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Kiribati EOR & PEO

Start hiring in Kiribati

Simple, compliant hiring with Horizons EOR & PEO

Hire in Kiribati

The 33 islands comprising the remote Pacific Ocean nation of Kiribati are home to a youthful population of around 130,000. Kiribati’s economy is dominated by agriculture, fisheries, and the public sector, with interest increasing in areas such as tourism and renewable energy. In 2023, Kiribati’s GDP was approximately $280 million, with an annual growth of 4.3%.

Due to limited employment opportunities and an increasing connection with the wider world, younger workers in Kiribati are driven to find work in new sectors and, with an almost exclusively Christian population and English as one of two official languages, are culturally suited to employment with many global companies. The average monthly wage in Kiribati is below the world average at around $1,200-$1,400 per month. This creates opportunities for businesses worldwide to find an enthusiastic and cost-effective workforce in Kiribati.

Facts & Stats

EOR Platform

Hire in Kiribati, and pay employees through our platform or app.

EOR Cost

Our Kiribati EOR solution is the most affordable on the market.

Time-to-hire

Fast Kiribati onboarding, hire in as little as 24 hours.

Contracts

We draft compliant Kiribati labor contracts.

Local benefits

We manage all Kiribati mandatory benefits.

180+ Countries

It doesn’t stop with Kiribati — we hire employees globally.

hire employees in Kiribati

What Is a Kiribati EOR?

When any foreign business hires workers in Kiribati, it must abide by all the local laws and regulations. It is also important to understand the labor force and how employment is impacted by cultures and customs. While a company could achieve this by establishing a local entity within the territory and dedicating extensive resources to developing the knowledge required, a much simpler path is to use an Employer of Record (EOR). An EOR is an organization that acts as the legal employer of a local workforce. It accepts responsibility for ensuring all requirements are fully adhered to. It also offers the advantage of being an experienced recruiter in the region and an expert human resources manager.

Similar services, such as Professional Employer Organizations (PEO) are often discussed interchangeably with EOR, but it is important to note a crucial difference. Working with an EOR removes the need for a foreign business to establish a local entity. A PEO does not offer this and acts only as an outsourced recruitment and human resources service. When working with a PEO, the cost, complications, and risk of creating a local entity must still be borne.

Save Money And Time with A Kiribati EOR

What Are the Benefits of a Kiribati EOR?

By using an EOR in Kiribati, a foreign employer can begin hiring a local workforce quickly and efficiently, using minimal resources, with limited liability should issues arise. Without an EOR, the process of setting up a legal entity within Kiribati could take months, and that’s before a single employee is hired.

In addition to this overall streamlining of the hiring process, several specific benefits come from using an EOR in Kiribati:

  1. Access to the best talent. As an experienced employment specialist in Kiribati, an EOR will have an established understanding of the available talent pool and how to recruit the best people for the best price. This level of knowledge and connections could take months, if not years, for an individual employer to attain.
  2. Removing cultural barriers. Attitudes and expectations toward work are different in every country and culture. A foreign employer who does not understand local culture or speak the same language as its workers can find getting the best from its workforce difficult. A local EOR who is fluent in both local languages and customs is much better placed to create a happy and effective workforce.
  3. Reducing legal liability. One of the most important benefits of an EOR is its acceptance of liability to ensure compliance with local laws. Not only does an EOR’s expertise reduce the risk of disputes and issues, but in the event they do occur, its status as a legal employer protects client businesses from most, if not all, repercussions.
Horizons is Best IN Class

Why Choose Horizons?

Horizons stands out as a Kiribati EOR through:

  1. A strong regional presence in the Asia-Pacific region, meaning senior management are on the ground to deal with any issues.
  2. Client-focused infrastructure. Horizons won’t oversell you on products and services you don’t need. Horizons offers the easiest platform to compliantly hire and pay people worldwide.
  3. Cost-effective solutions. At $299 per employee, per month, no EOR in Kiribati is more affordable. The cost is 100% transparent (onboarding, offboarding, deposit, no extra charges).
  4. A customer-first culture. Horizons is an efficient bootstrapped company. It is not an externally-funded company burning investor cash to aggressively acquire new clients. Horizons is the only EOR that grows with its customer, reflecting the level of care and personal attention provided to each customer. Horizons will carefully advise on the best setup in each country: the type of contract needed, how to structure your benefits, and how to offboard a person while minimizing the risk of conflicts and extra cost
  5. A long-term partnership. Horizons is the only EOR platform with a recruitment arm — a direct response to client demand. If any employee is leaving, or if our clients want to explore a new country, Horizons can recruit new candidates directly for the client.  Horizons is:
    • The only EOR doing this in-house — no subcontracting
    • The only EOR doing this without a retainer — clients are only charged upon success
    • The only EOR charging just a 2% fee per month
Step-by-step Kiribati EOR

How Does a Kiribati EOR Work?

An EOR in Kiribati works as an intermediary between local workers and foreign employers to arrange a network of mutually beneficial relationships. From the initial recruitment to ongoing workforce management and exit processes, the EOR ensures the efficient and stress-free maintenance of a productive workforce throughout its agreement with any client.

The fundamental aspects of this service include:

  1. Hire your employees. Once a client seeking to hire in Kiribati engages the services of an EOR, recruitment begins almost immediately. Whether handpicking the right workers for each role from an established talent pool, or advertising for applications from new candidates, the EOR will continue this process until it has found the workers it needs.
  2. Manage employment contracts and onboarding. Once the right workers have been found for a client, the Kiribati EOR will handle employment negotiations, draw up contracts, and have all documents signed so service can begin. Once the legal requirements of onboarding are complete, workers will be assigned roles with the client company.
  3. Process payroll and handle employment taxes. After a worker in Kiribati is handed over to the foreign business seeking their service, they will act as staff members of that business in accordance with their job description and contracted terms. Despite this, the EOR will remain the worker’s official employer and maintain responsibility for completing payroll and fulfilling all tax requirements.
  4. Administer benefits. As the legal employer, an EOR will also ensure any required and agreed benefits are arranged and managed for each worker throughout their contract. The client company will ultimately bear the costs but the EOR must conduct the administration. Benefits handled by an EOR can include but are not limited to, bonuses, annual leave, health plans, and pension or social security contributions.
  5. Take care of exit procedures. For one reason or another, every term of employment ends. Sometimes this is due to the actions of the employee, sometimes because of changes in the business, and sometimes through no fault at all. However this occurs, the final responsibility of the EOR is to ensure all exit procedures are undertaken, and legal compliance is continued until the termination process is complete. If required, they will then begin the cycle again by hiring any necessary replacements.
stay compliant with Kiribati labor laws

Labor Laws

One of the chief responsibilities of an EOR in Kiribati is ensuring all local labor laws are respected and followed. This is vital to protect themselves, the client company, and the workers. The EOR’s knowledge should be complete and up-to-date and remain so throughout the entire period of employment.

Employment contract types

Regulations regarding employment contracts in Kiribati are laid out in the Employment and Industrial Relations Code 2015 (EIRC 2015). While verbal contracts can be considered legally binding in some circumstances, written contracts are always recommended for the best protection.

Project-based

Probationary period

No probationary period.

Termination

At completion of the project.

Severance

Not applicable

Fixed-term

Probationary period

Typically up to 3 months

Termination notice period

30 days (minimum and maximum allowed by labor law)

Severance

Prorated (based on the remaining contract)

Indefinite

Probationary period

Typically up to 3 months

Termination notice period

30 days (minimum and maximum allowed by labor law)

Severance

2 weeks salary per year of service

Working hours in Kiribati

Section 83 of the EIRC states that a standard working week in Kiribati should be no more than 40 hours spread over five working days. It does, however, concede employees may work longer than this so long working hours are kept “reasonable” and that health and safety are always considered. Some specific industries, such as agriculture and fisheries, are able to operate outside these limits.

Overtime can be granted at employee request with no legal limit. It should be compensated at 150% of standard hourly rates or, if the employee agrees, with time off in lieu to be taken within six months.

Overtime must be compensated in the following way:

For a regular workday:

150% of the standard hourly rate

For a rest day:

200% of the standard hourly rate

For a statutory holiday:

200% of the standard hourly rate

Kiribati currently has 13 official public holidays each year. Unless otherwise agreed, workers are entitled to be absent from work with full pay on these dates.

 

DateHoliday name
1 Jan, 2024New Year’s Day
8 Mar, 2024International Women’s Day
29 Mar, 2024Good Friday
1 Apr, 2024Easter Monday
8 Apr, 2024National Health Day
3 May, 2024Labor Day
21 Jun, 2024Police National Day
11 Jul, 2024Gospel Day/Independence Day
13 Jul, 2024National Culture and Senior Citizen Day
5 Aug, 2024Youth Day
7 Oct, 2024World Teacher’s Day
9 Dec, 2024Human Rights and Peace Day
25 Dec, 2024Christmas Day
26 Dec, 2024Boxing Day

Paid time off

Additional forms of leave entitlement in Kiribati include maternity and compassionate leave. The minimum leave granted to new mothers varies depending on their specific sector of work but a common allowance is 42 days (14 before birth and 28 days after). For both sexes, compassionate leave totaling up to three days a year should be allowed for the death, serious illness, or injury of immediate family.

Under 1 year of employment

Prorated leave

1-10 years of employment

10 days of paid leave annually

10-20 years of employment

10 days of paid leave annually

20+ years of employment

10 days of paid leave annually

Sick leave in Kiribati

Section 93 of the EIRC 2015 states that workers in Kiribati become entitled to 20 days of paid sick leave after six months of service. Employees may ask for verification from a medical practitioner before granting payment.

Less than 6 months of sick leave:

(percentage of regular wages owed to the employee)

Under 1 year of employment

10 days of paid leave annually

1-10 years of employment

10 days of paid leave annually

10-20 years of employment

10 days of paid leave annually

20+ years of employment

10 days of paid leave annually

Over 6 months of sick leave

Under 1 year of employment

Varied (specified in the contract or policies)

1-3 years of employment

Varied (specified in the contract or policies)

3+ years of employment

Varied (specified in the contract or policies)

In order for employees to receive the full wages due to them, workers must present a valid medical certificate from a certified doctor to their employer.

Maternity leave in Kiribati

Female employees are typically entitled to 12 weeks (3 months) of maternity leave and usually paid at the employee’s normal wage rate during the period of absence. 

Male employees may be entitled to a short period of paternity leave, typically up to 5 days.

Annual leave in Kiribati

In addition to public holidays, workers in Kiribati who have completed at least one year of full service are entitled to a minimum of 30 days paid annual leave each year. This is accrued month-by-month to allow holidays to be utilized throughout the year. While there is no legislation forbidding the carrying over of unused hours, most employers seek to avoid this due to the difficulty in managing excessive build-up.

Termination & severance in Kiribati

Outside of disciplinary or redundancy procedures, which have their own protocols, an employer wishing to terminate the contract of a worker should provide at least two weeks’ notice during the first two years of service. This increases to four weeks for those employed for two years or more. Termination notice should also be provided in writing, and reasonable time should be granted for the employee to find alternate work. Minimum mandatory severance pay depends on an employee’s wage at the time of termination and the length of their service.

Kiribati's compulsory social security contributions

Kiribati has a provident fund system, not a traditional social security system. This means there are mandatory contributions but no social security benefits like pensions.

Kiribati social security for foreigners

No, compulsory contributions to the Kiribati Provident Fund typically do not apply to foreigners working in the country.

Individual income tax

Individual income tax is levied on income earned by residents and non-residents who derive income from Kiribati sources. Kiribati employs a progressive tax system with different tax rates applied to various income brackets. 

Health insurance

While Kiribati provides basic healthcare services through its public healthcare system, health insurance as a comprehensive and structured system is not widely developed. Residents and expatriates may rely on public healthcare services supplemented by out-of-pocket payments for certain treatments.

hassle-free I-Kiribati compensation & benefits

Compensation & Benefits

Kiribati compensation laws

The EIRC 2015 contained clauses that sought to benefit the Kiribati economy and its workers from the influx of foreign opportunities. It set a minimum wage for overseas-funded work at AUD 3 per hour, as opposed to AUD 1.30 for businesses local to the islands.

13 month salary in Kiribati

13th-month salary pay is not mandated in Kiribati.

Social security for I-Kiribati nationals

Kiribati Provident Fund (KPF) Membership payments are required for all workers in Kiribati. 7.5% of earnings are deducted from every paycheck and matched with another 7.5% by the employer. These funds can be accessed by the worker during unemployment, when emigrating, or on retirement.

Hire borderless talent with Horizons

Hire in Kiribati in 24h without your own local entity.

With Horizons, you get quick service, transparent pricing, and expert support.

Frequently asked questions

Understanding labor laws in Kiribati can be challenging for those unfamiliar with the region. Communication is often indirect and subtle, with directness considered confrontational. A high-quality EOR will have the expertise to stay abreast of all laws and amendments and the experience to negotiate disputes respectfully and productively.

As part of a focus on legal compliance across all areas of employment, an EOR should ensure it is fully up to date with all requirements and processes for salaries, taxes, bonuses, and other related matters.

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