees receive 13 weeks of paid leave, starting 6 weeks before birth. In exceptional cases, employees are entitled to further 13 weeks.
If a female employee or her spouse makes at least 15 and seven contributions in the 26 weeks leading up to her maternity leave, she is eligible for maternity benefits.
There is no statutory paternity leave.
Apart from maternity leave, there is no other parental leave.
Childcare Leave - Guyana has no unpaid childcare leave.
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In Guyana, employment contract may be terminated at the end of a fixed-term contract, by mutual consent, by the employer or by the employee.
An employer is prohibited from terminating employment based on an employee’s legitimate leave of absence. If the contract doesn't have a specific duration the employer may terminate under the following terms:
The notice period in Guyana is:
Employers must pay severance to employees with one year of service terminated for reasons other than misconduct or outside the probation period. Severance ranges from one to three weeks based on the length of service. Severance pay also depends on the amount of time served
Probation period is cannot exceed in 3 months.
