Employer of Record Venezuela

Venezuela is a South American nation limited to the landmass and numerous islands in the Caribbean Sea. While the country struggled with endless political coups and economic crises in the 1980s, 1990s, and the first few years of this decade, things seem to be getting better for now. Venezuela had been ranked at 113 by the Human Development Index in 2019. Even though the country has been struggling with the economy in the past few decades, it is an opportune time to expand your business in Venezuela. This is a good time if you are thinking of expanding your business in this part of the world, especially if you deal in oil and its products, as Venezuela is the number one exporter of oil in the world today. Consider speaking to an Employer of Record in Venezuela to learn how you can have a local ally while setting up your business there. 

Skuad is one of the top EOR solution providers in Venezuela. Our presence in the country helps new foreign companies establish on Venezuelan soil smoothly and conduct their operations seamlessly. If you are keen to know how we work and add value to your expansion plans, speak to a Skuad expert today. 

In an economy that is still building itself up and is trying hard to sustain, things could get pretty tough for a foreign entity trying to set up and run a business in Venezuela. Not to forget that the HR functions and the legal compliances can be tricky and require utmost attention. Navigating through all of these challenges can impact your business workflow and slow down the entire expansion plan.

When considering Venezuela as the next destination to set up shop, it is practical to seek help from experts. Skuad has an impeccable record in this context. We have years of hands-on experience supporting new organizations, especially foreign entities, with world-class EOR solutions that take care of payroll, taxation, statutory employee benefits, and legal compliances. Skuad provides major handholding support that is way more cost-effective than doing it all independently by incorporating an entity in the country.

Keen to know more? Get in touch or speak to us today so that our experts can brief you in-depth about how an Employer of Record in Venezuela can assist your business.

Venezuela At A Glance

Estimated population: 28,067,000 (IMF) (2018)

Currency: Bolivar Soberano (VES)

Capital: Caracas

Number of officially recognized languages: 26

Languages frequently spoken: Spanish

GDP:  $204.291 billion (PPP) (2019) and $48.610 billion (Nominal) (2020)

Employment In Venezuela

When expanding your business in Venezuelan territory, one aspect that is crucial for your business from the very first day is your staff, whether local or foreign. Employing workers means traversing a different HR landscape that is not the same as your home country. Therefore, it is important first to accustom yourself to the nuances of Venezuelan labor laws thoroughly. Since opening a new business in a foreign country has multifaceted issues and challenges, appointing Skuad as your EOR solution provider ensures that at least one of the core areas of the business is handled professionally and with expertise. 

The Venezuela employment laws are listed below:

Venezuelan Constitution  or the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

The Constitution lists various rights of employees in Venezuela. The fundamental rights and freedoms of Venezuelan employees given by the Constitution are:

1. Right to work
2. Freedom to choose a job
3. Right to participate in a trade union
4. Right to negotiate and collectively bargain, also called CBAs (collective bargaining agreements) with employers.

Venezuelan labor laws

The Organic Labor Law for Male and Female workers encompasses the rights of employees in Venezuela. It includes:

• Reinforcement of job stability
• Statute of limitations period extension
• Working day reduction
• Maternity and paternity leave extension
• Penalty system changes, and more.

Labor Law in Venezuela

It is the primary legislative source for employment-related regulations in the country.

• The law guarantees freedom to every resident to pursue their preferred activity, provided such activity is not prohibited by the law.
• The law also states that no resident can force others to work for them against their will or engage them in work activities that impede their other work.
• The law mentions that employment is not just a right but also a duty of Venezuelans.
• The law recognizes human rights treaties and pacts ratified by Venezuela to take precedence over other legislation.

Judiciary

The Supreme Tribunal of Justice (STJ) and lower courts are responsible for the judicial interpretation of the Venezuela employment law. 

Administrative

The Labor Inspector Offices are the responsible administrative entities, and they regulate, inspect, and enforce the laws.

Social Security

The Social Security Institute is responsible for the security-related and pension-related benefits for employees.

Health and Safety Conditions

The National Institute for Occupational Health, Safety, and Prevention ensures workers' and employees' health and safety.

These agencies – Labor Inspectors' offices, Social Security Institute, and the National Institute for Occupational Health, Safety and Prevention - are supervised by the Ministry of People's Power of Labor and Employment.

Employment relationship

As per Venezuelan laws, it is not statutory to have a written employment agreement. The law, however, mentions that it is preferable to have the agreement made in writing.

In the case of a written contract, it is essential to mention the following:

1. Name of employee, identity card number, age, marital status, nationality, domicile status, and both parties' addresses
2. Address & registration details of the business entity
3. The job title and the job description
4. Start date
5. Whether the agreement is indefinite or fixed-term
6. Term end date, in the case of a fixed-term contract
7. Working hours
8. Details of tasks to be performed
9. Salary
10. Location of work
11. CBAs need to be mentioned
12. Place where the work contract will be executed
13. All other lawful stipulations agreed upon by the parties.

Other details of the Venezuelan labor law

Minimum Wage

Since 1 May 2020, the minimum wage in Venezuela has been fixed at 400,000 Bolivars.

Working time

• Ordinarily, the workweek consists of five days.
• Employees are entitled to two days of rest weekly.
• The working hours permitted are 40 daytime hours every week.
• If an employee works for four hours at night, the weekly work hours are reduced to 37.5 hours.
• The working hours do not apply to the senior management employees, surveillance, and inspection employees.

Overtime

• The maximum daily working time is limited to 10 hours, which includes overtime work.
• The yearly permitted overtime is 100 hours.
• The compensation for overtime work is fixed at an additional 50% of the standard salary of the employee.
• In case of urgent, unforeseeable circumstances, the employer can ask workers to work overtime without permission from the Labor Inspector’s office, provided he gives notice to the Inspector on the following working days. If not, the employees need to be compensated with an additional 100% of their standard salary.

Data Protection

Data privacy-related laws are not formulated in Venezuela. There is a lack of clarity on the privacy and private life of employees. However, the Constitution states that every person in the country has the right to keep their private life protected from others.

This means that employers do not have any legal obligation to seek consent from employees to collect and share their data.

However, the Law on Prevention, Conditions and Health and Safety at the Workplace mentions that the employer is obligated to keep the health-related information of their employees confidential.

Leaves

Below are the public holidays in Venezuela:

• New Year's Day:  January
• Carnival: 15 and 1 February
• Holy Thursday: 1 April
• Good Friday: 2 April
• Declaration of Independence: 19 April
• Labor Day: 1 May
• Battle of Carabobo: 24 June
• Independence Day: 5 July
• Sim: 24 July
• Day of Indigenous Resistance: 12 October
• Christmas: 25 December

Vacation Leave

Employees get 15 paid days of annual leave after 12 months of consecutive service with a single employer.

They are also entitled to an extra paid holiday for every year of service with the employer for up to a maximum of 30 days.

Sick Leave

Employees in Venezuela can avail themselves of three paid sick leaves. The employer pays for these leaves.

However, from the fourth day onwards, for up to 52 weeks of sick leave, employees are paid 66.7% of their salary from Social Security.

Maternity And Paternity Leaves

Pregnant female employees can take up to 26 weeks of leave, 6 weeks before birth and 20 weeks after the baby’s birth. Their salary during this leave is paid at a reduced rate of 66.6% by the social security administration.

Fathers are allowed 14 days of paid paternity leave after the child is born. In case the new mother is unwell or dies, the paternity leave can be extended.

Bonus

In Venezuela, employees may get a seniority bonus as part of their compensation.

Employees also receive a vacation bonus that is equal to 15 days of their salary after completing 1 year of employment, plus 1 additional day of salary per additional year of employment, up to a maximum vacation bonus that equals 30 days of their salary per year. Such a bonus is paid to the employee at the time of taking their vacation. 

Employee health benefits Venezuela

The health insurance of employees is taken care of by the social security system in Venezuela.

These agencies – Labor Inspectors' offices, Social Security Institute, and the National Institute for Occupational Health, Safety and Prevention - are supervised by the Ministry of People's Power of Labor and Employment.

There are many other employment laws and clauses that employers need to follow and ensure compliance statutorily. With Skuad as your Employer of Record in Venezuela, you do not have to take any stress about legal compliances, hiring, and onboarding of local and foreign employees.  To know more, contact us here.

Contractors vs. Full-time Employees

Full-time employees work on employment contracts in Venezuela, where employees are either hired on a fixed or indefinite term. Both these types of employment need to be explicitly mentioned in the employment agreement in Venezuela if the employer offers the same in writing to the employee.

An independent contractor has a commercial relationship with a business entity and is hired for a specific type of job. The difference between the two types of hiring in Venezuela lies in the lack of employer control in the latter. Also, contractors need to use their resources and employees to offer the agreed services. While as per the employment contract law in Venezuela, employees have statutory protection, independent contractors enjoy no such rights or benefits. Also, employers need to meet taxation and social security obligations if employees are hired – the same is absent when hiring contractors.

Hiring In Venezuela

As a new business owner, you have different choices offered by the Labor Law in Venezuela for hiring local and foreign employees. The first step is to incorporate a firm in Venezuela. Alternatively, you can use leading EOR services in Venezuela or a well-known PEO service provider.

If you establish your legal entity in Venezuela, you can take the help of online job portals to hire employees in Venezuela. Some of the popular job websites in Venezuela are Glassdoor, Indeed, Learn4good, Bumeran, and Impactpool. You can also take the assistance of professional hiring companies in Venezuela. In such a situation, you will be a part of the shortlisting, interviewing, recruiting, hiring, and onboarding process because such companies will only offer assistance with candidate resumes. However, if you work with an EOR solution provider like Skuad, you need not spend crucial time and resources to hire employees or resolve payroll and taxation issues, as Skuad’s experts will handle all of this. All you need to do is to let us know your exact requirements, and we will complete the entire hiring system, including labor law compliances, employee health benefits in Venezuela, and other conditions so that you can remain focused on your core business.

book a demo today to know more about Skuad.

Probation & Termination

Statutory probationary period Venezuela

The Venezuelan labor law does not contain any mandatory standard probation period in Venezuela.

But the law does mention that after the first 30 days on the job, an employee's job stability gets established.

Thus, the first month is the probation period during which the employee or employer can terminate the relationship.

Termination of employment Venezuela

As per the Labor Laws and in accordance with the Bar Against Dismissal Law, an employee can be dismissed by an employer only for a just cause.

The grounds for a justified dismissal include:

Violence, immoral behavior, behavior that causes injury to the employer or his family members, negligent act affecting the safety and health at the workplace, imprudent acts, unjustified absence, intentional material damage, sexual harassment, work abandonment, and violations of obligations.

EOR Solution

An Employer of Record EOR is a legal entity in Venezuela with its business set up as per the established incorporation laws of the country. The Employer of Record service is mainly related to the HR activities of an organization. They address all the functions in the HR domain, including the hiring of employees and handling the payroll, compensation, benefits, taxes, and compliances. 

Skuad is one of the premier employers of record companies in Venezuela, offering world-class services acting as your one-stop HR service provider. Our EOR solutions are innovatively designed, acting as a centralized platform handling the complete hire-to-retire functionalities. All you need to do is mention your business requirements, and we handle the rest for you. With a single payment solution, your HR requirements are covered end-to-end.

To speak to Skuad experts, give us a call.

Types Of Visas In Venezuela

When a foreign citizen wishes to work in Venezuela or has to be hired to work in the country, it is mandatory to get a non-resident work visa, called the TR-L. This is a temporary Venezuela work visa and is granted only based on the employment agreement from the employer. It is mandatory that the employer has a legal entity in Venezuela or the company is domiciled in the country.

The work visa is valid for one year or the term of the employment contract if the term is less than a year and can be extended. The essential Venezuela work visa requirement is that 90% of the workforce, including the management working for this employer, should be Venezuelan. There are no other types of work visas available for a foreigner to work in Venezuela.

Work Permits

As per the Venezuelan labor law, a work permit in Venezuela can be requested by the Venezuelan employer from the Ministry of Labor. Thus, it is not possible to get a Venezuelan work permit without a job offer. Also, 90% of the employees should consist of local Venezuelans working at the employer's company. Also, the compensation cannot be more than 20% of the total payroll for foreign workers.

Venezuela's work permit for foreigners, as per the Labor Law, allows foreign workers to receive the same labor benefits that are received by the local workforce.

Payroll & Taxes in Venezuela

Venezuela employer payroll taxes

The tax rate in Venezuela for employers is as follows:

• Social security - 4%
• Unemployment insurance - 0.5%
• Housing policy - 1%
• National Institute of Training and Socialist Education (INCES) - 0.5%

Venezuela payroll tax rates

The employee tax rates include:

• Social Security - 9 to 11%
• Unemployment insurance - 2%
• Housing Policy - 2%
• National Institute of Training and Socialist Education (INCES) - 2%

Book a Demo here.

Incorporation

To conduct business in Venezuela, it is not mandatory to register your business officially in Venezuela. However, whether you choose to incorporate a holding company in Venezuela or not, as an employer, it is statutory to register your employees with the Social Security Institute and all other labor agencies.

The Venezuelan economy is just about opening up, and it is great terrain for business opportunities in Venezuela. However, the employer needs to be domiciled in Venezuela or incorporate a subsidiary in Venezuela to start hiring. It is also mandatory to register the entity with all the required authorities, including social security, tax contributions, special contributions, etc. All of these are required to obtain the Tax Identification Number and the authorities' Labor Identification Number.

Once the process is complete, the employer can hire employees in Venezuela. Venezuelan law permits foreign employers to recruit a workforce with the help of an EOR or PEO. 

Skuad offers both types of services and is a leading solution provider in the South American country. Working with Skuad’s EOR, Venezuela, will help you save the costs, time and effort needed to incorporate a business in Venezuela. To discover more about forming a subsidiary by partnering with us, contact Skuad here.

Professional Employer Organization (PEO)

It is clear that setting up a business in Venezuela entails a lot of groundwork to ensure that you follow the obligatory terms and conditions of the various laws in the country. While hiring the workforce, you need to pay extra attention to the Venezuelan labor laws, mandatory registration formalities, and more.

Just like the EOR, there are professional employer organizations in Venezuela, also called PEO. A professional employer organization works as your co-employer and collaborates with you to ensure that the best people are hired for the work. They handle end-to-end HR services to meet your HR requirements like payroll, taxation, benefits, and more. However, it is necessary to set up or incorporate your legal entity in Venezuela to use the services of a PEO.

Skuad is an expert PEO service provider that can assist you with all the hiring and recruiting aspects for your new firm after the firm has been established in the country.

The difference between a PEO and an EOR is that in the case of the former, you are required to establish your legal identity in Venezuela, whereas, with the latter, you can operate remotely without registering your business in the country.

Conclusion

Venezuela is undergoing many changes – politically, economically, and financially. It is steadily opening up and has the potential for becoming a major market for your business. If you have plans of entering this South American country, consider hiring Skuad's innovative EOR services to handle the HR-related functions for your business operations in Venezuela.

Book a Demo here.