Hire Employees in Haiti

Two routes exist in law. Registering a Haitian entity gives you direct employment, and requires registration with the Direction Générale des Impôts for withholding and enrolment of workers with ONA and OFATMA.

An Employer of Record removes that setup. The EOR is the legal employer in Haiti, runs payroll on the weekly or fortnightly cycle the Labour Code requires, remits ONA and OFATMA contributions and withholds IRI, while day-to-day direction stays with you.

The practical question comes first. Haiti’s operating environment constrains what is workable more than its employment law does, and that assessment should precede any structuring decision — see practical steps.

Assess feasibility before structure. Several governments formally advise against travel to Haiti, the United States Federal Aviation Administration has extended a ban on commercial flights to Port-au-Prince, and the political situation has been unsettled since the Transitional Presidential Council stepped down in February 2026. These are facts about the operating environment rather than the legal framework, but they bear directly on whether an arrangement can be administered.

Informality is the dominant feature of the labour market. A large share of Haitian workers operate outside the formal system entirely. Where formal employment is possible, the statutory burden itself is moderate.

There is no useful break-even figure here. The comparison that normally drives the EOR decision assumes both routes are administratively viable, which is the question to test first. Model both only once feasibility is settled — see EOR vs Entity for the general framework.

Employer contributions broadly match what the employee pays. Haitian legal commentary is explicit that employers pay contributions equivalent in amount and rate to those of employees. On that basis the employer side is ONA pension at 6% and OFATMA at 3%, giving roughly 9%.

The employee side is wider. Total employee deductions come to 12%: ONA 6%, OFATMA 3%, and three further levies of 1% each — the FDU, the CAS and the CFGDCT. The CFGDCT applies from HTG 5,000 of monthly salary, so in practice to every realistic salary. None of these reduce the taxable base for income tax.

Published employer rates conflict. One current source puts the employer contribution at around 12% and the employee side at 6.5% to 7.5%, which is a different split from the matching structure the legal commentary describes. Confirm the current position with ONA and OFATMA before running payroll.

No contribution ceiling was found in accessible texts. A recent French-language payroll analysis states plainly that no cap on ONA or OFATMA contributions could be located and models them without one. That is an honest statement of uncertainty rather than a confirmed absence, and it should be verified directly if you are hiring at senior salary levels.

The compulsory year-end bonus sits on top — see payroll below.

Gross monthly salaries in gourdes. Add roughly 9% for employer contributions plus the compulsory year-end bonus of at least one month.

Benchmarks below are gross monthly salaries in gourdes. Add roughly 9% for employer ONA and OFATMA contributions, plus the compulsory year-end bonus of at least one month.

Salaries must be paid weekly or fortnightly under article 240 of the Labour Code, in cash or by bank transfer. A delay beyond seven days triggers interest at 1% a month — an unusually specific and enforceable provision.

IRI is withheld at source on a five-band annual scale, from nil up to HTG 60,000 to 30% above HTG 1,000,000, under article 149 of the décret of 29 September 2005. It is applied to 90% of gross, reflecting a special 10% abatement under article 92. Social contributions do not reduce that base. Note that one source publishes a three-band 5%, 10% and 15% scale, which does not match the decree.

The compulsory year-end bonus is paid between 24 and 31 December to every worker regardless of length of service, at a minimum of one twelfth of annual salary or one month of wages.

Two fiscal changes land on 1 October 2026. The Code fiscal of 2023, which keeps the same income tax scale, takes effect on that date. Separately, article 3 of the décret of 2 June 2026 establishing the revised budget raises the withholding on bonuses, gratuities, allowances, indemnities and overtime from 10% to 15%, and expressly brings allowances and indemnities within its scope. Its application was deferred to 1 October 2026. Reconfirm the whole regime at that point.

The five annual bands below apply to 90% of gross salary. The Code fiscal of 2023 preserves the same scale and takes effect on 1 October 2026.

The Code du Travail is the governing statute, supported by collective agreements and ministerial decrees, and administered by the Ministère des Affaires Sociales et du Travail.

New sector minimum wages took effect on 6 May 2026. The arrêté, published in Le Moniteur special issue 21, sets rates from 500 to 1,300 gourdes depending on sector, with a reference legal minimum of 1,000 gourdes for eight normal hours of work.

The MAST issued a clarification on 27 May 2026 confirming that the new arrêté cannot be used as a pretext to reduce remuneration already above the legal threshold. Employers paying above the minimum may not level down to it.

Contracts may be fixed-term, of one to three years, or indefinite. Dismissal must rest on a real cause such as professional incompetence or serious misconduct; an unjustified dismissal can bring compensation or court-ordered reinstatement.

Contracts may be fixed-term, running from one to three years, or indefinite.

Every employer must enrol its workers with both ONA and OFATMA. Contributions are shared between employer and employee at rates fixed by decree, and registration with both institutions is a precondition of compliant payroll.

Freedom of association is protected, and retaliation against union membership through dismissal or discrimination is unlawful. The Constitution and the Code prohibit discrimination on grounds of sex, religion, social origin or political opinion.

The standard working week is 48 hours. Overtime is paid at premium rates, and from 1 October 2026 overtime falls within the 15% withholding on complementary remuneration.

Rest days cannot be waived. Agreements under which an employee gives up paid public holidays or rest days are not valid.

Safety breaches carry fines and, in defined cases, up to three months of imprisonment.

Haiti observes 12 public holidays in 2026. Employees receive paid time off, and any agreement to surrender those days is invalid.

Haiti observes 12 paid public holidays in 2026. Agreements under which an employee gives up a rest day are not valid. Dates that fall at a weekend and any substitution rules are set out below; entitlement is separate from annual leave.

Maternity leave is twelve weeks and the funding is split. The employer pays six weeks and OFATMA the other six, so it is a genuine direct employer cost rather than a wholly fund-borne benefit. Maternity protection also applies on adoption.

OFATMA covers workplace accident, sickness and maternity; ONA provides retirement and survivor benefits for employees of commercial, industrial and agricultural establishments who reach the required age and years of service, or who suffer physical or mental incapacity.

Private medical insurance and clinic access are common supplementary benefits, alongside meal or transport allowances.

Dismissal must rest on a real cause. Professional incompetence and serious misconduct are recognised grounds; absence of justification can lead to compensation or reinstatement ordered by the courts.

Notice and severance follow the Code du Travail and any applicable collective agreement, and gratuity accruals should be tracked separately from current net pay.

The proportional year-end bonus forms part of the final settlement.

Late payment of any sum due carries the 1% monthly interest that applies to salary delays beyond seven days.

Foreign nationals need work authorisation through the Ministère des Affaires Sociales et du Travail.

Travel and access are materially constrained. The French foreign ministry formally advises against all travel to Haiti in its April 2026 notice, and the United States Federal Aviation Administration extended its ban on commercial flights to Port-au-Prince to September 2026. Any assignment planning should start from that position rather than from immigration procedure.

Foreign employees working in Haiti are enrolled with ONA and OFATMA on the same basis as nationals.

The fiscal regime changes on 1 October 2026. Both the 2023 Code fiscal and the increase in withholding on bonuses and allowances from 10% to 15% take effect then. A payroll configured earlier in the year will need reconfiguring, and the widened scope now expressly captures allowances and indemnities.

Published contribution rates conflict. One source gives employer around 12% and employee 6.5% to 7.5%; Haitian legal commentary describes employer contributions as equivalent to employee ones, implying roughly 9%. Confirm with ONA and OFATMA rather than adopting either figure.

No contribution ceiling could be located. Contributions are modelled uncapped, but that reflects the absence of an accessible text rather than a confirmed rule. Verify before hiring at senior salary levels.

Note also that ONA’s own legal history records that many Haitian social security texts never came into application, that salary delays beyond seven days carry 1% monthly interest, and that an employee concluding contracts locally can create a taxable presence for a foreign entity.

Begin with feasibility, not structure. Several governments formally advise against travel to Haiti, commercial flights to Port-au-Prince have been restricted into September 2026, and the political situation has been unsettled since February 2026. Establish whether your organisation can administer an employment relationship there at all before considering how.

If it can, register with the DGI for withholding and enrol workers with both ONA and OFATMA before the first payroll. Set the pay cycle to weekly or fortnightly as article 240 requires.

Diarise 1 October 2026. The Code fiscal takes effect and bonus withholding rises to 15% on that date, so any configuration set earlier in the year will need revisiting.