Employer of Record in Afghanistan

An Employer of Record (EOR) in Afghanistan is a third-party organization that becomes the legal employer for your workers in the country. This means you can hire employees in Afghanistan without needing to set up a local legal entity. The EOR handles all the administrative and legal requirements of employment, such as payroll, taxes, benefits, and compliance with Afghanistan's labor laws. This arrangement allows you to focus on managing your employees' daily tasks and growing your business. For companies looking to hire in Afghanistan, an EOR provider like Rivermate simplifies international expansion.

How an Employer of Record (EOR) Works in Afghanistan

Using an EOR in Afghanistan streamlines the process of hiring and managing employees. Here is how it typically works:

• You Find the Talent: You recruit and select the best candidates for your team in Afghanistan.
• The EOR Hires Them: The EOR legally hires the employees on your behalf through a compliant local employment contract.
• Onboarding and Compliance: The EOR manages all the necessary paperwork for onboarding. They also ensure that your employees get any required work permits.
• Payroll and Benefits: The EOR handles all aspects of payroll, including taxes and social security contributions, ensuring everything complies with Afghan law.
• Ongoing HR Support: The EOR provides continuous human resources support, managing any issues that arise during the employment period.
• You Manage Your Team: While the EOR handles the legal and administrative tasks, you maintain full control over your employees' daily work and projects.

Why use an Employer of Record in Afghanistan

Expanding your business into a new country like Afghanistan presents unique challenges and complexities. An EOR helps you navigate these challenges efficiently. It allows you to access local talent and build a team quickly without the significant investment and time required to establish a legal entity in the country.

Here are some key benefits of using an EOR in Afghanistan:

• Enter the Market Faster: You can hire employees and begin operations in a fraction of the time it would take to set up your own company.
• Ensure Compliance: You can confidently navigate Afghanistan's complex labor laws. An EOR manages all regulatory and employment compliance, reducing legal risks.
• Reduce Costs: Avoid the substantial expenses tied to establishing and maintaining a subsidiary or branch office.
• Minimize Administrative Work: Your EOR takes care of the legal and HR tasks, freeing you to concentrate on your core business activities.

Rivermate's transparent pricing model eliminates complexity with a single, competitive monthly fee per employee. Unlike traditional PEO providers, our pricing in Afghanistan includes comprehensive HR support, benefits administration, compliance management, and access to our proprietary dashboard for real-time workforce analytics. No hidden costs, no setup fees—just straightforward pricing that scales with your business needs while ensuring full legal compliance in Afghanistan.

Hiring in Afghanistan requires a solid understanding of the local labor laws. You need to navigate a complex legal system to make sure you are compliant. This guide simplifies the key aspects of hiring in Afghanistan, helping you make informed decisions.

Employment contracts & must-have clauses

You must provide a written employment contract for your employees in Afghanistan. The contract should be in Pashto. Fixed-term contracts are common and are typically for one year. If a contract extends beyond a year, it's considered indefinite.

Your employment contracts must include these essential clauses:

• Parties' Identification: Full legal names and addresses of your company and the employee.
• Job Details: A clear description of the employee's role, duties, and responsibilities.
• Work Location: The primary place where the employee will work.
• Contract Duration: The start date and, for fixed-term contracts, the end date.
• Working Hours: Details on daily and weekly work hours, including overtime provisions.
• Compensation: The salary amount, how often it will be paid, and the payment method.
• Leave Entitlements: Information on annual, sick, and other types of leave.
• Probation Period: Terms of the probationary period, if any.
• Termination: Conditions and notice periods for ending the contract.

Probation periods

You can include a probation period in the employment contract to assess a new employee's suitability. The maximum duration for a probation period is typically three months. During this time, either you or the employee can end the contract with a shorter notice period.

Working hours & overtime

The standard workweek in Afghanistan is 40 hours. This is usually eight hours a day for five or six days a week.

Some employees have shorter workweeks:

Any work done beyond the standard hours is overtime. Overtime is limited to four hours per day and requires the employee's consent.

Overtime compensation is calculated as follows:

• Regular workdays: An additional 25% of the employee's standard salary.
• Public holidays: An additional 50% of the employee's standard salary.

Public & regional holidays

Your employees are entitled to paid time off for public holidays. Here is a list of public holidays in Afghanistan for 2025:

Please note that dates for Islamic holidays are tentative and may change.

Hiring contractors in Afghanistan

You can hire independent contractors for project-based or temporary work. This offers flexibility, but it's crucial to classify workers correctly. Misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor can lead to serious consequences.

If a worker is deemed to be an employee, you could be responsible for:

• Back payment of wages and benefits.
• Unpaid payroll taxes and social security contributions.
• Legal penalties and fines.

An Employer of Record (EOR) can help you avoid these risks. An EOR acts as the legal employer for your workers in Afghanistan. They handle all employment-related tasks, including compliant contracts, payroll, taxes, and benefits. This ensures you follow local labor laws while you focus on managing your team's daily work.

In Afghanistan, your approach to compensation and payroll needs to be straightforward and compliant with local labor laws. The system has its own unique set of rules, from how you pay your employees to the taxes you need to handle. Understanding these basics is key to operating smoothly and keeping your team happy.

Payroll cycles & wage structure

In Afghanistan, the most common payroll cycle is monthly. You'll typically pay your employees their salary and any allowances once a month, either at the end of the month or the beginning of the next. More and more businesses are using bank transfers to pay their employees, which is a secure and traceable method.

Your employees' salary structure will include a basic salary plus any allowances you offer. Common allowances include transportation, housing, and meals. You might also offer performance bonuses.

Overtime & minimums

When it comes to minimum wage, there's a distinction between government and private sector workers. The minimum wage for government employees is 6,000 Afghani per month. For non-permanent private sector employees, the minimum wage is 5,500 AFN. There is no specified minimum wage for permanent private sector employees.

If your employees work on a public holiday to meet business demands, you are required to pay them an extra half of their daily wage in addition to their regular salary. This is considered overtime pay. All overtime payments are subject to wage withholding tax.

Employer taxes and contributions

As an employer in Afghanistan, you are responsible for withholding and paying income tax from your employees' salaries. The income tax for legal persons is a flat rate.

Employee taxes and deductions

The amount of income tax you withhold from an employee's salary depends on how much they earn. The tax rates are progressive.

In Afghanistan, providing solid benefits and leave is key to attracting and keeping great people. It shows you value your team and are invested in their well being. This builds loyalty and a positive work environment. A clear and fair leave policy prevents burnout and keeps your team productive.

Statutory leave

The Afghan Labor Law sets the minimum leave requirements.

• Annual Leave: You must provide 20 days of paid recreational leave each year.
• Essential Leave: Employees get an additional 10 days for urgent matters.
• Sick Leave: Employees are entitled to 20 days of paid sick leave annually. A written notice is fine for up to three days, but a medical certificate is needed for longer absences.
• Maternity Leave: Female employees receive 90 days of paid maternity leave. Typically, they take one month before birth and the rest after.
• Pilgrimage Leave: A special leave of up to 45 days is available for employees undertaking the Hajj pilgrimage.

Public holidays & regional holidays

Your team is entitled to paid time off for national and religious holidays. Here are the public holidays for 2025:

Note: Some dates are subject to change based on lunar sightings.

Typical supplemental benefits

To be a competitive employer, you should offer more than the minimum. Here is a look at standard and extra benefits:

How an EOR can help with setting up benefits

Setting up a benefits plan in a new country is complex. An Employer of Record (EOR) makes it simple. We handle the details so you can focus on your business.

An EOR helps you:

• Stay Compliant: We ensure your benefits packages meet all local labor laws.
• Save Time: We manage all the administration of benefits, from enrollment to claims.
• Offer Competitive Packages: We provide insights into local market expectations to help you attract top talent.
• Simplify Payroll: We integrate benefits contributions with payroll for seamless management.

Working with an EOR means you can be confident that your team in Afghanistan is well cared for, and your business is protected.

When an employment relationship in Afghanistan ends, you need to follow a specific process. This involves understanding the legal requirements for dismissing an employee to ensure you are compliant. The process covers notice periods, final payments, and clear communication with the departing employee. Managing this correctly helps you avoid legal issues and maintain a positive reputation.

Notice periods

Afghan labor law requires you to give employees a minimum amount of notice before their employment ends. The length of this notice period depends on how long the employee has worked for you.

Here are the minimum notice periods:

You must provide the termination notice in writing. Your employment contract can specify a longer notice period, but not a shorter one.

Severance pay

In most cases, you must pay severance to a departing employee. The only exception is if the termination is due to serious misconduct. Severance pay is calculated based on the employee's final salary and their length of service. The standard is one month's final salary for each year of service.

How Rivermate handles compliant exits

Navigating employee terminations in a different country can be complex. We handle the entire offboarding process for you. We make sure that every step follows Afghan labor law.

Here is how we help:

• Compliance: We ensure that notice periods and severance pay meet legal requirements.
• Documentation: We prepare all necessary termination documents.
• Final Payroll: We process the employee's final payment, including any outstanding salary, benefits, and severance.

We manage these details so you can focus on your business. Our process ensures a smooth and respectful exit for your employees.

Navigating visas and work permits for Afghanistan requires a clear understanding of the process. Foreign nationals who want to work in the country need both an entry visa and a work permit to be legally employed. The government ministries involved, primarily the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, have specific requirements you must meet. This process ensures that foreign workers comply with local regulations.

Employment visas & sponsorship realities

When you hire employees in Afghanistan, you need a local, legally registered entity to sponsor their work permits. This is a requirement. An Employer of Record (EOR) can serve as that legal employer. This allows you to hire employees in Afghanistan without establishing your own subsidiary or branch office.

An EOR handles the sponsorship for visas and work permits. They take on the legal responsibility for your employees, managing payroll, taxes, benefits, and compliance with Afghan labor laws.

Here’s a look at the practical steps involved:

• Initial Visa: Employees typically first get a single-entry visa, valid for three months.
• Work Permit: After arriving in Afghanistan, the employee can then apply for a work permit.
• Visa Extension: Once the work permit is secured, they can apply for a longer-term, multiple-entry visa, often for six months or a year.

The key is that the employer—in this case, the EOR—must be registered and recognized by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. The EOR provides the necessary invitation letters and documentation to support the application. While an EOR simplifies the process, it’s important to recognize that all applicants must meet the government's eligibility criteria. This includes being under the retirement age and providing educational documents.

Business travel compliance

For short-term visits that do not involve employment, a business visa is the correct route. A business visa does not permit you to perform the duties of a regular employee.

Business visas are available for different durations:

To get a business visa, you generally need the following:

• A valid passport with at least six months of validity.
• A completed visa application form.
• A passport-sized photo.
• An invitation letter from a host company in Afghanistan.
• The host company's business registration certificate.

The invitation letter must be approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Afghanistan. Always start the visa application process well before your planned travel date to avoid delays.