Hire in Macau
Country Overview
Employment Contracts
Working Hours
Employee Leave
Employee Benefits
Macau PEO & Employer of Record Services
Global PEO Services (GPS) helps companies hire employees in Macau without establishing a legal entity. All human resources, benefits, payroll, and tax needs for the employees are managed by the Global PEO, while the new hires and headquarter teams focus on your business goals.
When hiring employees in Macau, establishing a subsidiary or branch office is not always the best route, as it’s often a lengthy and expensive process. Hiring via a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), or Employer of Record (EOR), is a faster and often more effective option – especially when starting up in a new country.
Global PEO Services hires the employees on your behalf, legally contracting them through our subsidiary in accordance with Macau labor laws. As a result, the burden of compliance is on us and the employees can begin work for your company in a matter of days. PEOs/EORs provide you with a streamlined option for hiring employees, testing markets, and responding to growing business needs in Macau. With Global PEO Services, you get control without taking on legal entity liabilities, contractor risks, or sacrificing on talent or speed to market.
Macau - Country Overview
Macau is an autonomous territory and a Special Administrative Region of China, located in the country’s Southeastern coast. It is a free port that benefits from its openness to global trade and foreign investments. The importance of foreign trade is reflected in the combined value of Macau’s imports and exports, which is equal to 110% of its GDP. The most prominent industries are tourism, gambling, banking, construction and media.
Capital City
Beijing (as Macau is China’s Special Administrative Region)
Currency
Macanese Pataca
Principal Language
Chinese, Portuguese
Government
China’s Special Administrative Region Headed by a Chief Executive
Employment Contracts in Macau
An important principle of employment legislation in Macau is that an employment contract is void if it offers lesser benefits than the minimum standard set by the law. The minimum age at which someone can start working is 18 years old. However, minors ages 16-18, and even 14-16, are allowed to work under certain conditions.
It is not mandatory to have a written employment contract, except when employing minors or working under a fixed term contract. A probation period of 90 days is allowed, which can be increased to 180 days for managerial posts. In case of fixed-term contracts, the probationary period is only 30 days.
Working Hours in Macau
Regular work hours are restricted to 8 hours a day and 48 hours in a week. Daily limit may go up to 12 hours, but the weekly limit still needs to be maintained. Any change in the work schedule can be implemented only with mutual agreement.
Overtime
Overtime work is remunerated in Macau at the rate of 20% additional payment. However, the employer is allowed to force their employees to work up to 16 hours if the plant is facing significant losses, and up to 12 hours if there is an unprecedented spike in the volume of work. Overtime payment in these cases is 50% extra plus compensatory rest. Employees are also entitled to additional pay for night shifts.
Employee Leave in Macau
Holidays
The 10 mandatory public holidays in Macau include:
- New Year’s Day
- Lunar New Year Day
- Second day of Lunar New Year
- Third day of Lunar New Year
- Cheng Ming Festival
- Labour Day
- The day after the Mid-Autumn Festival (Chong Chao Festival)
- National Day of the People’s Republic of China
- Chong Yeong Festival
- Macau Special Administrative Region Establishment Day
Annual Leave
An employee gets 7 days of paid annual leave after completing 12 months of employment under a continuous contract.
An employee’s eligibility for paid annual leave increases progressively up to 14 days according to his/her duration of service as given below:
| Years of Service | Annual Leave Entitlement |
|---|---|
| 1 | 7 days |
| 2 | 7 days |
| 3 | 8 days |
| 4 | 9 days |
| 5 | 10 days |
| 6 | 11 days |
| 7 | 12 days |
| 8 | 13 days |
| 9 or more | 14 days |
Sick Leave
Employees are eligible for fully paid 6 days of leave due to sickness after completing the probationary period.
Maternity Leave
All permanent female employees are eligible for 56 days of maternity leave. Women employees need to take 49 out of the 56 days’ leave right after the confinement, and the days left may be taken together or separately, before or after confinement, as the employees want. When a female employee needs to take a part of her maternity leave prior to confinement, she needs to notify the line manager about this at least 5 days earlier.
Paternity Leave
Male employees are eligible for 2 days of paternity leave that they need to take within 2 weeks before or after their spouse’s date of confinement.
Other Leaves
- 2 days of adoption leave after the probationary period is over.
- 6 days of marriage leave after the probationary period is over.
- 3 days of compassionate leave on the demise of a parent, spouse or children.
Employee Benefits in Macau
Employers need to contribute 60 patacas while employees (permanent or temporary but working more than 15 days a month), need to pay 30 patacas to the Social Security Fund (FSS) of Macau. In case of casual workers who work less than 15 days in a month, the employer needs to pay 30 patacas while the employee pays 15 patacas to the fund.
Old-age Pension
The Social Security Fund of Macau pays 3,450 patacas to a person who qualifies under the following conditions:
- He/she has reached the age 65 or is 60 years of age and shows signs of premature decline in health.
- He/she has been a resident of Macau for a minimum of 7 years.
- He/she has made a minimum 60 months of contributions.
Early Old-age Pension
After reaching the age of 60, employees in Macau are eligible for an early old-age pension, provided they meet the conditions of residency and have made 60 months of contributions. The amount of early old-age pension is calculated by considering the number of actual contributions, a percentage assigned to the employee’s age, a specified early pension amount and the maximum amount of old-age pension.
Disability Pension
A person is eligible for the disability pension of 3,450 patacas after making contributions for 36 months, being resident in Macau for 7 years, and meeting certain medical conditions.
Sickness Allowance
In cases of hospitalization, an employee is eligible for a sickness allowance of 138 patacas per day for not more than 180 days a year. In non-hospitalization cases, the same is 104 patacas per day. The qualifying conditions for this allowance include 9 or more contributions to the social security fund in the preceding 12 months.
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