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Employ Candidates Compliantly in Suriname

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  1. Overview: Suriname
  2. Global PEO and payroll
  3. Global HR Compliance
  4. Work permit for hiring expats via PEO
  5. Expand without a company set up
  6. Contractor vs. employee: which is better?
  7. Global Payroll Calculator
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Global HR Compliance in Suriname

The war for global talent has never been tougher. Attracting and keeping sought-after international employees requires knowledge. Whether your company is already engaging or planning to engage global workforce in Suriname, you need to trust that your operations are executed without flaw and without any unnecessary risks.

Businesses of all sizes face a devastating lack of information and support on global employment, taxation, and immigration in Suriname. There’s a common and significant gap between what’s required to be 100% compliant and what most organizations actually have at their disposal.

Acumen International can fill the gap in fragmented Global HR Compliance knowledge

We are experts in global workforce employment in Suriname, and our goal is to become your single provider. Instead of working with numerous local staffing agencies and legal advisors, Acumen International can solve your global business challenges and save you time, costs, and resources.

We act as an information service for corporate clients, agencies, and independent contractors and freelancers. Our Global HR Compliance service in Suriname will help you:

  1. Navigate legislation and local nuances of Suriname. You need to know what is acceptable and what can expose you to employment litigation as well as employee / independent contractor misclassification risk in Suriname.
  2. Avoid areas of possible risk. Certain areas and activities can create unnecessary risk, such as employer-employee relations. We can help you with worker classification, payroll and tax calculations, and social cost contributions.
  3. Handle currency exchanges and local invoicing in Suriname. We save you time and effort, freeing you from having to understand complicated regulations and tax calculations written in the local language and subject to frequent changes.
  4. Create employment contracts and handle compliant engagements. Our objective is to assist you with international HR compliance issues and offer you the best payment and taxation options in Suriname.
  5. Manage expatriate immigration and visa support nuances in Suriname. Acumen International provides information about the best scenarios of expat immigration and employment.
  6. Handle global recruitment issues. We can help you select the person and then employ him with our help. We advise you on local employment laws and implied compliance risks to determine the most cost-effective, compliant, and risk-free solution for you.
  7. Withdraw from the region in the least risky and most cost-effective way. If you choose to do so, we can help you withdraw from the region as simply as possible.

Our team of English-speaking professionals frees you from working through language nuances. Acumen International works 24/7 and can assist you whenever you need, regardless of time zones. Our goal is to create tailored labor solutions for you that are managed legally and in full compliance with the local employment laws.

With our knowledge and deep understanding of local nuances, you easily satisfy your need for skilled professionals in your global industry. With our qualified local partners, you can trust that your global workforce satisfies all local tax, social security, and immigration requirements in Suriname.


Expansion of the activities of the organization or its separate subdivision for additional loading of existing capacities or assets causes the company to enter the international market. And in this process, the primary task is to adapt the company’s processes to the legislative norms of Suriname.

The fundamental advantage of cooperation with Acumen International is the increase in the efficiency of the enterprise as a whole and the emergence of the opportunity to release the relevant organizational, financial and human resources in order to develop new directions, or concentrate efforts on existing, requiring increased attention.

Our specialists ensure the innovative approach in work in accordance with the norms of Suriname’s legislation, being guided by the corporate processes and goals of the company.

Discover the ways of hiring and firing an employee in Suriname below

Hiring and Firing Workforce in Suriname

There are 3 types of agreements for the performance of work in Suriname:

  • An agreement for the contract of services;
  • An agreement to perform certain services;
  • An employment agreement.

An employment agreement is an agreement pursuant to which a (natural) person, the employee, commits to perform work personally for and under the authority of the employer, during a certain period of time, for which the employee receives a salary.

The following three elements are considered to form an essential part of an employment agreement:

  • the authoritative relationship between the employer and the employee;
  • the labour is performed personally by the employee;
  • the salary of the employee is paid by the employer.

Doesn`t exist any specific requirement regarding the form of an employment agreement otherwise parties can verbally conclude an employment agreement or may choose to put the agreement in writing. Nevertheless agreements in writing are preferable to have evidence and proof of mutual legal positions. However, for certain provisions (e.g. non competition- and penalty clauses), it is mandatory to stipulate them in writing in order to be legally binding. The employment agreement can be entered into for a definite or an indefinite period of time.

# Minimum (Statutory) Employment Rules and Regulations in Suriname

# Hours of work:
According to the Labour Code of Suriname there is the limit of maximum working hours for the employee established at the rate of 8,5 hours per day or 48 hours per week. For security personnel who exclusively perform security tasks, the maximum working hours are extended to 12 hours per day or 72 hours per week. For personnel who perform security tasks but not exclusively, the maximum working hours are extended to 10 hours a day or 60 hours a week. A few industries are exempted by national decree from the maximum hours rules described above.

The Labour Code 1963 furthermore stipulates that an employee may not perform work on a Sunday on a national holiday. If an employer requires its personnel to perform overtime, it needs to request an ‘overtime-permit’ from the Labour Inspection.

# Probation period:
When entering into an employment agreement, an employer and an employee may agree on a probation period. During this probation period both parties have the right to terminate the employment agreement with immediate effect, without having to give a valid reason or taking a notice period into account. The probation period may not exceed 2 months; any provision which stipulates a longer probation period or the commencing of a new probation period after termination of the probation period, is null and void.

# Annual leave:
In Suriname every employee who works a full calendar year without interruption for the one employer, is entitled to 12 vacation days per year. Using the vacation is obligatory. An employee is considered to be employed without interruption if the number of his permitted absent days does not exceed the number of 30 days, excluding the days of sick leave and industrial accidents.

For every year that the employee works for a full calendar year without interruptions for the same employer, two vacation days are earned, up until the employee is awarded a maximum of 18 vacations days a year by operation of law. The employer is however free to award more vacation days to his employees. Vacation allowance per vacation day (minimal 50% of the normal salary) must be paid in addition to normal salary. Vacation days must be taken ultimately in the next year and can-not be compensated with a notice period for termination of the labour agreement.

# State minimum salary:
The state minimum salary wasn`t established in Suriname. The lowest wage for civil servants is SRD 600 per month and was changed in January 01, 2013.

# Employee dismissal:
The termination may be effected only on the day or on one of the days specified in the agreement or regulation, or, in the absence of such, on one of the days indicated in the indication of permanent customs; if there is no such indication, the termination may occur on any day.

The employer can`t cease to operate during the time when the employee, due to illness, can`t perform his work and retains his right to payment.

The employer can`t terminate during the time when the employee, as a result of performing his compulsory military service or any other legal regulation, or from the government with financial compensation imposed an interim commitment in the interests of internal security of public order and rest, is unable to perform the specified work. This provision is not valid for a minor employer, from which employment at the time of temporary prevention has not yet lasted four months.

The provision in the second and third paragraphs does not apply if the employment is extended for a certain period of time.

Termination is equal to the time that usually expires between two consecutive payments, expressed in financial terms, with a minimum of one week; the term of termination is the time between the day of termination and the last day of the next month, if the payment is determined in a month or longer period of time.

Term of termination:

  1. for the employer:
    • if employment lasts not more than ten years: for as many weeks as the employment contract lasts for years;
    • if employment lasts more than ten years, but not more than fifteen years: four months;
    • if employment lasts more than fifteen years: six months;
  2. for the employee:
    • if employment lasts no more than ten years, so many weeks, since employment lasts two years;
    • if employment lasts more than ten years, but not more than fifteen years: two months;
    • if employment lasts more than fifteen years: three months.
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