Bangladesh

AVASO provides employer of record services for customers that want to hire employees and run payroll without first establishing a branch office or subsidiary in Bangladesh. Your candidate is hired via AVASOs’ Bangladesh Professional Employer Organization (PEO) in accordance with local labor laws and can be onboarded in days instead of the months it typically takes. The individual is assigned to work on your team, working on your company’s behalf exactly as if he or she were your employee to fulfill your in-country requirements.

Table of Contents

• Public Holidays in Bangladesh
• Bonuses in Bangladesh
• Working Hours in Bangladesh
• Vacation Benefits in Bangladesh
• Sick Leave in Bangladesh
• Maternity/Paternity Leave in Bangladesh
• Termination of Employment and Severance Pay in Bangladesh
• Payroll Taxes in Bangladesh
• Health Insurance in Bangladesh
• Bottom Line on Benefits in Bangladesh
• Employment Contracts in Bangladesh

Our solution enables customers to run payroll in Bangladesh while HR services, tax, and compliance management matters are lifted from their shoulders onto ours. As a Global PEO expert, we manage employment contract best practices, statutory and market norm benefits, and employee expenses, as well as severance and termination if required. We also keep you apprised of changes to local employment laws in Bangladesh.

Your new employee is productive sooner, has a better hiring experience and is 100% dedicated to your team. You’ll have peace of mind knowing you have a team of dedicated employment experts assisting with every hire. AVASO allows you to harness the talent of the brightest people in more than 185 countries around the world, quickly and painlessly.

When negotiating terms of an employment contract and offer letter with an employee in Bangladesh, it may be useful to keep the following standard benefits in Bangladesh in mind:

Public Holidays in Bangladesh

Employees are generally entitled to 11 days of festival holidays with pay. The holidays are determined by the employer. Employees may be required to work on a festival holiday, but shall receive 2 compensatory paid holidays and a substitute holiday.

Major holidays in Bangladesh include:

• New Year’s Day
• Language Martyrs’ Day
• Birthday of the father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
• Independence Day
• Bengali New Year
• May Day
• Buddha Purnima
• Jumatul Bidah
• Eid-ul-Fitr
• National Mourning Day
• Shuba Janmashtami
• Eid-ul-Adha
• Durga Puja
• Ashura
• Eid-e-Miladun-Nabi
• Victory Day
• Christmas Day

Bonuses in Bangladesh

Employees who have completed at lease one year of service are entitled to two festival bonuses each year. Each bonus should not be more than the basic salary.

Working Hours in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has a 40 hour week with Friday and Saturday off.

Vacation Benefits in Bangladesh

Employees who have worked for at least one year are generally entitled to annual leave as follows:

• One day for every 18 days of work in a shop, commercial, industrial establishment, factory, or road transport establishment
• One day for every 22 days of work on a tea plantation
• One day for every 11 days of work for a newspaper worker

Unused annual leave may be carried forward up to a cap of 40 days for factory or road transport workers or 60 days for tea plantation, shop, commercial, or industrial workers.

If the employee plans to take four or more days of consecutive leave, he is generally entitled to be paid before going on leave.

Workers, except those on tea plantations, are generally entitled to 10 days of paid casual leave each calendar year. This leave cannot be carried forward.

Sick Leave in Bangladesh

Employees, other than newspaper workers, are generally entitled to annual paid sick leave of 14 days.

Newspaper workers are entitled to sick leave at half-pay for not less than 1/18th of the period of employment.

The employee must present a medical certificate to receive sick leave.

Sick leave may not be carried forward from year to year.

Maternity/Paternity Leave in Bangladesh

Female employees who have worked for at least 6 months are entitled to 8 weeks of paid maternity leave before the birth and 8 weeks of paid leave after the birth. Women who have worked less than 6 months or who already have two other surviving children are generally eligible for unpaid leave.

Women are forbidden to work for 8 weeks after the birth of the child.

There is no statutory paternity leave.

Termination of Employment and Severance Pay in Bangladesh

Clerical workers are entitled to a probationary period of six months; other workers are entitled to a three month probation period.

Retrenched employees with at least one year of service are generally entitled to one month’s notice or pay in lieu of notice, and 30 days of pay for every year served.

Employees may be terminated for reasons of physical or mental incapacity or continued ill-health as certified by a medical practitioner. If the employee has served at least one year, s/he is entitled to 30 days of wages for each year of service.

Employees who have been convicted of a criminal offense or found guilty of misconduct are not owed notice or severance.

Termination of employment in Bangladesh for other reasons generally requires the employer to provide written notice of 120 days for monthly rated workers or 60 days for other workers, or equivalent pay in lieu. The worker is also entitled to 30 days of pay for every year worked.

Payroll Taxes in Bangladesh

Personal income taxes are progressive from 10%-30%.  There is no social security tax.

Health Insurance in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has a public/private health care system. NGOs and international organizations provide much of the rural care.

Bottom Line on Benefits in Bangladesh

Some companies provide housing assistance, transportation allowance, education subsidy, and/or private insurance.

Employment Contracts in Bangladesh

It is legally required to put a written employment contract in place in Bangladesh, in the local language, which spells out the terms of the employee’s compensation, benefits, and termination requirements. An offer letter and employment contract in Bangladesh should always state the salary and any compensation amounts in Bangladeshi taka rather than a foreign currency.

This information is provided as generally accepted information and is not intended as advisory services.