Hire and pay employees in
Panama, hassle-free

With Deel, your business can easily hire employees in Panama. No more worrying about local laws, complex tax systems, or managing international payroll. Deel takes care of everything in 150+ countries.

The average onboarding time frame in Panama is 3 days with Deel.

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Devise

Panamanian Balboa (PAB) The payout currency for Deel EOR is United States Dollar (USD)

Capitale

Panama City

Langue officielle

Espagnol

Cycle de paie

Mensuel

Onboard, pay and manage employees in Panama with Deel.

Usually, to hire in Panama, your business needs an entity. That means a local office, an address registered as a subsidiary, and an account with a local bank. All of this, plus navigating regional benefits, payroll, tax, and HR laws, can take months.

Deel lets you hire employees in Panama quickly, easily, and compliantly. We even automate tax document collection, payroll, benefits, and more. For your existing direct employees, we can manage your entire payroll operation from end-to-end.

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All the necessary benefits for Panama
built right in

Deel allows you to provide localized benefits for employees in Panama within minutes. All in one manageable online dashboard.

  • Pension Insurance
  • Assurance maladie publique
  • Assurance-chômage
  • Allocation de télétravail
  • Assurance accident du travail
  • Couverture santé privée - Allianz (facultatif)
  • Assurance vie mondiale - Allianz

Our quickstart guide to hiring in Panama

Navigate the tabs below to learn everything you need to know about hiring an employee in Panama

Paie et taxes Politique relative aux congés Départ Congé légal Onboarding Informations complémentaires

Exigences relatives au salaire minimum

The minimum wage will depend on the sector of the company and can range from USD 275 to USD 970. For Deel, the minimum monthly wage is USD 611.52.

Impôt sur le revenu des particuliers

L’impôt sur le revenu des particuliers varie de 0 % à 25 %. Il est calculé selon des taux progressifs.

Revenu annuel brut Taux d’imposition (%)
Up to USD 11,000 0 %
Up to USD 50,000 15%
Over USD 50,000 25%

Coût de la paie

The employer cost is generally estimated at 38% of the employee salary (inclusive of work-from-home allowance). 
  • Social security - 12.25%
  • Educational security - 1.50%
  • Professional risks - 2.10%
  • 13e mois - 8,33 %
  • Vacation pay - 9.09%
  • Seniority premium - 1.92%
  • Compensation - 0.33%
  • Work-from-home Allowance USD 50

Ces coûts sont des estimations et ne sont indiqués qu’à titre d’information. Pour comprendre le mode de calcul des coûts et frais inhérents aux termes d’un contrat de travail établi dans ce pays, n’hésitez pas à demander un devis à notre service commercial.

Rémunération des heures supplémentaires et nombre d’heures maximum

Overtime payment is mandatory. Hours outside of standard work hours are considered overtime. Employees can work up to three extra hours per day. For additional hours, employees are paid:
  • 125% of the hourly rate, on a standard day
  • 150% of the hourly rate, after 6 pm
  • 175% of the hourly rate for the night shift employees

Standard working hours are eight hours per day, 40 hours per week. The standard workweek is from Monday to Friday. However, the standard workweek can be extended to 48 hours per week from Monday to Saturday. 

Congé maternité

Pregnant employees who have worked for 60 consecutive days are entitled to 14 weeks of paid leave. Four weeks must be taken before the child's birth. The employee will receive 100% of their average salary during this period, and Social Security will be responsible for this pay. 

The employee may extend leave unpaid at the employer's sole discretion.

Congé paternité

Employees are entitled to 7 days of paid paternity leave that must be taken after the child's birth. The employee will receive 100% of their average salary during this period, and the employer will be responsible for this pay.

Congé parental

Parents are entitled to 12 weeks of parental leave, which either parent may take. This leave can be taken before the child reaches the age of 2 years. The leave can be taken all at once or in separate blocks of time and must be taken within the first year after the birth or adoption of the child.

Congés maladie

Employees are entitled to paid sick leave for up to either 18 or 36 days depending on the seniority of the employee.  

Conditions de départ

Un licenciement doit respecter des règles complexes et la procédure officielle du pays où travaille la personne concernée. Les conditions du départ sont toujours gérées par l’employeur avec les principales parties prenantes. La procédure peut inclure des frais ponctuels et certaines mesures (obligatoires ou recommandées) dans des cas spécifiques de licenciement.

Terminations in Panama can be complex. There is no at-will termination outside the probation period and termination must be done for just cause. In case the employee considers the termination an unfair dismissal, it will have up to 60 days to sue the employer for reinstatement for wrongful dismissal against.

The employment agreement can be terminated by:

  • Voluntarily by the employee (Resignation)
  • D’un commun accord
    • Must be in writing and should not waive any employment rights
  • Dismissal with justified cause
  • À l’expiration du contrat
  • For the completion of the work
  • Due to the death of the employee 
  • Due to the death of the employer, when it entails the unavoidable termination of the contract.
  • For the prolongation of the causes of suspension of the contracts, at request of the employee.
  • Unilaterally by the employer:

    • For indefinite employment agreements must be for cause and in writing

Special cases and circumstances may apply including requiring the employer to get authorization from the relevant administrative labor authority.

Période de préavis

The minimum notice period is 15 days and will vary according to the reason for the termination:
  • Generally, 15 days if the employee resigns
  • Generally, 30 days if the employer terminates the employee

Special cases and circumstances may apply, including having the notice signed by the relevant administrative labor authority. Notice can be replaced by paying the equivalent in salary.

Indemnités de départ des employés

In Panama, all employees are entitled to severance pay unless the termination is due to a disciplinary dismissal. 
Severance pay is complex and will depend on the reason for the termination, type of contract (fixed-term or indefinite term), and length of the labor relationship.

Congés payés

Both full-time and part-time employees are entitled to 30 calendar days of paid time off (PTO) a year. PTO accrues monthly at 2.72 days per month. Employees are eligible for 15 calendar days of annual leave after 5.5 months of work. 

Jours fériés

Panama celebrates 8 national holidays. National public holidays include:
- New Year's Day (1st January)
- Martyr's Day (9th January)
- Carnival Monday and Tuesday
- Good Friday
- Labor Day (1st May)
- Independence Day (11th November)
- Christmas Day (25th December)

Onboarding

Onboarding takes three business days. If the employee has no Social Security Number, the onboarding will be delayed at least seven business days. 

Termes du contrat de travail

Contracts must be in Spanish and can be bilingual. They must be in writing and signed by both parties. A contract must include: 

  • Name, nationality, age, gender, civil status, address, ID
  • If the employer is a company it must include the company name, address, name of its legal representative and the registration data in the Public Register.
  • Names of the people who live with the employee and any dependents
  • Start date and length of the employment
  • Description du poste
  • Workplace
  • Regular work hours
  • Salary, date and payment method
  • Place and date of the execution of the contract
  • Signatures of both parties

Période d’essai

Employees hired using Deel have a probation period of 90 days, this cannot be extended as it is the country maximum. As of January 2022, it's Deel company policy to include probation periods in all employment contracts moving forward.

Probation periods help an employer and the employee ensure they're a hiring match, allowing a company to quickly decide if it's a fit or the employee to see if the job aligns with their career goals.
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Hiring in Panama, hassle-free

With Deel, your business can easily hire employees in Panama with our EOR solution. If you have an entity, our Global Payroll solution takes care of payroll and compliance for your direct employees. Our 250+ in-house experts handle everything from managing local laws, complex tax systems, or your payroll in Panama and 150+ countries.

Groupe (8)

À partir de 599 USD

Management fee

Group (9)

38 %

Part employeur estimée

* du salaire versé

Want to learn the cost of hiring an employee in Panama?

Accédez à notre outil Employee Cost Calculator

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