Hire Employees in Aruba

Two routes exist. Registering an Aruban entity gives you direct employment, followed by registration with the Chamber of Commerce, the tax office (Departamento di Impuesto) and SVb through the MiSVb portal.

An Employer of Record removes that setup. The EOR is the legal employer, runs payroll across both collection routes and withholds wage tax, while day-to-day direction stays with you.

One provision should weigh in the decision. Where an employer fails to pay premiums or fines, SVb can hold named individuals personally liable, and for an employer not established in Aruba that reaches the person who leads, represents or manages the work locally.

Aruba splits premium collection between two bodies, which is the defining administrative feature. AOV, AWW and AZV are national insurances whose levy and collection is assigned to Departamento di Impuesto, even though SVb administers AOV and AWW and the Uitvoeringsorgaan AZV administers health cover. Sickness and accident insurance are collected separately by SVb through the MiSVb portal, which generates a monthly invoice.

The employer remits both the employer and the employee portions of AOV, AWW and AZV to Departamento di Impuesto, deducting the employee share from wages.

Social premiums are unchanged for 2026. The only change notified was to the Reparatietoeslag table, so the published tariff structure carries forward.

Break-even rule of thumb: EOR fees begin to exceed the running cost of an Aruban entity somewhere between 15 and 25 employees. Model both, see EOR vs Entity for the framework.

AOV and AWW together are 15.5%, split 10.5% employer and 5% employee, capped at Afl. 85,000 of premium income.

Sickness insurance is 2.65% of gross wage and is employer-only. The Landsverordening Ziekteverzekering goes further than most: it is legally forbidden for the employee to pay the premium or for it to be deducted from their wage. Any arrangement passing it on is unlawful rather than merely unusual.

Accident insurance runs from 0.25% to 2.5% of gross wage, also employer-only, with the rate set by the Gevarenklasse, the hazard class assigned to the work. A tenfold spread means the class assignment materially changes cost.

AZV health insurance carries a normal rate of 10.5%. The split between employer and employee was not published in the sources consulted; confirm it with Departamento di Impuesto before running payroll.

Two ceilings operate. The national insurances cap at Afl. 85,000 of premium income; the employee insurances cap at Afl. 70,200 a year, equivalent to Afl. 5,850 monthly, Afl. 1,350 weekly, or Afl. 270 daily on a five-day week and Afl. 225 on a six-day week.

Gross annual salaries in Aruban florin. The effective employer rate steps down at Afl. 70,200 and again at Afl. 85,000.

Benchmarks below are gross annual salaries in Aruban florin. Two ceilings apply. Afl. 85,000 for the national insurances and Afl. 70,200 for the employee insurances.

Payroll is monthly. Wage tax is withheld at source, and social premiums are remitted through two separate routes.

Registration runs through MiSVb. Once an employer is registered, contributions are calculated on the salaries of the employees registered under that undertaking, and a fresh invoice is generated on the portal each month.

Unpaid premiums attract personal liability. For an Aruban employer that can reach the board of an N.V. or Stichting, and where there is more than one owner all of them can be held personally liable. For an employer not resident or established in Aruba it reaches the person who leads the business locally, the person who represents it, and the person who manages the work.

For 2026 the Belastingdienst notified only a change to the Reparatietoeslag table; social premiums are unchanged from 2025.

Wage tax is withheld at source under a progressive scale. Confirm the current band thresholds and the Reparatietoeslag table with Departamento di Impuesto before configuring payroll.

Employment is governed by Aruban law with Dutch-derived protections, and the standard week is 40 hours.

Sick pay is 80% of the daily wage from the fourth day of absence. SVb pays nothing for the first three days, and the right to sick pay for the same cause lapses after two years running from the first notification.

There is no entitlement where the illness is due to the employee’s intent or gross negligence.

Maternity leave is up to twelve weeks, which SVb reimburses. It may be split into four to six weeks before the birth with the remainder afterwards.

Written contracts are standard and should record pay, hours, leave, notice and termination terms.

Register the employer and employee through MiSVb and with Departamento di Impuesto before the first payroll run.

Confirm the Gevarenklasse for accident insurance, since it sets a rate anywhere between 0.25% and 2.5%.

The standard week is 40 hours. Accident insurance is rated by hazard class rather than by salary, so the nature of the work affects cost directly.

Because two ceilings apply at different levels, overtime and bonuses can pass one threshold while remaining below the other, changing the marginal employer cost.

The sickness premium of 2.65% cannot be recovered from the employee in any form.

Aruba observes Kingdom holidays alongside local observances including Betico Day in January and Flag Day in March.

Aruba observes Kingdom holidays alongside local observances including Betico Day in January and Flag Day in March. Dates and any substitution rules are set out below; entitlement is separate from annual leave.

The national insurances provide old-age pension, survivor benefits and health cover; the employee insurances provide sickness and accident benefits.

AZV relief for pensioners is being phased in by cohort. Those who reached pensionable age in 2026 pay 0% on the first Afl. 30,000 of premium income and 10.5% above it. The 2024 and 2025 cohorts pay 5% on that first band, and cohorts from 2018 to 2023 pay 6.5%.

Pensionable age has itself been rising by cohort. 62 in 2018, 62.5 in 2019, 64 in 2022, 64.5 in 2023 and 65 from 2024.

Accident benefit, known as ongevallengeld, runs from the day after the workplace accident is reported to SVb.

Termination follows Aruban employment law with Dutch-derived dismissal protection.

Final pay including accrued leave is due on separation and must be reflected in both the Impuesto and SVb filings for the period.

Outstanding premiums do not disappear on exit. Personal liability for unpaid contributions can follow the individuals who led, represented or managed the business in Aruba.

Because two ceilings apply, a final settlement may attract contributions under the employee insurances but not the national insurances, or the reverse, depending on cumulative earnings.

Aruba is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with its own tax, social insurance and immigration rules distinct from the European Netherlands.

Work authorisation is required for foreign nationals and is employer-sponsored.

Curaçao and Sint Maarten operate separate systems with different schemes, ceilings and collectors. Aruba should never be modelled from Curaçao figures or the reverse.

Deducting the sickness premium from wages is unlawful. The 2.65% is employer-only and the statute expressly forbids the employee paying it or having it deducted.

Applying a single ceiling misstates contributions. National insurances cap at Afl. 85,000 of premium income; employee insurances cap at Afl. 70,200 a year.

Personal liability for unpaid premiums reaches foreign employers. Where the employer is not established in Aruba, the person leading, representing or managing the work locally can be held personally liable.

Note also that accident insurance varies tenfold by hazard class; that the AZV employer and employee split was not published and needs confirming; and that premium collection runs through two different bodies.

Work backwards from the start date. An EOR hire takes two to four weeks; entity formation runs two to four months across the Chamber of Commerce, Impuesto and MiSVb.

Configure two ceilings and two collectors, and confirm both the Gevarenklasse and the AZV split before the first run.

Never deduct the sickness premium from wages, and make sure whoever manages the business locally understands the personal liability exposure for unpaid contributions.