Cambodia
Make employment in Cambodia easy. Let us handle payroll, benefits, taxes, compliance, and even stock options for your team in Cambodia, all in one easy-to-use platform.
- Capital City
Phnom Penh
- Currency
Cambodian riel (៛, KHR)
- Languages
Khmer
- Population size
17,300,000
Facts & Stats
- Capital City
Phnom Penh
- Currency
Cambodian riel (៛, KHR)
- Languages
Khmer
- Population size
17,300,000
- Ease of doing business
Medium
- Cost of living index
47.91 (2021)
- Payroll frequency
Twice monthly
- VAT - standard rate
10%
- GDP - real growth rate
-5.3% (2020)
Cambodia is one of the world’s few constitutional monarchies (with 1900 years of verifiable history). This jewel of South East Asia has a rich and tumultuous history and Cambodians are known for their friendliness, kindness, and patience – traits which are synonymous with the country’s dominant Buddhism religion.
The country is famous for the Angkor Wat temple complex which draws around 2.6 million tourists annually as well as the mystical Mekong River Delta. Cambodia also boasts a patchwork of pristine rainforest dotted with a diverse range of over 8000 plant species.
Cambodians tend to value punctuality and may be frustrated by lateness. Often seniority is held in very high regard and those with the most experience in an organisation tend to lead meetings.
Cambodia is a growing economy powered by an $8 billion textile industry that is globally competitive, however more knowledge workers are starting to emerge from the country’s educational institutions.
Grow your team in Cambodia with Remote
Looking to employ workers in Cambodia? Companies hiring in Cambodia 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 Cambodia on your behalf through our local legal entity in the country and handle payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance for your Cambodia team. You can also pay contractors now in Cambodia with Remote in some currencies (talk to an expert now for full details).
Risks of misclassification
Cambodia, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassification of contractors in Cambodia may lead to fines and penalties for the offending company.
Employing in Cambodia
Workers' rights in Cambodia are protected by:
the Cambodian Constitution,
the Civil Code,
The Social Security Law of 2019
the Labour Code of 1997 (amended three times so far), and
Regulations passed by the Cambodian government and the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MLVT)
— all of which guarantee equal pay for equal work and protections against discrimination based on age, religion, gender, and race.
Common questions that could come up during the hiring process include the 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 Cambodia.
Minimum wage
Cambodia's monthly minimum wage rate for regular workers is US$194. The rate for probationary workers is set at US$ 192 per month.
Cambodia law specifies that businesses must pay wages “commensurate with human dignity” — a viewpoint Remote stands behind as well. For instance, Remote employees earn a minimum of $40,000 no matter where they’re based in the world.
Seniority pay
Seniority payments are only applicable to employees with a UDC.
All employees with a UDC are entitled to receive ongoing seniority payments in an amount equal to 15 days of their wages and other benefits per year. Employers must pay the seniority indemnity to employees as follows:
An additional 7.5 days worth of their wage in June of each year; and
An additional 7.5 days worth of their wage in December of each year.
A new employee is entitled to a full instalment of the seniority payment (being equal to 7.5 days of wages and benefits) if the employee worked for at least one month in the applicable period (being from January to June, or July to December).
If an employee has an FDC, they are not entitled to seniority payments, and they will receive severance payments.
13th month bonus
13th month pay is a common practice, but not mandatory, before the implementation of seniority payment. Some employers have decided to cancel the 13th month pay when the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training have decided to have seniority pay as mandatory payment. Therefore, the 13th month pay depends on the company’s individual decision.
Retention bonus
The payment of a retention bonus would not contravene Cambodian law. However, the Employer should be aware that an employer has an obligation to pay employees with a UDC a seniority payment, and payment of the retention bonus will not excuse the employer from paying the seniority payments.
Onboarding time
We can help you get a new employee started in Cambodia fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 19 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.
21 Public holidays
Competitive benefits package in Cambodia
At Remote, we’re obsessed with helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in practising “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 Cambodia are tailored to fulfil 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 Cambodia
Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Cambodia.
2.6%
Health Insurance
0.8%
National Social Security Fund (Maximum 1,200,000 KHR)
Types of leave
Cambodian employees earn 1.5 days of paid holiday for every month they’re employed at a company, capped at 18 days off per year.
Workers earn an extra day off every three years and longer annual vacations can be negotiated collectively.
Employment termination
Termination process
Fixed Duration Contracts: Cambodian Labour Law recognises three grounds for terminating a fixed duration contract before the end date without a severance payment:
Mutual agreement - A termination by mutual agreement between the employee and the employer must be made in writing. Prior notice is not required.
Serious misconduct - An employee can be terminated immediately if the employee commits an act of serious misconduct. The statutory deadline for employment termination on grounds of serious misconduct is seven days from the time the employer became aware of the employee's misconduct. Prior notice is not required.
Force majeure - An unforeseen event of force majeure (like a flood or an earthquake) that prevents the worker from fulfilling their obligations under the FDC. Prior notice is not required in this instance.
If one of the above reasons do not apply to the termination, the employer is legally obligated to pay severance to the employee on termination.
Undetermined Duration Contracts (UDC): Cambodian employment law recognises two grounds for terminating a UDC without notice and without payment of damages:
Serious misconduct: An employee can be terminated immediately if the employee commits an act of serious misconduct. Termination for this reason must take place within seven days from the time the employer became aware of the employee's misconduct. Prior notice is not required.
Force majeure: In the event of an uncontrollable situation (like a natural disaster) which prevents a worker from fulfilling their obligations under the UDC, the agreement can be terminated without prior notice.
Otherwise, a UDC can be terminated by either party provided:
Due notice of the termination is given in writing and the employer has a valid reason for terminating the employee (examples includes deficiencies in the employee’s aptitude or behaviour, or business operation requirements of the employer) and the employer will not have to pay damages in this case
If the employer does not have a valid reason for terminating the employee, the employer can still terminate the employee so long as the employer pays applicable damages required by Cambodian law outlined below.
Notice period
The notice period varies based on the duration of employment as well as the type of employment contract.
Fixed Duration Contract (FDC) - FDCs cannot be terminated prior to the expiration date (unless the employer wants to pay out for the entire period of the contract), and the below notice periods relate to giving the employee notice that the contract will not be renewed and will terminate.
6 months or less: no notice required
More than 6 months 10 days
More than one year: 15 days
Undetermined Duration Contract (UDC)
undefinedundefinedundefinedundefinedundefined
Like stated above, payments can be made in lieu of notice and workers who have been notified of their pending termination are entitled to take two paid days off per week (during the notice period) for a job search.
Severance pay
Severance payments under Cambodian law depend on the nature of the contract between the employer and the worker and are only required if an employee is dismissed without cause.
Workers employed with a fixed duration contract are entitled to:
Severance Payment: A severance payment equal to at least 5% of the wages paid to the employee during the length of the contract. This is calculated by collecting the sum of the total wages, including bonuses, paid during the course of the contract. This sum is multiplied by 5% to determine the amount of the severance payment
Unused Annual Leave: Unpaid annual leave through to the termination date must be paid out in full
Other Benefits: Any other benefits agreed to between the employer and the employee in an employment contract, internal work rules, employee manual/HR handbook or collective bargaining agreement, if any.
If the employee is terminated before the expiration date of the employee's contract, the employee is also entitled to the following payment:
Damages: Damages for being laid off before the expiration date should equal the wages the employee would have received had they completed the original contracted term.
Probation periods
There is no compulsory obligation to provide probationary periods when engaging new employees. Many employers do choose to impose a probationary period and this is expected by employees.
The probationary period does have some stipulations if applied:
cannot last longer than three months for regular employees
two months for specialised workers
one month for non-specialised workers
Whether an employee is a specialised worker or otherwise must be decided on a case-by-case basis depending on the level of professional skills required by the job in question. No prior notice is required to terminate the probationary period, either during or at the end of its intended duration.
Fair Pricing in Cambodia
Employer of Record
Hire and pay your global team
Starting at US$599/month
for annual plans
Top features
Satisfaction guaranteed
No deposits or hidden fees
Zero onboarding or offboarding fees
Compliant equity incentives support including withholding and reporting
Built-in security and compliance
Fast onboarding (average 2-3 days)
Flexible, localised benefits
Contractor Management
Compliantly onboard and pay contractors
US$29
per contractor/month
Start free trialTop features
Only pay for contractors you actively work with
Work with contractors in 200+ countries
Create, edit, and sign tailored, localised contracts
Approve contractor invoices with one click or auto-pay
Transparent payments with complete visibility
Global Payroll
Consolidate your multi-country payroll
US$50
per employee/month
Top features
Reduce costs by centralising payroll management
Ensure local compliance for every country
Direct support from in-house local payroll experts
Accurate, on-time, compliant payroll to level-up your employee experience
Tax and labour authority reporting handled for you
Top features
Guided onboarding and offboarding
Employee profile and document management
Time and attendance (time off and tracking)
Expense management and reimbursement
Employee self-serve on the platform and mobile app