Remote’s guide to employing in

Bolivia
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Make employment in Bolivia easy. Let us handle payroll, benefits, taxes, compliance, and even stock options for your team in Bolivia, all in one easy-to-use platform.

  • Capital City

    La Paz

  • Currency

    Bolivian boliviano (Bs, BOB)

  • Languages

    Spanish and indigenous languages

  • Population size

    11,428,245

Services available in this country:
Global Employment ServicesContractor Management

Facts & Stats

Bolivia Map Illustration
  • Capital City

    La Paz

  • Currency

    Bolivian boliviano (Bs, BOB)

  • Languages

    Spanish and indigenous languages

  • Population size

    11,428,245

  • Ease of doing business

    Medium

  • Cost of living index

    $ (108 of 139 nations)

  • Payroll frequency

    Monthly

  • VAT - standard rate

    13%

  • GDP - real growth rate

    2.2 (2019)

The Plurinational State of Bolivia (Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia) is a constitutional unitary state, divided into nine administrative departments.

Bolivia hosts a rich cultural history that’s stretched for over 2,500 years, a multiethnic heritage of 36 indigenous groups, the majestic Andes range (South America’s largest and highest peaks), and rich biodiversity.

Bolivia’s growing economy and its low corporate tax rate are key reasons why companies are increasingly considering expanding into Bolivia.

Grow your team in Bolivia with Remote

Looking to employ workers in Bolivia? Companies hiring in Bolivia must either own a legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solutions provider, usually one that provides employer of record services.

Remote can employ your team in Bolivia on your behalf through our local legal entity in the country and handle payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance for your Bolivia team. You can also pay contractors now in Bolivia with Remote in some currencies (talk to an expert now for full details).

Risks of misclassification

Bolivia, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassification of contractors in Bolivia may lead to fines and penalties for the offending company.

Employing in Bolivia

Bolivia’s Labor General Law of 1942 (Ley General del Trabajo) spells out provisions guiding minimum wage rates, employee protections, workers’ rights, and labor relations across Bolivia.

Employees in Bolivia enjoy protections against discrimination based on age, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, and race.

Common questions that could come up during the hiring process include minimum wage, overtime rates, and guaranteed paid time off. Remote can help you offer a complete, competitive, and compliant benefits package to your employees in Bolivia.

Minimum Wage

The minimum wage in Bolivia is B$2,164 per month, usually increasing by 2% each year. The government typically issues these adjustments around May, requiring retroactive changes effective from January.

Payroll Cycle

For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal monthly installments on or before the last working day of each calendar month, payable in arrears.

A 13th month salary payment is required at the end of the year and this payment is equivalent to one month’s pay.

A 14th month salary is also mandatory, but only if the Gross domestic product of the country is over 4.5%. This will be known usually in July of every year and eventually the 14th salary will be paid in December.

Onboarding Time

We can help you get a new employee started in Bolivia fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 12 working days.

Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.

For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.

Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.

12 Public holidays

Jan
Sunday, January 1, 20231New Year's Day (Año Nuevo)
Sunday, January 22, 20232Plurinational State Foundation Day (Fundación del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia)
Feb
Thursday, February 2, 20233Candlemas Festival (Dia de la candelaria)
Monday, February 20, 20234Carnival/Shrove Monday (Carnaval)
Tuesday, February 21, 20235Carnival/Shrove Tuesday (Carnaval)
Apr
Friday, April 7, 20236Good Friday (Viernes Santo)
May
Monday, May 1, 20237Labor Day (Día Internacional de los Trabajadores)
Jun
Thursday, June 8, 20238Corpus Christi (Corpus Christi)
Wednesday, June 21, 20239Willkakuti/Aymara New Year Day (Año Nuevo Aymara Amazonico)
Aug
Sunday, August 6, 202310Independence Day of Bolivia (Día de la Independencia)
Nov
Thursday, November 2, 202311All Saints Day (Día de Todos los Difuntos)
Dec
Monday, December 25, 202312Christmas Day (Navidad)

Competitive benefits package in Bolivia

At Remote, we’re obsessed with helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in practicing “fair equity,” which means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive (and that will allow you to attract the best local talent).

Our benefits packages in Bolivia are tailored to fulfill the local needs of your employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:

  • Health Insurance

  • Dental Insurance

  • Vision Insurance

  • Mental Health Support

  • Pension or 401(K)

  • Life and Disability Insurance

Taxes in Bolivia

Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Bolivia.

  • 25%

    corporate tax rate

  • 10%

    health insurance

  • 2%

    social fund contribution

  • 1.71%

    professional risk insurance

  • 3%

    employer contribution

Types of leave

Employees are entitled to paid annual leave after spending an entire year working for an employer. Leave entitlements depend on the number of years an employee has worked with an employer and are structured as displayed below:

  • One to five years of uninterrupted services: 15 working days

  • Five to 10 years of uninterrupted services: 20 working days

  • More than 10 years of uninterrupted services: 30 working days

Employment termination

Termination process

Employees can be terminated without advance notice for just cause, such as exposure of trade secrets, negligence, fraud, etc., but if there is no justifiable reason, the employee can either demand a severance or demand reinstatement.

Severance pay

Faced with an unjustified termination, an employee can either demand reinstatement or accept a severance package equivalent to three month’s wages.

Probation periods

Probation periods can be between 30 days up to a maximum of 90 days, during which an employer can dismiss an employee for unsatisfactory performance.