Jamaica
Remote makes employment in Jamaica easy. With our localized contracts, easy invoice management, and best-in-class compliance, you can grow your global team with confidence. Note that we can currently employ contractors in Jamaica but our employer of record services are not yet live.
- Capital city
Kingston
- Currency
Jamaican dollar ($, JMD)
- Languages
English
- Population size
2,726,667
Facts & Stats
- Capital city
Kingston
- Currency
Jamaican dollar ($, JMD)
- Languages
English
- Population size
2,726,667
- Ease of doing business
Easy
- Cost of living index
N/A
- Payroll frequency
N/A
- VAT - standard rate
15%-25%
- GDP - real growth rate
2.9% (2020)
Jamaica needs no introduction. From rum to reggae, beautiful beaches to Usain Bolt, this small Central American nation bats above its average in terms of worldwide cultural influence. Along with the world’s fastest sprinters, Jamaica is also famous for the sport of cricket, a legacy of the island’s UK colonial past.
The natural beauty of Jamaica remains a compelling drawcard, particularly for nearby US tourists. Pristine Caribbean coastline, a thriving nightlife scene, and untouched tropical forests draw in over one million tourists every year — roughly a third of Jamaica’s native population. The country is an ideal anchor point for digital nomads looking to explore the Caribbean (as long as the correct legal right to work permissions are secured).
Sadly, many native Jamaicans still migrate away from the island in search of employment opportunities with the country rating as one of the poorest countries in North and Central America. Nevertheless, employers on the lookout for talent will find many skilled workers looking for the opportunity to earn a competitive global wage and remain based in their homeland.
Grow your team in Jamaica with Remote
You can pay contractors now in Jamaica with Remote in some currencies (talk to an expert now for full details).
Note that we are busy building our own entity in Jamaica to provide you with the best possible employment solutions for your employees, but our employer of record service is not yet live in this country.
To employ in Jamaica, companies must own a local legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solution. Developing the processes required to manage payroll, benefits, taxes, and onboarding in countries like Jamaica can get complicated fast, especially without localized expertise.
If you're looking to start hiring in a country like this, partnering with a global employment solution like Remote makes it easy for your company to employ workers quickly, cost-effectively, and in full compliance with all local legislation.
In the countries where we do offer our EOR services, Remote takes on the responsibility and legal risks of international employment so you can focus on hiring great talent and growing your business.
Risks of misclassification
Jamaica, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassification of contractors in Jamaica may lead to fines and penalties for the offending company.
Employing in Jamaica
Provisions for employee protections and workers’ rights are spelled out in Jamaica’s Constitution and the Employmnet Act of 1975, both of which guarantee equal pay for equal work and protections against discrimination based on age, religion, gender expression, and race.
Hiring managers can expect to receive questions from Jamaican candidates around topics like 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 Jamaica.
Minimum wage
The Jamaican minimum wage is fixed at JMD 9,000 ($1.66) per week for the general workforce and JMD 10,500 ($67.74) for private security guards.
In practice, the minimum wage is largely nominal for skilled workers (developers, designers, engineers, etc.) and salaries are often negotiated privately.
Competitive benefits package in Jamaica
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).
We are still busy building our own entity in Jamaica, but our benefits packages for all countries 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 Jamaica
Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Jamaica.
3%
National Insurance Scheme (NIS) (on maximum remuneration of 5 million JMD per year)
3%
National Housing Trust (NHT)
3.5%
Education Tax
3%
Human Employment and Resource Training (HEART)
Types of Leave
Workers are entitled to two weeks’ paid leave annually, which increases to three weeks off per year after 10 years of continuous employment.
Employment termination
Termination process
Jamaican employees can be terminated at will, for business reasons, or because of the worker’s misconduct; workers must be notified in advance and given a written notice before being let go.
Notice period
Jamaican employees are required to a period of advance notice before they can be let go, depending on their tenure with their employer:
Up to five years of employment: two weeks’ notice
5 - 10 years of employment: four weeks’ notice
10 - 15 years of employment: six weeks’ notice
20+ years of employment: twelve weeks’ notice
Severance pay
Workers are only entitled to severance payments if they’re dismissed because of redundancy. In such a case, severance payments are calculated at two weeks’ pay per year for the first ten years of employment, and three weeks’ pay for each following year.
Probation periods
There’s no mandatory probationary period although collective agreements usually limit it to 3 - 6 months.