Hire Employees in Brunei

Two routes exist. Registering a Bruneian entity gives you direct employment and the ability to hold a labour licence, followed by opening an employer account with the Employees’ Trust Fund Board.

An Employer of Record removes that setup. The EOR is the legal employer, runs payroll, remits SPK contributions and files the annual employment census, while day-to-day direction stays with you.

Nationality drives the cost here more than anything else. A Bruneian national or permanent resident needs no work permit but attracts 8.5% employer contributions. A foreign hire needs a labour licence and employment pass but attracts no statutory retirement contribution at all.

Brunei levies no personal income tax. There is no withholding on salaries, no payroll tax in the conventional sense, and no employee tax return. Payroll here is a matter of contributions and records rather than deductions.

The retirement system changed in July 2023 and much published guidance has not caught up. SPK — the national retirement scheme — replaced the Tabung Amanah Pekerja and Supplemental Contributory Pension schemes. The combined rate is unchanged at 8.5% from each side, but the BND 98 monthly contribution cap was removed, and so was the BND 17.50 minimum.

That matters at the top of the scale. Under the old cap an employer paid at most BND 98 a month however senior the employee; now the 8.5% runs all the way up. Guides still publishing TAP at 5% and SCP at 3.5% with a BND 98 ceiling will understate cost on well-paid staff substantially.

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

SPK is 8.5% from the employer and 8.5% from the employee, calculated on salary with no minimum and no maximum. The employee share is deducted by the employer and remitted on their behalf; employer contributions are collected into a Retirement Account.

Coverage is limited to Bruneian citizens and permanent residents. Foreign employees fall outside the scheme entirely, so a expatriate hire carries no statutory retirement cost — though labour licensing fees apply instead.

The pre-2023 structure is still widely published and it is now wrong in two respects. Under TAP and SCP the employer paid 5% and 3.5% respectively, the SCP contribution had a BND 17.50 floor with a government top-up where 3.5% fell short, and there was a BND 98 maximum. The rate total survives at 8.5%; the floor and the ceiling do not.

Employees aged 55 and over who previously contributed only to SCP at 3.5%, and government pension recipients who previously contributed only to TAP at 5%, were all moved to the single 8.5% SPK rate.

Late or incorrect contribution triggers financial penalties and leaves a retirement entitlement shortfall that becomes an employer liability.

Gross monthly salaries in Brunei dollars. Contributions apply only to citizens and permanent residents, and are uncapped since July 2023.

Benchmarks below are gross monthly salaries in Brunei dollars. Employer contributions apply only to citizens and permanent residents, and since July 2023 they are uncapped.

There is no personal income tax on employment income, so no withholding applies and employers deduct no tax from salaries.

Payroll obligations are therefore contribution and record based. Employers must maintain accurate employee records, salary information, attendance, overtime, leave balances and statutory contribution records, and issue itemised payslips.

Only approved deductions are permitted. The Employment Order allows absence-based deductions and authorised loan repayments; anything else constitutes wage theft under the statute.

One annual filing catches new employers out. The employment census must be submitted to the Department of Labour by 30 November each year under the Employment Information Act 1974.

Brunei does not levy personal income tax. The row below records the position rather than a scale.

The Employment Order 2009 is the governing statute. There is no statutory minimum wage, so pay is set by contract and market practice.

The working week is 44 hours. Work beyond eight hours a day is overtime, compensated at at least 50% above the normal hourly rate, with higher rates on rest days and public holidays. Overtime is limited to 12 hours a week.

Getting overtime wrong is a criminal matter — a fine of up to BND 3,000, imprisonment of up to one year, or both. Reliable timekeeping from day one is not optional.

Contracts may be fixed-term or indefinite and should record job title, duties, salary, hours, leave, probation and notice.

Written contracts under the Employment Order 2009 are the basis of the relationship.

Establish nationality first. A citizen or permanent resident needs no permit but must be registered for SPK. A foreign national needs a labour licence and employment pass but attracts no SPK contribution.

Register the employee with the Employees’ Trust Fund Board before the first payroll run, and diarise the annual census for 30 November.

The standard working week is 44 hours, with eight hours a day the threshold for overtime.

Overtime attracts at least 1.5 times the normal hourly rate and is capped at 12 hours a week. Rest day and public holiday work attracts higher rates under the Order.

Ramadan working hours are commonly adjusted, and employers hiring into Brunei should plan around them.

Brunei observes national, Islamic and Chinese public holidays. Islamic dates follow the lunar calendar and are confirmed by official moon sighting.

Brunei observes national, Islamic and Chinese public holidays. Islamic dates follow the lunar calendar and are confirmed by official moon sighting, so they can shift by a day or two. Dates and any substitution rules are set out below.

SPK provides retirement savings through a member account funded by the employee share, with employer contributions collected into a Retirement Account.

Full withdrawal from the SPK member account is available at 60. The scheme also carries survivorship benefit, which under the old SCP structure was funded from part of the 3.5% contribution.

Self-employed people may contribute voluntarily, and under the previous SCP rules the Government matched a voluntary BND 17.50 contribution.

Statutory leave under the Employment Order 2009 covers annual leave, sick leave and maternity leave, with many employers offering more generous terms to compete for a small local talent pool.

Termination follows the Employment Order 2009, with notice scaling by length of service.

Final pay including accrued leave is due on separation and must be reflected in the SPK remittance for the period.

Unpaid or under-remitted contributions surface at exit, because the shortfall in the employee’s retirement entitlement becomes an employer liability rather than simply a late payment.

For a foreign employee, termination has labour licence consequences that should be handled alongside the employment steps.

Bruneian nationals and permanent residents need no work permit. Verification is a matter of identity card, qualifications and references.

Foreign workers require a labour licence and an employment pass, both employer-sponsored, and the licence is tied to the employer holding it.

Because SPK covers only citizens and permanent residents, the cost profile of a foreign hire is different in kind rather than degree — no retirement contribution, but licensing fees and a permit process instead.

Using the pre-July 2023 TAP and SCP structure is the dominant error. The BND 98 monthly cap and the BND 17.50 floor were both removed when SPK replaced the two schemes. Guides still showing 5% plus 3.5% with a BND 98 ceiling understate employer cost on senior staff, where the uncapped 8.5% now runs.

Applying contributions to foreign employees overstates cost. SPK covers citizens and permanent residents only.

Overtime errors are criminal, not administrative — up to BND 3,000, up to a year’s imprisonment, or both, with overtime capped at 12 hours a week.

Note also that only approved deductions are permitted and anything else is wage theft under the statute; and that the annual employment census is due to the Department of Labour by 30 November.

Work backwards from the start date. For a citizen or permanent resident an EOR hire takes two to four weeks; a foreign hire adds labour licence and employment pass processing.

Confirm nationality before quoting, since it determines whether 8.5% applies at all.

Load the uncapped SPK rate rather than the old capped TAP and SCP figures, set overtime tracking from day one given the criminal exposure, and diarise 30 November for the employment census.