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Hiring in Tonga

Hiring employees compliantly in Tonga means doing it yourself or using an Employer of Record like Global Expansion. You should be careful using independent contractor agreements in Tonga so that you don’t run afoul of employment laws. To hire an employee compliantly and offer them mandatory benefits and compliant agreements, you can:

(a) Establish your own new legal entity, banking, accounting and payroll service in Tonga; or

(b) use an Employer of Record like Global Expansion who can handle all of the details for you.

Need assistance hiring in Tonga? Contact us about our International EOR Service

Labor Laws in Tonga

Employee Probation Period

  • All new employees shall be on probation for the first six (6) months of their employment.

Annual Leave in Tonga

  • The minimum prescribed entitlement is 12 working days off after each year of service (except casual and piece-rate workers) or a pro-rated portion for part-time workers.
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Holidays in Tonga

New Year’s Day
Good Friday
Easter Monday
Anzac Day
Emancipation Day
King Tupou VI's Birthday
Birthday of Crown Prince Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala
Constitution Day
King Tupou I Day
Christmas Day
Boxing Day

 

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Maternity Leave Tonga

  • A female employee who expects to give birth to a child is entitled to maternity leave, from her employment for a period of 30 consecutive working days

Paternity Leave Tonga

  • No paternity leave.

Sick Leave in Tonga

  • The minimum entitlement is 10 working days of paid sick leave for every 12 months of continuous service, capped at 10 days (sick leave does not continue to accrue beyond 10 days - unless you want it to).

Working Hours in Tonga

  • Regular hours of work each day shall be fixed at no more than eight hours.
  • Regular hours of work shall not take place on more than six days in a week.

Overtime in Tonga

  • With the agreement of the employee, the overtime payment may be: -
    • built into the salary package of that employee;
    • calculated using the overtime rate of 1.25 x number of expected overtime hours;
    • contained in the person’s employment agreement,
  • An employee’s total hours of work per week including ordinary hours and overtime must not exceed 48 hours except in special circumstances.

Termination of Employment in Tonga

  • Employees must give advance written notice to the CEO of when they plan to leave. 
  • The duration of notice period ranges from 1 to 2 weeks depending on years of serice
  • Employers should provide employees with severance pay upon dismissal

Notice Period in Tonga

  • One week’s notice in writing if the employee has been employed for less than two years
  • Two weeks’ notice in writing if the employee has been employed for more than two years.

Severance in Tonga

  • If an employer terminates an employee’s employment by reason of redundancy in accordance with this Part of the Act, the employer must pay to the employee no less than one week’s wages for each complete year of service

Tonga Salary and Wages

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13th / 14th Month Salary in Tonga

  • No
  • There is no statutory requirement to pay the 13th or the 14th month salary.
  • There are other benefits including parental and insurance benefits, but there is no evidence that there monetary benefits are customary.
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Income Tax in Tonga

  • If you are an employee, your income is employment income therefore liable to tax.
  • An employer is obliged under the law to withhold tax (PAYE) if any, by applying the tax rates in the table below, and remit it to the Ministry accompanied by the appropriate form.

Income Tax

Income

Rate

$0 – $12,000

0%

$12,001 – $30,000

10%

$30,001 - $50,000

15%

$50,001 - $70,000

20%

$70,001 and above

25%

Social Security in Tonga

Employee contribution
  • A registered employee shall contribute to the Fund 5% of his annual salary applicable at the review date.
  • A registered employee’s contribution made in accordance with sub-regulation (2) may be:
    • deducted from the registered employee’s salary and remitted by the registered employer to the Fund; or
    • paid direct to the Fund by the registered employee.
    Employer contribution
    • A registered employer shall contribute to the Fund for each registered employee 5% of the registered employee’s annual salary, applicable at the review date, according to the rates specified in the Second Schedule of the Act.

Social Security

 

Contribution

Employer

Employee
Social Security

5%

5%
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Immigration Tonga

  • Visitors to Tonga must obtain a visa unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries or countries eligible for visa on arrival. 
  • Visa applications must be sent to the Principal Immigration Officer in Nuku'alofa. 
  • All visitors must hold a passport valid for 6 months.
  • Some of the main visitor visas are business visa and tourist visa
  • An Employment Visa is required for a person or group who wants to work in Tonga, either in the Public Service or Private Sector for any length of time.
Need assistance hiring in Tonga? Contact us about our International EOR Service

Type of Visa/Permit

Documentation

Validity

Eligibility

Tourist Visa
  • Valid passport
  • Passport size pictures
  • Completed application form
  • Travel itinerary

30 days

Foreigners seeking to visit Tonga for tourism purposes must obtain a tourist visa

Business Visa
  • Valid passport
  • Passport size pictures
  • Completed application form
  • Travel itinerary

30 days

Foreigners seeking to visit Tonga for business purposes must obtain a business visa

Employment Visa
  • 2 recent passport photos for all applicants.
  • Valid passport within 6 months of the date of travel.
  • A medical report issued within the past 6 months by a licensed doctor.
  • A national Police Clearance issued within the past 3 months from the country/state of residence.
  • 2 character references with contact details.

2 years

Foreigners seeking employment in Tonga must obtain an employment visa
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Value Added Tax (VAT) in Tonga

  • The standard rate of sales tax in Tonga is 15%

VAT

Standard Rate

Group 1083

15%
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Mandatory Benefits in Tonga

  • These are mandatory benefits as postulated by law
  • These include probationary period, annual leave, public holidays, sick leave, maternity leave, paternity overtime pay, notice period, and severance pay
  • Statutory benefits also include social security benefits
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Mandatory Benefits overview

  • Probationary period

  • Annual Leave

  • Public Holidays

  • Maternity Leave

  • Paternity Leave

  • Sick Leave

  • Overtime Pay

  • Notice Period

  • Severance Pay

  • Social Security Benefits

Payments And Invoicing

  • A taxpayer shall lodge an income tax return for each fiscal year within 4 months after the end of the year.
  • If a taxpayer lodges an income tax return under section 68 for a fiscal year, the Minister shall be treated as having made an assessment of the taxpayer’s chargeable income and income tax payable thereon, or business loss for the year equal to those respective amounts as specified in the return. 
  • An income tax return lodged under section 68 shall be treated for all purposes of the Act and the Revenue Services Administration Act80 as a notice of the assessment served on the taxpayer by the Minister on the day the return was lodged by the taxpayer.
  • Subject to this Act, the income tax payable by a taxpayer for a fiscal year shall be due by the due date for lodging the taxpayer’s income tax return for the year

Payroll Accrual in Tonga

Payroll Accruals Additional Information

 

 

Employment Accruals
Annual Leave The minimum prescribed entitlement is 20 working days off after each year of service (except casual and piece-rate workers) or a pro-rated portion for part-time workers  This equals 5.47% (20/365 days) of annual income
Maternity Leave In 2010, the Public Service Policy granted female public servants in Tonga up to three months of maternity leave. This equals 25% (3/12 months) of annual income
Paternity Leave Fathers are granted five working days for paternity leave. This equals 1.36% (5/365 days) of annual income
Sick Leave The minimum entitlement is 10 working days of paid sick leave for every 12 months of continuous service, capped at 10 days (sick leave does not continue to accrue beyond 10 days - unless you want it to).  This equals 2.7% (10/365 days) of annual income
Overtime Overtime is paid at a premium of 1.5 or 2 times the normal rate Subjective
Social Security Employers should provide employees with severance pay upon dismissal Subjective
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Accrued Benefits in Tonga

Christmas Bonus % 0%
Christmas Bonus Over Vacations % 0%
Severance per Year%

No statutory severance pay

  
Vacations %

The minimum prescribed entitlement is 20 working days off after each year of service (5.49% of annual salary)

 5.49%
Of annual
salary
Notice %

No statutory notice pay

  
Christmas Bonus Over Notifications % 0%
Vacations Plus % 0%

Total percentage of Salary (yearly)

The total employment accruals as a percentage of salary per anum are equal to 5.49%

5.49%

Why use Global Expansion to hire in Tonga

Establishing a branch office or subsidiary in Tonga can be time-consuming, expensive and complex. With such a robust labor market in place, one must pay great attention to detail when structuring employment because Tonga labor laws are complex.

The company also has a responsibility to comply with specific employment practices dictated by Tonga law to maintain its good standing as an equal opportunity employer.

Global Expansion makes it easy for you to expand into Tonga. We'll help you hire your candidate of choice, handle HR matters and payroll, and ensure that you comply with local laws without the burden of setting up a foreign branch office or subsidiary. In addition, you'll have complete control and direction over your employees.

We enable you to stay in control of everything. Our Tonga Global Professional Employer Organization (PEO) and Employer of Record (EOR) solution provides you with peace of mind to focus on running your company and the security to enter new markets.

 

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