Hire employees in Haiti
What a foreign company needs to know before employing people in Haiti: whether you need an entity, what an employee really costs once ONA, OFATMA and the 13th month are added, how payroll and withholding work, which leave is mandatory, and what a distributed remote operating model takes. Written for CHROs, CFOs, General Counsel and founders.
Quick answers
The questions leadership teams ask first. Detail follows below.
Do I need a Haitian entity to hire?
No. Foreign companies can engage talent in Haiti through three routes:
- Employer of Record. Dryft Global employs the person through compliant local infrastructure registered with the General Tax Directorate (Direction Générale des Impôts, DGI), the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (Ministère des Affaires Sociales et du Travail, MAST), the pension office ONA and the injury and health office OFATMA. Dryft runs payroll, withholding, contributions and the 13th month. You direct the work.
- Direct local entity. You incorporate a Société Anonyme (S.A.), a Société par Actions Simplifiée (SAS) or a branch (succursale). The guide puts this at 4 to 9 months under current administrative conditions, with significant capital, notary and ministerial approvals and commercial court registration.
- Independent contractor. Only for genuinely independent specialists. MAST and the labor courts decide status on the facts of the relationship, not the wording of the agreement.
When should I use an EOR instead of setting up an S.A.?
An EOR is the default for remote, IT and knowledge workforces. It makes commercial sense when you are:
- Hiring developers, designers, translators, accountants or bilingual support staff working from home.
- Avoiding a 4 to 9 month incorporation and USD 20,000 to 40,000 a year of entity maintenance and compliance overhead.
- Keeping the foreign parent clear of direct institutional, tax and labor exposure.
The guide recommends direct entity formation only for major infrastructure, heavy manufacturing or other capital-intensive local operations. For everything else it treats EOR as materially more efficient.
What does an employee actually cost beyond salary?
Plan for roughly 26.5% to 34.5% on top of gross base salary. Employer ONA pension contributions are 6.0%, OFATMA work injury and health cover 3.0% to 6.0%, the mandatory 13th month 8.33% and vacation accrual 4.17%. Budget another 5.0% to 10.0% for the power and connectivity stipend that makes home-based work reliable. Full breakdown below.
How difficult is termination in Haiti?
Procedural rather than prohibitive. Dismissal for serious misconduct (faute lourde) needs no notice or severance, but earned wages, accrued vacation and the proportional 13th month are still owed. Dismissal without cause or for redundancy requires written notice, from 1 to 2 weeks in the first year up to 3 months beyond 5 years of service, plus a termination indemnity (indemnité de licenciement) of about one month's wage per year of service. Contracts are read strictly in the employee's favour where terms are ambiguous, so the paperwork matters.
Can Dryft Global legally employ my team in Haiti?
Yes. Dryft Global acts as the legal employer: the written French or Creole contract, ONA and OFATMA enrolment, DGI withholding and the monthly Bordereau de Versement, multi-rail payroll delivery, the Prime de fin d'année and statutory leave. We also coordinate the power and connectivity setup remote staff need.
Hiring routes compared
Route choice in Haiti turns on operating conditions as much as on cost. The guide is direct about them: institutional, political and physical security challenges call for specialised operational strategies, grid electricity is unreliable, transport can be disrupted, and commercial banking in urban centres is intermittent. The practical consequence is a distributed, home-based model with dedicated solar or inverter power, satellite broadband and more than one payment rail.
| Factor | Direct entity (S.A. or SAS) | Dryft Global EOR | Independent contractor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed to onboard | 4 to 9 months | Weeks, once the agreement is signed | Fast, no registration |
| Corporate presence required | Yes, notary, ministry and commercial court | No, employed through Dryft's local infrastructure | No, services agreement |
| Running cost | USD 20,000 to 40,000 a year | Variable service fee | Invoice value only |
| Institutional exposure | Direct with DGI, MAST, ONA and OFATMA | Carried by Dryft as legal employer | High if the person is reclassified |
| Operating model | Physical premises and logistics | Distributed remote, with power and connectivity support | Worker provides their own setup |
| Best fit | Infrastructure, manufacturing, capital-intensive work | Remote engineering, support and back-office teams | Discrete, genuinely autonomous projects |
What an employee costs in Haiti
Statutory cost in Haiti is moderate: two social insurance contributions, a mandatory 13th month and vacation accrual. What makes the total look different from its neighbours is the operational line, the stipend that keeps a home-based employee powered and connected.
| Component | Employer share | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ONA (pensions) | 6.0% | Old-age pensions, disability and survivor benefits; employees pay 6.0% |
| OFATMA (work injury and sickness) | 3.0% to 6.0% | Risk-rated; the statutory band runs 2.0% to 6.0%. Covers accidents, sickness and maternity |
| Statutory social insurance subtotal | ~8.0% to 12.0% | Of gross earnings, before bonus and leave accrual |
| 13th month (Prime de fin d'année) | 8.33% | One twelfth of annual earnings, paid December 24 to 31 |
| Paid vacation accrual | 4.17% | 15 calendar days of statutory leave |
| Power and connectivity | 5.0% to 10.0% | Solar or battery storage, fuel, satellite broadband |
| Total employer on-cost | ~26.5% to 34.5% | Above base salary |
The guide models total cost as gross base salary multiplied by 1.26 to 1.35. For a mid-level full-stack developer on USD 2,000 a month, budget roughly USD 2,520 to USD 2,700 all-in. Ask us for a cost model with current OFATMA tiers applied.
Payroll and tax
Payroll runs monthly. ONA contributions, OFATMA contributions and DGI wage tax are each remitted by the 15th day of the following month, with the monthly Bordereau de Versement filed alongside the tax remittance. Because commercial banking in urban centres is subject to disruption, employers are expected to keep more than one disbursement channel open: direct transfer through BRH-cleared commercial banks such as Sogebank and Unibank, and authorised mobile money wallets such as MonCash.
Registration sequence
Register with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the DGI to obtain a fiscal identification number (NIF) and a patente, register with MAST, then enrol with ONA for pensions and OFATMA for work injury and health cover.
Income tax withholding
The DGI administers personal income tax (Impôt sur le Revenu) and the employer withholds it directly from monthly gross compensation. Income up to the statutory exempt threshold is untaxed, then progressive brackets run at 10%, 15% and 20% up to a top marginal rate of 30%.
Statutory minimum wage
Haiti uses a segmented minimum wage, set by decree and categorised by economic sector: Segment A for commercial banking and telecommunications, Segment B for construction and transport, Segment C for agriculture and craft, and a separate rate for export manufacturing subcontracting. Knowledge-sector pay sits well above every one of those floors, and professional salaries are frequently benchmarked in USD to insulate staff from gourde inflation, with payouts made in USD or converted at Bank of the Republic of Haiti (Banque de la République d'Haïti, BRH) rates.
Leave and mandatory benefits
- Paid annual leave. 15 consecutive calendar days under Article 123 of the Labor Code, accruing at 1.25 days per month of service and available after one full year of continuous employment. Vacation cannot be substituted for cash during active employment.
- Public holidays. Around 12 to 14 national days a year, including New Year's Day and Independence Day, Ancestors' Day, Carnival, Good Friday, Flag and Universities Day, Battle of Vertières Day and Christmas Day.
- 13th month (Prime de fin d'année). Mandatory under Article 154 of the Labor Code: at least one twelfth of total earnings during the calendar year, disbursed between December 24 and December 31. It is subject to tax and social security. Missing the deadline is one of the fastest routes to a MAST sanction.
- Maternity. 12 weeks of paid maternity leave, typically 6 weeks prenatal and 6 postnatal, with OFATMA providing statutory coverage and supplementary employer obligations as specified by law.
- Sick leave. Up to 15 days of paid sick leave a year, on an official medical certificate recognised by OFATMA or a licensed physician.
- Working time. 48 hours a week, structured as 8 hours a day over 6 days or 9.6 hours a day over 5. Daytime overtime is paid at 1.5 times the regular hourly wage, Sunday and public holiday work at 2.0 times, and night work between 18:00 and 06:00 attracts statutory night premiums. Employees get at least 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest, customarily Sunday.
- Operational benefits that are not optional in practice. A monthly stipend covering solar battery storage, generator fuel and satellite broadband, USD indexed pay to offset gourde inflation, and supplemental private health insurance for private clinic access.
Termination and notice periods
Probation is typically 3 months, and either party can end the contract during it without severance. After probation, dismissal for serious misconduct (faute lourde) covers theft, violence, fraud, serious insubordination and sustained unexcused absence, and carries no notice or severance, though earned wages, accrued vacation and the proportional 13th month are still payable. Dismissal without cause, including redundancy, requires written notice and a statutory termination indemnity (indemnité de licenciement) calculated on tenure, typically about one month's wage per year of service, subject to the Labor Code formulas and MAST schedules.
| Completed service | Statutory notice |
|---|---|
| Under 1 year | Progressive, typically 1 to 2 weeks |
| 1 to 2 years | 1 month |
| 2 to 5 years | 2 months |
| Over 5 years | Up to 3 months |
- Written documentation is the whole case. The most common employer error the guide identifies is terminating without adhering to statutory notice or without written documentation of cause.
- Ambiguity favours the employee. Haiti is a civil law jurisdiction rooted in the Napoleonic Code, and contracts are interpreted strictly in the employee's favour where terms are unclear. Draft precisely.
- Contracts must be written in French or Haitian Creole, stating the parties, job title, duties, salary, payment frequency, working hours and the work location or remote designation.
- The 13th month survives the exit. Whatever the grounds, the proportional Prime de fin d'année and accrued vacation are paid out.
Can I use independent contractors?
Only for genuinely independent work. MAST and the Haitian labor courts determine status on factual subordination, economic dependency, control over working hours and direct supervision, so a contractor who works your hours under your management is an employee whatever the agreement says. An unregistered contractor can claim retroactive employee status, and the exposure compounds: retroactive employer and employee ONA and OFATMA contributions with severe interest penalties, unpaid 13th-month bonuses for every past year of service, retroactive paid annual leave compensation, and a termination indemnity claim on top. Paying individuals through informal peer-to-peer channels without ONA and OFATMA withholding is the version of this that regulators find first. For anyone who works like an employee, an EOR is the compliant route.
The legal framework in brief
Haiti is a civil law jurisdiction rooted in the French Napoleonic Code. The instruments and authorities you will hear referenced most:
- Labor Code (Code du Travail de la République d'Haïti, as amended). Contracts, hours, overtime, annual leave (Article 123), the 13th month (Article 154), notice and severance.
- Social insurance legislation. The laws establishing the National Old-Age Insurance Office (Office National d'Assurance-Vieillesse, ONA) and the Workplace Accident, Sickness and Maternity Insurance Office (OFATMA).
- MAST. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor oversees labor standards and workplace disputes, and issues work authorisations.
- DGI. The General Tax Directorate administers personal and corporate taxation and receives the monthly payroll withholding filing.
- Immigration. Governed by the Ministry of the Interior and National Defense through the Directorate of Immigration and Emigration. A foreign national needs an approved residence permit (Permis de Séjour) and a work authorisation (Permis de Travail) issued by MAST before starting domestic employment. Build the permit timeline into any relocation plan rather than assuming a start date; processing is affected by the same administrative conditions that slow entity formation.
- Data protection and IP. There is no comprehensive standalone data statute, so protection is built contractually through data protection agreements and explicit intellectual property assignments aligned with international standards.
Where the talent is
Haiti has a resilient, multilingual professional workforce. Haitian Creole and French are official, French is the language of legal documentation and higher education, and English is spoken by university graduates, software developers and professionals in international trade. Depth exists in software engineering and web development, translation between Creole, French and English, graphic design, customer support and administrative services, on UTC-5 for nearshore teams. Monthly gross benchmarks run from about USD 700 to 1,300 for bilingual support up to USD 2,800 to 4,500 for senior software engineers.
| Region | Talent and industry concentration |
|---|---|
| Port-au-Prince | Capital; software engineering, web development, design, finance and accounting, translation, administrative services |
| Cap-Haïtien | Northern commercial centre; trade and logistics administration, customer support, back-office roles |
Haiti Implementation Kit
This page tells you the rules. The kit tells you what to do, in what order, and what goes wrong when you skip a step. Built from Dryft's own onboarding checklist for Haiti.
- Step-by-step checklist, route selection to first payroll
- Bilingual French and Creole contract template with 3-month probation terms
- DGI, MAST, ONA and OFATMA enrolment sequence
- Monthly remittance calendar for ONA, OFATMA and DGI filings
- Multi-rail payroll: bank transfer and mobile wallet
- Remote infrastructure spec: solar and battery, satellite broadband, stipend sizing
- December 24 to 31 Prime de fin d'année calendar
- Termination playbook: notice schedule, indemnity math and documentation
- Every official Haitian authority, with links
This guide is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Haitian sectoral wage decrees, OFATMA contribution tiers and administrative processing conditions change. Confirm current figures with a qualified adviser or with Dryft before acting. Last reviewed September 2026.
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