In today’s competitive job market, finding the right talent for your organization can be a daunting task. Hiring employees from a foreign country like Namibia can be challenging. As an employer, you have to contend with language barriers and unfamiliar nuances of local employment laws. Thankfully, there is a solution that can streamline the hiring process for companies looking to expand their business in Namibia – an Employer of Record (EOR).
The Benefits of EOR in Namibia
For companies looking to hire in Namibia, an EOR offers many benefits. Firstly, an EOR can fast-track the hiring process, as they already have an established legal and administrative framework in place. Companies that use an EOR in Namibia can be confident their documentation and compliance are handled by a team of experienced professionals who understand local labor laws.
Compliance is particularly important in Namibia, where labor laws are strictly enforced. Employers who violate employment laws can face serious financial penalties and business disruptions. Using an EOR ensures your company is legally compliant, avoiding unexpected surprises and negative impacts on your reputation.
Why Hire Talent in Namibia?
This country of 2.5 million people in southwestern Africa is home to a thriving natural resources sector. Namibians are known for being industrious in areas like mining, agriculture and tourism. But increasingly, the country’s leaders are looking to build Namibia into a world-renowned knowledge-based society.
Under the program Vision 2030, Namibia aims to continue to industrialize, focusing on improving its citizens' skills in the tech sector. There is a well-established University of Applied Sciences and Technology in Namibia and the country has made significant investments in fields like electrical engineering and computer science.
English is Namibia’s official language, and other European languages are spoken throughout the country. This makes Namibian workers a good fit for teams that are also distributed across Europe or North America. This country has a high rate of language diversity overall, so, depending on the region, you may need to watch out for a few language barriers when bringing your new Namibian hires on board.
How Can I Legally Hire Employees from Namibia?
To hire from Namibia, your company needs to have a legal entity operating in the country. Getting an entity set up can be time-consuming. The efforts are only worth it if you intend to dramatically expand your business into the Namibian market in the long term.
An EOR service provider like Borderless can be an invaluable resource when it comes to hiring employees in Namibia. Not only can they help you navigate complex labor laws and regulations, they also offer a range of services to support your business operations. From payroll and tax management to onboarding and offboarding processes, an EOR service can help streamline your business operations.
Namibian Employment Documents
Legally, Namibian employment contracts do not need to be written. Most Namibian employment contracts are fixed-term, meaning the contract generally expires after the completion of a project or term of work (as opposed to indefinite contracts, which are ongoing).
Vacation, Breaks, and Holidays
On the cultural front, Namibia observes a number of national and civic holidays you should consider when building your distributed team.
Namibians celebrate:
- January 1: New Year's Day
- March 21: Independence Day
- April (varies): Good Friday
- April (varies): Easter Monday
- May 4: Cassinga Day
- May (varies):Ascension Day (falls approximately 40 days after Easter on a Thursday)
- May 25: Africa Day
- August 26: Heroes Day
- December 10: International Human Rights Day
- December 25: Christmas Day
- December 26: Family Day
Taxes and Payment
There is no official minimum wage in Namibia. Despite this, employers do generally observe unofficial minimums in sectors like agriculture, construction, and mining. These can be agreed on directly between employees and employers through means like collective bargaining.
The Namibia Revenue Agency states that Namibia has a self-assessment taxation system where all taxpayers are responsible for calculating their own taxable income and filing returns.
Any income from business conducted in Namibia is considered taxable and is measured on a graduated scale, with earners of over 50,000 being taxed at anywhere from 18%-37%, increasing by bracket.
Now that you know the basics of Namibian labor customs, standards of living, and lifestyle, keep reading for a step-by-step on bringing your new Namibian team on board.
Employer Responsibilities
An EOR like Borderless takes care of anything to do with legal compliance and HR. That being said, you are still responsible for the day-to-day operations of your business.
Things like onboarding and offboarding, corporate training, defining the scope of work responsibilities, and people management will all fall to you as the employer.
Where an EOR can help you is in making sure the contracts you give your workers are legal in their countries of employment and compliant to account for taxes.
Now that you know the basics of Namibian labor customs, standards of living, and lifestyle, keep reading for a step-by-step to choose the best EOR for you.
Choosing an EOR
To select the best-fit EOR for hiring your distributed team, there are a few factors you should consider:
- The Needs of Your Team. To ensure a successful hiring process from Namibia with EOR, it is essential to start with a clear idea of the positions you need to fill, the skills required, and the type of employment contract. This will guide the rest of the process and ensure that you are identifying candidates that meet your business needs.
- Proven Track Record. Has your EOR successfully hired and onboarded from this region before? It is important to research the EOR service providers available in Namibia and select one that meets your company’s specific needs. Look for a provider who offers comprehensive services, pricing transparency, and has a proven track record of compliance.
- Scale of Service. How comprehensive do you want your EOR services to be? The best EOR service or package can look very different for your company, depending on whether you are making a large or small-scale expansion into Namibia.
- Security and Data Privacy. On a digitally-connected team, your company’s intellectual property (IP) is at higher risk than an in-person working environment. Make sure you review your EOR’s security credentials. A good EOR service should be able to answer any questions you may have related to company IP and how they plan to protect your sensitive data.
How Borderless Can Help
As an Employer of Record (EOR) service, Borderless is an excellent solution for companies looking to hire in Namibia. By outsourcing your hiring administration tasks to a third-party provider like Borderless, your company can save time and money, and focus on your core business objectives.
Our guide to hiring your dream team will help ensure a successful hiring process and lay the foundation for a productive and efficient workforce. Book a demo with Borderless today to see how we can help.
Disclaimer
Borderless does not provide legal services or legal advice to anyone. This includes customers, contractors, employees, partners, and the general public. We are not lawyers or paralegals. Please read our full disclaimer here.
