Global HR Compliance in Jordan

If you hire international workforce, or plan to hire, then Hiring and Firing Workforce in Jordan 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 Jordan, 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 Jordan 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 Jordan.

See the guide below for a general overview of labor rules and regulations in Jordan or contact us if you need to employ workers in Jordan or would like to get more details.

Hiring and Firing Workforce in Jordan Guide

# Contracts

All contracts of employment must be drawn in writing (in Arabic) and in duplicate. In case of employment contract for definite period, the employee is obliged to work for the employer till the last date of the contract. Such contracts may naturally terminate at the end of the agreed period. If an employee continues to work for the employer after the agreed period of expiration, his/her contract will be thenceforth perceived as an indefinite contract, and shall be deemed as such from its commencement. The maximum period of the fixed-term contract is five years. Contracts for indefinite period, on the other hand, requires the employee to work for the employer until the contract is unilaterally or mutually terminated.

# Minimum statutory employment rights

# Hours of work
The legal maximum hours of work in Jordan is 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week. At any given time, employees have the right to object to working more than these statutory maximum hours of work.

For hotel, restaurant and cinema workers working time is limited to 54 hours per week.
Most private businesses observe Friday as the weekend holiday, while banks and government offices close on Fridays and Saturdays.

# Probation period
Employers may employ their employees firstly on a probation basis to evaluate their level of skill at carrying out the job. In any case, employers are prohibited to place their employees on probation for more than 3 months.

Employees will be considered to have passed the probation and employed on an indefinite period if they continue for the employees after the agreed period of probation with no objection. Either of the parties of an employment can terminate the employment during a probation period without having the legal liability to provide prior notice or severance pay.

# Annual leave
Every worker is entitled to annual leave with full pay for a period of fourteen days for every year of employment. . This does not include the normal paid holidays and rest days, except of course they fall in the leave days. Employees must be given 21 days of annual paid leave after they have worked for 5 years in the company.

If a worker’s employment is terminated for any reason before he uses up his annual leave, he shall be entitled to receive his remuneration for all remaining leave days.

# Parental leave
During childbearing, employees must be provided with 10 weeks of paid maternity leave. Employees are obligated to use at least 6 weeks of their entire leave after childbirth. Employees working in an organization with more than 10 workers have the right to not more than one year of unpaid leave after maternity leave for child upbringing. Also, new mothers are entitled to at least one-hour time off daily to care for their new babies.

# Sick leave
All employees have the right to 14 days of fully paid sick leave during each year of service. Additional, 14 days of fully paid sick leave may be given to employees whose sickness requires hospitalization. Other employees are eligible for extra 14 days of half paid sick leave after they have proved a report that the extra days are medically required.

# Overtime
Employees cannot be propelled to work more than the statutory maximum hours of work. If an employee agrees to work overtime, then his/her employer is legally bound to pay him/her at an overtime rate of 125% for every extra hour worked. Employees are entitled to be compensated at 150% of normal pay if they work on a paid holiday or weekend.

# State minimum salary
Effective Feb. 12, 2017, the statutory minimum wage employers may pay their employees is 220 Jordanian dinars ($310) per month..

# Employment termination
Employers and employees have equal right to terminate contracts of employment, with or without notice, provided they are done in accordance with the procedures prescribed by law. According to the law, an employee will be entitled to a minimum of one-month of advance notice and a severance pay if it is the employer that wants to terminate the employment.

Severance pay:

• tenure ≥ 6 months: 0.5 month(s)
• tenure ≥ 9 months: 0.75 month(s)
• tenure ≥ 1 year: 1 month(s)
• tenure ≥ 2 years: 2 month(s)
• tenure ≥ 4 years: 4 month(s)
• tenure ≥ 5 years: 5 month(s)
• tenure ≥ 10 years: 10 month(s)
• tenure ≥ 20 years: 20 month(s)

If the termination is initiated by the employee, then the employer will be entitled to a minimum of one-month notice and an indemnity (in case of justifiable claims such as being absent from work during the notice period).

Acumen International can help you fast-track your possibilities of entering and expanding your business in Jordan by providing you with our Employer of Record services. Our unique mix of PEO/EOR solutions will enable you to jumpstart your global operations almost immediately, cost-effectively and compliantly without any need to set up a legal entity first or afterwards.