Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is a country in Southeast Asia that borders India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos, and China. The workforce in Myanmar is approximately 22.7 million people (2024), and the GDP is 66.76 billion US dollars (2023).

With an economy strained by instability and conflict over the years, Myanmar has experienced high levels of poverty and a reliance on agriculture. For companies in the agricultural sector looking for workers with a diverse skillset, Myanmar can be a good choice for expansion, particularly if companies are seeking a cost-effective workforce.

This guide will explain what you need to consider when hiring in Myanmar, from the Myanmar labor laws to the employee benefits that workers are entitled to. We’ll also detail supplementary benefits to consider and how Remote People can help make hiring in Myanmar an easier process.

Myanmar Labor Law

Various acts and laws together summarize the labor laws in Myanmar. These include:

  • The Social Security Law
  • The Minimum Wages Act
  • The Payment of Wages Act
  • The Leave and Holidays Act
  • The Factory Act

These acts have been published and revised over the years to provide protections to workers in the workplace by ensuring employers are aware of their obligations to their workers. When employing workers abroad, it’s always important to speak to legal experts to ensure all local labor laws are adhered to.

Mandatory Employee Benefits in Myanmar

Read the sections below to understand some of the key mandatory employee benefits that employers must provide to their workers.

Social Security Contributions

Myanmar has a Social Security System which administers Myanmar’s social programs, from access to disability/survivor’s benefits to the right to an old-age pension. Employers with 5 workers or more must contribute to the Social Security System, both with their own contributions and by allocating employee contributions accordingly.

The rate for employees is 2% of their monthly salary, and the rate for employers is 3% of their monthly payroll. The maximum monthly contribution from employees is MMK 6,000, and MMK 9,000 from employers.

Annual Paid Leave

Employees in Myanmar are entitled to take a total of 10 days of annual leave per year. This is also known as earned leave and is accrued once an employee has completed 12 months of continuous service with an employer.

Earned leave can be carried over the next year up to a maximum of 2 years. If an employee resigns, workers will receive a payment in their last paycheck for the outstanding leave.

Employees may also take 6 days of ‘casual leave’, which is generally understood as unexpected leave and is often taken in the event of a funeral of a family member, for example. Casual leave cannot be carried over to the next year, and must not be taken in blocks longer than 3 days consecutively.

Working Hours

Normal working hours in Myanmar vary depending on the industry an employee works in. For workers in factories, the maximum hours an employee can work is 8 hours per day or 44 hours per week. They shouldn’t work longer than 5 hours without a 30-minute break.

Workers in shops or establishments can work for a maximum of 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week, and must not work longer than 4 hours without a rest of 30 minutes.

Overtime Pay

If a worker is requested to work hours in addition to their contracted amount, these count as overtime hours. Factory workers are limited to 20 hours of non-continuous overtime per week, while workers in shops/establishments cannot work more than 12 hours of overtime per week. Overtime is paid at double the rate of an employee’s normal wage.

Public Holiday Leave

Public holidays are considered paid days off in Myanmar. Employees who are required to work on a public holiday must be paid at twice their normal rate, alongside a ‘cost-of-living’ allowance.

The public holidays in 2025 in Myanmar are as follows:

  • January 1, 2025: New Year Holiday
  • January 4, 2025: Independence Day
  • January 29, 2025: Chinese New Year
  • February 12, 2025: Union Day
  • March 2, 2025: Peasants’ Day
  • March 13, 2025: Full Moon Day of Tabaung
  • March 27, 2025: Armed Forces’ Day
  • April 13–22, 2025: Maha Thingyan (Water Festival)
  • May 1, 2025: Labor Day / May Day
  • May 11, 2025: Full Moon Day of Kasong
  • June 7, 2025: Eid al-Adha
  • July 9, 2025: Full Moon Day of Waso (Beginning of Buddhist Lent)
  • July 19, 2025: Martyrs’ Day
  • October 5–8, 2025: Full Moon Day of Thadingyut Holiday (End of Buddhist Lent)
  • November 4, 2025: Full Moon Day of Tazaungmone
  • November 14, 2025: National Day
  • December 19, 2025: Kayin New Year Day
  • December 25, 2025: Christmas Day

Sick Leave

Employees in Myanmar are entitled to 30 days of paid sick leave per year after they’ve completed 6 months of continuous service with their employer. Employees who take sick days before they’ve completed 6 months of service are usually unpaid for absence days.

A medical certificate must be provided by the employee to be eligible for sick leave. Unused sick leave cannot be carried over to the following year.

Maternity Leave

Female workers in Myanmar may take 14 weeks of maternity leave if they have a baby. This consists of 6 weeks of leave before birth and 8 weeks of leave after birth. An additional 4 weeks of maternity leave may be taken if complications arise or in the event of multiple births.

Maternity leave is fully paid by the Social Security System provided that the employee has made enough regular contributions.

Paternity Leave

Fathers in Myanmar are permitted to take 15 days of paid paternity leave if their wife has a baby. This is paid by the Social Security System, as with maternity leave, provided that the insured has contributed enough in Social Security payments.

Pensions

The pension system in Myanmar is made up of two systems. One is a non-contributory government scheme to which public servants, political personnel, and military personnel are eligible. The other is a contributory pension scheme managed by the Social Security Board, and is designed for insured workers, including some private sector workers.

Severance Pay

Employees may be eligible for severance pay if they have been dismissed due to instability reasons in a business. Severance pay is usually payable as follows:

Length of ServiceSeverance Pay
6 months – 1 year½ month’s salary
1 – 2 years1 month’s salary
2 – 3 years1.5 months’ salary
3 – 4 years3 months’ salary
4 – 6 years4 months’ salary
6 – 8 years5 months’ salary
8 – 10 years6 months’ salary
10 – 20 years8 months’ salary
20 – 25 years10 months’ salary
25 years or more13 months’ salary

Supplementary Employee Benefits in Myanmar

It’s recommended that you offer your employees access to supplementary benefits in addition to the mandatory benefits they’re entitled to by law. This can help improve staff retention rates and increase job applications.

Some examples of supplementary benefits you could offer your employees include:

  • Performance bonuses
  • Travel, housing, or food expenses
  • Enhanced pension schemes
  • Advanced training opportunities
  • Extra annual/parental leave
  • Flexible working arrangements
  • Company car

Optimize Employee Benefits with Remote People

Remote People makes hiring in Myanmar easier by acting as your Employer of Record (EOR). As your legal employer, we handle employee onboarding, ensure full compliance with Myanmar’s labor laws, manage payroll and tax obligations, and administer both statutory and optional benefits—so you can focus on growing your business without needing to set up a local entity.

Our EOR services ensure that your workforce is hired legally and receives all required benefits, from social security contributions to leave entitlements, with the option to include additional perks based on your company’s needs.

An EOR will ensure your workers are legally hired and receive all mandatory benefits that they are entitled to, alongside any supplementary benefits you choose to offer as an employer.

We can also help you with other tasks in your company with our guide to doing business in Myanmar. This guide provides an in-depth overview of the Myanmar economy, information on relevant taxes, how business regulation works, and the benefits of doing business in this country.

Contact Remote People today if you’re keen to expand your business into Myanmar, but you’re not sure where to start.