A Guide to hiring remote workers in Pakistan Asia
The upward trend in remote work & tougher visa regulations is creating a massive opportunity for businesses to hire remote workers in emerging economies to meet their talent needs.
Pakistan is a good choice for recruiting remote workers due to the low cost to companies and its staggering array of skilled employees, specifically in the fields of telecommunications and IT, to name but a few.
Here are few facts you need to know before hiring your first remote worker in Pakistan:
Country
Pakistan
Capital & Major Cities
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Islamabad (Capital)
Time Zone & IDD
GMT+5 (Pakistan Standard Time), IDD +92
Currency & Exchange Rates
Pakistani Rupee (PKR)
1USD= approx. 159.36 PKR. Check out the latest exchange rates here .
Spoken Language(s)
Urdu, English (official languages) + 17 regional languages
Public Holidays
11 days – Public Holidays in Pakistan are a combination of Islamic, national, and other religious holidays.
Overview of the Talent Pool
Pakistan is among Asia’s six most populous nations. A surge in population growth over the past few decades has given way to large numbers of young and talented individuals entering the labor market.
English is one of Pakistan’s two official languages with most schools and universities offering their curriculum in the English language. This makes hiring remote workers from Pakistan even more advantageous given the fact that they’re effective communicators.
Previously, excessive red tape made hiring and terminating Pakistani employees difficult however, in 2016, the government announced an initiative (the Prime Minister’s Youth Program) to combat unemployment in the country.
This program enables youth and poor segments of society to gain better employment opportunities, economic empowerment, skills acquisition, access to IT, and practical on-the-job training to improve job prospects.
Global research centre Point Topic Global has ranked Pakistan 4th in terms of broadband Internet growth in the world meaning that that the country has excellent connectivity in terms of internet and telecommunications.
Most government departments, organizations and institutions have their own websites with Pakistanis being one of the biggest users of the Internet, communicating with users all over the world.
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Cultural Insights
In general, the people of Pakistan are helpful, friendly, approachable, and humble.
Trust is a major consideration in Pakistani business culture; therefore, Pakistanis are more comfortable when they’re familiar with whom they conduct business.
In order to foster and build a trusting relationship, Pakastani will often ask personal questions to gain further insights and help them forge strong bonds.
The Pakastani people are generally casual about deadlines and punctuality. Although attending a meeting on time is always important, in the remote work sphere, you might find yourself having to wait as meetings might not occur as punctually as you’d expect. During meetings always wait to be introduced to by the meeting host as you’re likely to be greeted in order of age and status.
Pakastani workers do not appreciate overly assertive and argumentative behavior and similarly, placing them under high pressure may jeopardize and harm your working relationship.
Outcomes of a win-win nature are most likely to appeal to them and will gain popular support.
Appealing to a win-win outcome usually gains popular support.
Salaries & Benefits in Pakistan
The country does not have a minimum wage for skilled labor however, you will need to negotiate terms of employment and compensation.
Companies must provide guaranteed benefits that include time off for holidays and paid vacation days. Pakistan has 11 national and religious holidays for which employees get the day off. Employees who have worked continuously for at least a year get 14 consecutive days of annual leave during the next year. Those vacation days carry over into the next year if they’re not all used.
Another guaranteed benefit is 10 days of casual leave with full pay and another 16 days of sick or medical leave where employees get 50% of their regular pay.
Employers can grant casual leave for situations such as a sudden, fast illness while taking sick leave requires a medical certificate.
Terminating employees
Termination Process: A written letter should be provided when terminating a contract and reasoning for the termination must be sufficient and both employee and employee need to provide a month’s notice. In the absence of notice, a monthly salary in lieu must be provided.
Severance Pay: When employees are discharged from work, they are given severance pay. The payment must amount to 30 days’ wages for each completed year of service. Employees dismissed for misconduct are not entitled to severance pay.
Employing remote workers in Pakistan
Employment laws in Pakistan can be complex to understand. Snaphunt’s Employer on Record Partners can seamlessly employ & payroll your remote Filipino talent to ensure you stay compliant while doing away with the need for you to create complex structures. Contact us today for a free consultation.