Guyana: A Guideline to Payroll and Employer of Record

Establish your presence globally with Neeyamo as we help you go beyond borders to manage your international payroll and hire new talent in Guyana.

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Overview

Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brazil to the south and southwest, Venezuela to the west, and Suriname to the east. The prominent industries include agriculture and mining. 

Neeyamo provides assistance for onboarding and management of employees in Guyana along with processing of a firm's payroll, compliance, benefits and more. 

Tools And Instances

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Global Payroll

Neeyamo’s global payroll solution covering 180+ countries

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Global Work

A tech-based EOR solution to manage your extended workforce

Facts And Stats

Capital

Georgetown

Currency

Guyanese dollar (GYD)

Official Language

English

Fiscal Year

1 January - 31 December

Date Format

DD/MM/YYYY

Country Calling Code

+592

Other Languages

Guyanese Creole

Time Zone

UTC - 04:00

Global Payroll

Overview

Handling payroll for a widespread workforce can pose as a major challenge for any firm. The added complication of compliance can make things worse and drastically affect the time and effort that can be used in other equally important aspects of an organization's development. 

Over the years, Neeyamo has observed these complexities and strived to provide a global payroll solution through a single technology platform, Neeyamo Payroll.

Payroll Taxes

Payroll tax is the percentage amount retained from an employee's salary and paid to the government to invest in the welfare of the general population.

Employee Taxes

Employee Taxes: 5.6%

Annual Income tax rates:

  • Upto GYD 2,040,000 - 28 %
  • Above GYD 2,040,000 - 40 % on the balance remaining of chargeable income.

All employers are required to submit their employees’ monthly and yearly Pay As You Earn (PAYE) amounts to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).

Employer Taxes

Employer Taxes: 8.4%

Payroll Cycle

Overview

Undoubtedly, payroll is a critical aspect of any organization. The Pay cycle is a notable feature that provides a sense of accountability for an employee to be paid consistently for their work.  

Frequency

Typically, employees in Guyana are paid monthly.

13th Month Cycle

There is no statutory requirement to pay the 13th or the 14th month salary.

Global Work

Overview

An Employer of Record service provider helps you get rid of the hassle of handling the complexities that come with setting up a new employee in remote locations. They act as legal employers, facilitate salary payments, and handle everything from health insurance, payroll taxes, and employee benefits to comply with local tax laws and regulations.

This ensures that the client company can focus on the employee’s everyday tasks safely in the knowledge that they have a cost-effective solution as they continue their global expansion.

HR Mandates and Practices

Minimum Wage

Effective July 1, 2022, Minimum Wages in Guyana are not less than-

  • 347 Guyanese dollars per hour
  • 2,776 Guyanese dollars per day
  • 13,888 Guyanese dollars per week 
  • 60,147 Guyanese dollars per month

Overtime

If an employee works more hours than what is specified or agreed upon, they will be paid 1.5 times the basic hourly wage.

Workers in locations that are classified as factories are entitled to overtime pay for any hours worked on Sundays or public holidays.

Data Retention Policy

Subject to section 65 (1) of the Income Tax Act, Chapter 81:01, every person carrying on any business, trade, profession or vocation shall keep proper records and accounts must be kept for a period of at least eight years after the completion of the transaction.

Hiring and Onboarding Requirements

Hiring

In Guyana, hiring commences with the employment agreement. It is advisable to use a written contract even if Guyana's employment laws permit both oral and written agreements. The following information should be included in a Guyana employment contract :

  • The job description or post
  • The hourly wage 
  • The hours of operation
  • Grounds for removal from work

Following the signing of the employment contract by both parties, the employer must register the employee's tax information with the National Insurance Scheme (NIS).

Onboarding

Employee onboarding documents Requirements for a labor contract: ID number Address Date of birth Email Copy of Identification card Tax ID number (TIN) NIS number (National Insurance Scheme).

Probation

Employee Probation Period:

Unless the parties agree to a different duration, Guyana law mandates a three-month probationary period. During this period, either the employer or the employee may end the job at any moment, for any reason, and without giving notice.

Leave

Public Holiday

The following days are statutory public holidays in Guyana:

  • January 1 - New Year's Day 
  • February 23 - Republic Day 
  • March 25 - Phagwah
  • Friday before Easter - Good Friday 
  • Day after Easter - Easter Monday 
  • May 1 -Labor Day 
  • May 5 - Arrival Day 
  • May 26 - Independence Day 
  • June 16 - Youman-Nabi
  • July 1 - Caricom Day 
  • August 1 - Emancipation Day
  • September 15 - Eid-Ul-Adha
  • October 31 - Deepavali
  • December 25 - Christmas Day 
  • December 26 - Boxing Day 

Annual Leave

Paid holidays are due to employees every six or twelve months.   The Holidays with Pay Act's minimum holiday requirements are calculated as follows:

  • one day for each full month of service for individuals paid on a weekly, fortnightly, or monthly basis; 
  • one day for each twenty days worked for daily paid employees; and
  • One day for every 156 hours worked is the daily rate for hourly workers.

Employees' holiday entitlements are paid in place of paid time off and are prorated upon termination.

 

Maternity Leave

Typically, maternity benefits are given for thirteen (13) weeks. If the insured woman's issues from the pregnancy and birth continue to prevent her from working, this benefit may be extended for an extra thirteen (13) weeks. The weekly rate of maternity allowance is seventy percent (70%) of the average weekly insured earnings.

Paternity Leave

There is no provision for paternity leave in Guyana.

Sick Leave

Although employees are not entitled to sick leave, they are permitted to take both certified and uncertified sick days. The first three days of incapacity are not covered by Sickness Benefit; instead, benefits are paid for each day (Sunday excluded) starting on the fourth day of incapacity, for the duration of the incapacity for work, up to a maximum of twenty-six (26) weeks in any continuous period of incapacity for work. The Daily Rate of Sickness Benefit is 70% of the Insured Person's Average Weekly Insurable Earnings, divided by six.

Other Leave

Study Leave

Student employees are employees who work under the authority and direction of an employer and have permission from their employer to attend the course at an educational establishment to develop and improve their skills, particularly their technical and occupational skills.

Maintaining student employee status is conditional upon successful school results, in the terms set down in specific legislation.

Student employees have the right not to attend work during examination periods, without loss of remuneration, provided they shall give their employer advance notice of at least seven days.

Unpaid Leave

The employer may provide the employee unpaid leave for such period as the parties agree, provided that the employee has previously taken the annual holidays to which the employee is entitled in that calendar year.

Bereavement Leave

Employees are entitled to up to five days for the death of the employee’s spouse, father, mother, children, stepchildren, siblings, grandparents, stepfather, or stepmother.

Employees are entitled to up to two days for the death of the employee’s parents-in-law, uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, brothers-in-law, and sisters-in-law.

Marriage Leave

Employees are entitled to five days of marriage leave.

Termination

Overview

An employment contract for an unspecified period of time can be ended by mutual consent, on grounds of redundancy and by any party,

  1. by notice given or served upon the other party;
  2. for good or sufficient cause. 

Notice Period

If the contract of employment is being terminated for an unspecified period of time for any reason of redundancy or by notice by the employer  or the employee, 

2 weeks, where the employee has been employed for less than a year.

1 month, where the employee has been employed for one year or more.

Severance Pay

When an employee is laid off without cause or terminated without cause, severance or redundancy payments must be made.  The minimal benefit will be the same as:

  • One week's wages for the first five years of service, including the entitlement year.
  • Two weeks wages for each year after the fifth year and up to 10 years of service.

Three weeks wages for every year of service after ten years, up to a maximum of fifty-two weeks.

Visa

Overview

The Employment Visa on Arrival is issued to persons coming to Guyana to take up employment with any local or foreign company based in Guyana.

An employment Visa isvalid for three years and the cost is twenty-eight thousand, seven hundred Guyana dollars ($28,700.00) or one hundred and forty US Dollars (US $140.00)

These applications take four (4) weeks to process.

Approval to enter Guyana is based on the following:

  1. The name and address of the sponsor/employer must be provided to the Ministry of Home Affairs for processing before the applicant arrives in Guyana;
  2. Telephone number, fax and/or email address of sponsor/employer must be provided to Ministry of Home Affairs for processing before the applicant arrives in Guyana;
  3. Place of employment must be an established business and must be registered and be compliant with NIS and GRA rules/regulations;
  4. Name, address and gender of employee/person coming to work in Guyana must be presented to the Ministry of Home Affairs by the Employer prior to arrival;
  5. Approval to have a visa and Work Permit issued will be given to;
  • Employer
  • Immigration
  1. Visa on Arrival and Work Permit will be issued on arrival;
  2. Visas will be granted for a three-year period

Employee Background Checks

Legal and Background Checks

In Guyana, the process of verifying an employee's background includes a number of checks to guarantee an accurate picture of the candidate's past. Verifying educational credentials, evaluating criminal histories, and getting in touch with former employers or acquaintances are all part of the process to learn more about a candidate's character, work ethic, and professional manner. False identities, hiding previous occurrences, or fabricating information are a few possible problems that could come up throughout the background check procedure.

Last updated on March 5, 2024

If you have any queries or suggestions, reach out to us at irene.jones@neeyamo.com

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