Global HR Compliance in Brunei

If you hire international workforce, or plan to hire, then Hiring and Firing Workforce in Brunei Guide below will help you understand the nuances of labor legislation in the country.

Companies hire international workforce for various reasons but in most cases they are:

• entering the foreign markets to sell company products. To do so, the company hires sales representatives who would represent their product and sell it to their local client base.
• hiring a global talent with unique skills that is unavailable in the local market or costs the company less than the talent with similar skills hired in the home country.

Before entering a certain foreign market or engaging a global talent, it is crucial for the company to understand how it can make local hires and reward its workers on a monthly basis. Growing companies often face a challenge of paying benefits and bonuses to the commission-based independent sales representatives they are working with.

If you intend to hire and pay your foreign workforce in full compliance with labor laws and regulations of Brunei, then the Global Employer of Record service from Acumen International may be the best way for you to go. We are an International PEO company and we specialize in global employment, meaning we can employ your employees in Brunei and act as their legal employer on your behalf. We will payroll your foreign workforce monthly and provide benefits to them through our global network so you don’t have to set up your own legal entities there.

We are experts in global workforce employment in , and our goal is to become your single provider. Instead of working with numerous local staffing agencies and legal advisors, Acumen International can solve your global business challenges and save you time, costs, and resources.

Our team of English-speaking professionals frees you from working through language nuances. Acumen International works 24/7 and can assist you whenever you need, regardless of time zones. Our goal is to create tailored labor solutions for you that are managed legally and in full compliance with the local employment laws.

With our knowledge and deep understanding of local nuances, you easily satisfy your need for skilled professionals in your global industry. With our qualified local partners, you can trust that your global workforce satisfies all local tax, social security, and immigration requirements in Brunei.

Hiring and Firing Workforce in Brunei Guide

# Employment contracts

An agreement may be entered into for any period not exceeding one month or for any number of days’ work not exceeding 26 or for the performance by a worker for an employer of any specified piece of work capable of being completed within one month from the commencement of the work. Every agreement shall, subject to any stipulation to the contrary, terminate on the last day of the period agreed upon or upon the completion of the specified number of days’ work or piece of work, as the case may be: Provided that each party to an agreement for a period not exceeding one month shall on the termination of such agreement in the manner aforesaid be conclusively presumed to have entered into a fresh agreement upon the same terms and conditions as those of the agreement so terminated unless notice has been given previously by either party to such agreement.

# Minimum (Statutory) Employment Rules and Regulations in Brunei

# Hours of work:
For a non-shift worker, the hours of work shall not be more than 8 hours a day or more than 44 hours a week.
For a shift worker, the hours of work shall not be more than an average of 44 hours a week over any continuous period of 3 weeks subject to a maximum of 12 hours a day.

An employee is entitled to 1 rest day (midnight to midnight) each week without pay. The rest day should be on a Sunday or any other day as scheduled an informed by an employer before the beginning of each month. For a shift worker, the rest day can be a continuous period of 30 hours.

# Probation period:
No data

# Annual leave:
Employee are entitled to annual leave of various duration it depends on the length of service:

• 1 year – 7 days will be available;
• 2 years – 8 days will be available;
• 3 years – 9 days will be available;
• 4 years – 10 days will be available;
• 5 years – 11 days will be available;
• 6 years – 12 days will be available;
• 7 years – 13 days will be available;
• 8 years and more – 14 days will be available.

The employee should take annual leave within 12 months of the end of the leave year, and any employee who fails to take such leave, balanced remaining will lapse.

Employee’s annual leave entitlement can be forfeited if employee are dismissed on the grounds of misconduct or absent from work without permission for more than 20% of the working days in the months or year.

# Parental leave:
All citizen or permanent resident female employees are entitled to 15 weeks of maternity leave as follows:

• The period of 2 weeks immediately before the delivery of her child.
• The period of 13 weeks immediately after the delivery of her child.

Eligibility requirements:

• Applies to citizen or permanent resident of Brunei Darussalam.
• Has served an employer for more than 180 days.
• An employee whose contributions are payable by her employer on behalf of the employee under TAP. Lawfully married.

The employer pays the basic salary for the first 8 weeks. Following this, the government helps to pay salary for a period of 5 weeks. However, the employer is obliged to make advance salary payments for the above-mentioned 5 weeks period and then make claim to the government for repayment. The final 2 weeks of the remaining leave is unpaid leave.

# Sick leave:
Employee is entitled 14 days outpatient sick leave per year and 60 days hospitlization leave (including the 14 days outpatient sick leave) provided he satisfies the following conditions:

• Must have worked for at least 6 months;
• Has obtained a medical certificate from the company doctor.

If no such doctor is appointed, from a government doctor or a doctor employed by any of the approved hospitals; and must inform employer of the sick leave within 48 hours.

# Overtime:
An employee is not allowed to work for more than 12 hours in a day (inclusive of overtime work) except in following circumstances:

• Accident, actual or threatened;
• Work which is essential to the life of the community;
• Work which is essential to national defence or security;
• Urgent work to be done to machinery or plant;
• An interruption of work which was impossible to foresee.

In the case of a shift worker, he is NOT allowed to work for more than 12 hours a day under any circumstances.
Overtime has to be paid if the employee is required to work beyond his contractual hours of work. Payment for overtime work must be paid within 14 days after the last day of the salary period. The rate of payment is 1.5 times the hourly basic rate of pay.

# State minimum salary:
Brunei has no set minimum wage rate.

# Employee dismissal:
A termination of contract may occur when:
The work specified in the contract has been completed or when a date specified in the contract for the expiry of the contract has been reached.
Either party has decided to end the contract with appropriate notice in accordance with terms of the contract.
There has been a breach of contract and the other party wishes to terminate the contract.
The notice period for termination of contract depends on what is agreed in the contract.
The length of notice period must be the same for both parties. If there is no notice period agreed by either party or included in the contract, the following notice period shall apply:

• less than 26 weeks – 1 day 26 weeks;
• less than 2 years – 1 week;
• 2 years to less than 5 years – 2 weeks;
• 5 years or more – 4 weeks.

Either party to an agreement for a period of time may terminate such agreement on the expiration of due notice given by him to the other party of his intention so to do; the length of the notice to be given shall, unless otherwise stipulated by the terms of the agreement, be equal to the period of the agreement to be terminated: Provided that in no case shall it be necessary to give notice exceeding in length one month or in the case of domestic servants 14 days. Such notice may be either oral or written and may be given at any time and the day on which notice is given shall be included in the period of the notice.

Either party to an agreement may terminate the same without notice upon payment to the other party of a sum equal to the amount of wages which would have accrued to the worker during the period of the notice.