Hiring in Belize requires you to be aware of the local employment laws, benefits, payroll, and taxes. Below is everything you need to know on how to successfully onboard talents from Belize.
Employee Contract
Public and Provincial Holidays
Leave Information
Basic
Contracts in Belize can either be oral or written. In practice, employers hand out written contracts to employees for employment. The language for the contracts must be in English.
Probation Period
The probationary period for employees is up to 2 weeks.
13th Month Pay
The 13th-month pay is not mandatory in Belize.
Employee Benefits
Full-time employees in Belize are ensured to have insurance benefits such as
- Maternity Allowance
- Maternity Grant
- Sickness Benefit
- Invalidity Pension
- Medical Care
- Disablement Grant
- Disablement Pension
- Constant Attendance Allowance
- Retirement Pension
- Survivor’s Grant
Workers are paid weekly, bi-weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly depending on the type of work they do. Commissioned work or project-based output requires the employer to pay bi-weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly.
The minimum wage in Belize is BZ$5 per hour.
Overtime in Belize is not required by law to be obligated by employees. However, for a workweek above 45 hours the overtime rate is 1.5 of the normal rate. 45-hour weeks must be paid with 1.5 of the normal rate for every hour worked.
Employee and Employer Payroll Tax:
| Actual Weekly Earnings
(BZD)
|
Weekly Insurable Earnings
(BZD)
|
Employer’s Contribution |
Employee’s Contribution |
| Less than 70 |
55 |
8.13 |
1.88 |
| 70 to 109.99 |
90 |
8.13 |
1.88 |
| 110 to 139.99 |
130 |
8.13 |
1.88 |
| 140 to 179.99 |
160 |
7.54 |
2.46 |
| 180 to 219.99 |
200 |
7.03 |
2.97 |
| 220 to 259.99 |
240 |
6.69 |
3.31 |
| 260 to 299.99 |
280 |
6.45 |
3.55 |
| 300 to 339.99 |
320 |
6.27 |
3.73 |
| 340 to 379.99 |
360 |
6.12 |
3.88 |
| 380 to 419.99 |
400 |
5.96 |
4.04 |
| 420 to 459.99 |
440 |
5.81 |
4.19 |
| 460 to 499 |
480 |
5.65 |
4.35 |
| Above 500 |
520 |
5.50 |
4.50 |
Employee Income Tax
Income tax in Belize is flat 25% of the chargeable income over BZ$ 26,000.00. with the provided personal tax relief in the table below:
| Income Group (BZ$) |
Tax Relief (BZ$) |
| 26,000.00 |
25,600.00 |
| 26,000.01 – 27,000.00 |
24,600.00 |
| 27,000.01 – 29,000.00 |
22,600.00 |
| Over 29,000.01 |
19,600.00 |
VAT
VAT in Belize is 12.5%.
The termination process in Belize requires a standard notice for every employee before termination. However, employers are not required to issue a notice provided if they have reasonable cause due to misconduct and lack of skill.
The notice period before termination for probationary and regular employees ranges from 1 – 10 weeks.
Severance pay
An employee employed for a period of 5 – 10 years is paid one week’s wage for each year of service.
Employees with over 10 years of service are paid two weeks’ wage for each year of service.
Casual workers must work for at least 180 working days in a year to be entitled to severance pay.
Belize doesn’t require many countries to have a visa to access their country. However, applying for a business visa for Belize is straightforward. If you’re a Central American National, you can apply in Belize’s immigration office.