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How to hire remote employees in
Nicaragua’s got lots of great remote talent, and it’s no surprise you’ve found someone to hire there (or that you’re considering it). While labor laws are different, the two types of talent, employees and contractors, are the same. Here’s what to know before you make a final decision on either one.
If you want to successfully hire in
Nicaragua
, you have two options:
Laws about hiring contractors are significantly more simple in
Nicaragua
. Onboarding talent takes days, not weeks or months. Both you, the company, and your talent have more flexibility. And in many cases, since you’re remote, the talent you’re hiring is better classified as a contractor, anyway. Of course, it’s not possible in every case, but it’s what we built Thera for.
This is the long route. You can either establish a physical presence with an entity and register as an employer, or you can use an Employer-of-Record (EOR) solution. Odds are, you’ll find using an EOR to be the easier route. Still, using an EOR in
Nicaragua
is expensive—it can often be $500 per month per employee—and sometimes prone to lengthy onboarding times.
Hiring contractors is normally the easier, faster, more flexible choice—but don’t just take it from us. Below are the specific benefits and drawbacks to hiring contractors in
Nicaragua
.
Hiring employees takes months, at the minimum. When you hire with Thera's locally-generated contracts, it’s a matter of days or weeks. This means you can hire the best talent, fast, without losing them to a hellish procession of paperwork.
It costs just $0 to sign up for Thera, then $25 per month to hire your contractors with Thera. If you hired employees manually (or did contracting on your own), you’d likely be on the hook for thousands of dollars each month. Setting up an entity alone can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Hiring contractors in
Nicaragua
means you’re generally not on the hook for things like health insurance and paid time off. This makes hiring flexible for you, and it gives your talent more options.
Hiring employees is a bigger commitment, and can open you up to increased liabilities and regulations. When you hire contractors overseas, your biggest risk is misclassification—but laws surrounding contractor classification are often significantly more straightforward.
The contractor life isn’t for everyone—some people want the security that being an employee often appears to provide. Though it’s rare, this does happen, and it’s one disadvantage of manage an all-contractor team.
Most countries’ contractor-employer relationship laws stipulate that the employer can’t set fixed working hours, among other things. These laws give contractors more freedom over how and when they do their work than an employee would have. In reality, however, most contractors are willing & able to work on the company’s schedule—it’s a matter of setting expectations beforehand.
If you’re hiring contractors in
Nicaragua
, you can pay them with Thera in a single click. You won’t need to worry about complicated wire transfers, fees, or currency conversions. We’ll take care of it all. Just make a click and your contractor will get paid in their currency of choice. This is a valuable bonus for talent in countries where the local currency is particularly weak—most people appreciate the ability to receive their payment in stronger currencies.
If you’ve read up until this point, you’ll know that it’s easier, cheaper, and more flexible to hire contractors in Nicaragua than employees. Still, there are valid reasons why you might want to hire employees instead. The content below is for you—we’ll cover employer taxes and obligations in Nicaragua.
PTO is calculated by the:
There are 9 public holidays.
The duration of sick leave entitlement provided to workers is dependent on how long they have been employed by their employer:
Maternity leave is 12 weeks and is paid at the rate of 100% of the regular wages in which 60% of this is paid by the employer and 40% is paid by social security. Maternity leave can begin 4 weeks from the expected due date.
For multiple births, maternity leave is extended to 14 weeks.
Fathers are entitled to 5 business days of paid leave.
There is no statutory law on parental leave in Nicaragua.
None.
None.
None.
To terminate employees, employers must request for termination from the labor inspection department.
At the time of dismissal, the employee is entitled to remaining vacation pay and their annual bonus. Notice of termination is also required.
The notice period in Nicaragua is:
Employees must provide 15 days notice.
The employer must pay severance when the employee is terminated for an unjust cause.
The severance pay is calculated at one month’s salary for the first 3 years of employment and 20 extra days of wages for every year after.
Severance is capped at 5 months in payments.
The probation period is 30 days, during which either party can terminate the employment agreement for any reason.
The working hours depends on the hours of the day:
Day work between the hours of 6 am and 8 pm- A typical workday is 8 hours or a maximum of 48 hours per week
Night work between the hours of 8 pm and 6 am- A typical workday is 7.5 hours or a maximum of 45 hours a week.
Overtime pay is paid at a rate of 200%.
For work over a weekend or holiday, the employee is entitled to a 24–hour rest period in lieu.
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