How to Hire Employees in Fiji: Comprehensive Guide

Fiji is a small nation with a sustainable economy. The country ranks among the most developed economies in the Pacific islands region. It is strategically located near New Zealand and Australia, providing easy accessibility to these markets. The government is creating opportunities across the construction and real estate sectors to increase employment. 

Companies can establish a business in Fiji and take advantage of its infrastructure and international connectivity. As per the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Report 2020, Fiji ranks 102 out of 190 economies. The country provides constant support in terms of starting businesses, registering property, protecting minority investors and paying taxes. 

The country offers a good literacy rate and competence in English for companies hiring in Fiji. So, hiring in Fiji can be beneficial for companies to establish their presence in the country and expand their business further. 

Read up to learn and understand how to recruit employees in Fiji.

Things to Know Before Hiring in Fiji

Before hiring staff and initiating the steps for recruitment and selection in Fiji, you need to understand a few specific points about Fiji’s work culture and norms – 

• When hiring in Fiji, the Employment Relations Promulgation is a Bible to refer to. It also comes with a comprehensive section on anti-discrimination policies. To comply, you must keep the regulations in mind as you recruit and hire employees.
• Fijian laws prohibit discrimination from personal characteristics like race, gender, orientation, age, and HIV/AIDS status. It’s better to avoid any interview questions around these grounds.
• Trade unions are also recognized in Fiji, but the law treats everyone equally.

Reviewing your employees and helping them adapt to the work culture initially is part of Fijian business culture. Employers can work to develop a code of conduct. 

When you plan to follow the hiring process in Fiji, remember that punctuality and social interactions are as important as mainstream work.

Employment Contract

Oral contracts and weekly or daily wage payments suffice for fewer than six-month working relationships.

If the employee works for more than six months or even longer, written contracts that are signed or stamped with the fingerprint are mandatory. 

The contract must include details on-

• Wage
• Working hours
• Time off
• Position specifics

Probation 

• There is no legal provision for a probation period for employees.
• Employers can use their discretion to decide upon a probation period to assess an employee’s performance at work.

Termination and notice period

• A notice period is absent when a contract period is less than a week, and the wage is paid at an interval of less than a week.
• The notice period is for seven days if a contract period is a week or more but below 14 days. This applies even when wage payment is weekly or at intervals of more than a week but less than 14 days.
• Where a contract period is 14 days or more but not more than one month/ where wages get paid fortnightly or in intervals upwards of 14 days but less than one month, the notice period is 14 days.
• Where a contract period is a month, the notice period also spans one month.
• In Fiji severance amount of redundancy payment is a week’s salary for every year worked.

Working hours and breaks

When hiring staff in Fiji, keep track of the working hours.

• A Fijian employment contract has to be set at no more than 45 or 48 hours as the maximum number of hours worked for a week on the part of an employee bound by the same contract.

Payroll

• Salaries are paid monthly to employees in Fiji except when wage payment is involved.

Minimum wage

• Fiji has a minimum wage sanction of 4 dollars per hour, starting January 2023.
• The current minimum wage applicable in November and December 2022 is 3.67 dollars per hour.

Maternity & paternity leaves

• Women get 84 days of paid maternity leaves. 
• Fiji offers a 5-day, paid paternity leave policy.

Annual leave

• After every year of employment with any employer, the employee will be entitled to 10  days of holiday paid for as per usual wages applicable.

Other leaves

• Employees are entitled to sick leaves as needed, but not more than 10 days of paid sick leave.
• Sick leaves are not applicable if the employee works for less than three months.

Holidays for employees             

The list of public holidays comprises-

• New Year’s Day (1 January)
• Good Friday (10 April)
• Holy Saturday (11 April)
• Easter Monday (13 April)
• Constitution Day (7 September)
• Fiji Day (10 October)
• Prophet’s Birthday
• Diwali (16 November)
• Christmas Day (25 December)
• Boxing Day (26 December)

Social security

• All employers and employees must contribute some amount equal to 10% and 8% of gross cash earnings to the FNPF. 
• Effective April 2020, FNPF employer plus employee contributions stand reduced to 5% as part of Fiji’s COVID-19 response.
• Foreign employees are not required to make contributions to FNPF. 

Taxes

• Resident individuals stand liable to pay tax on the taxable income derived in Fiji or elsewhere.
• Non-residents stand liable to pay tax only on the taxable income accruing in Fiji. 
• Pensions of any non-resident pensioners from a Fijian source will be exempt from tax.
• When any non-Fijian stays in the country under a contract of employment for less than three years, income above the employment income does not attract tax unless derived from Fiji.
• Income tax gets assessed on the taxable income. 
• When taxable income is above FJD 50,000, payable income tax is FJD 3,600 and additionally 20% over FJD 50,000. 
• In the case of non-resident taxpayers, payable income tax is 20% of taxable income.
• Besides the income tax, chargeable income attracts charges for the social responsibility tax and environment plus climate adaptation levy.
• The federal rate for VAT is 9%.

The Cost of Hiring an Employee in Fiji

The recruitment fees in Fiji vary as per the recruitment process in Fiji you follow-

1. Job advertisement
2. Onboarding and training costs
3. Permits and application costs
4. Costs for hiring agencies
5. Local bank account cost
6. Medical checkup costs
7. Travel expenses for traveling to and from Fiji, as necessary
8. Employer social security contributions
9. Bonuses or 13th-month salary
10. Employee vacation entitlement
11. Employee paid time off 
12. Sick leave entitlement

What Does a Company Need to Hire Employees in Fiji?

The process for hiring in Fiji is based on the employer’s business needs and setup. You have to keep the following submissions in mind while hiring in Fiji-

• An employer must provide identity and registration or permit-related documents to the relevant entity.
• The employee needs a work permit in Fiji. 
• All employee qualification documentation needs verification.
• The employer will need to register employees with Fiji Revenue and Customs Service and the Fiji National Provident Fund to ensure paychecks come on time and enrolment in the income tax and pension scheme. 
• If you intend to provide fringe benefits for your employees, you must register for Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT).

Various options for Hiring Employees in Fiji                                                       

• Initiate the process of recruitment in Fiji by collaborating with a global EOR service provider for partnering as an Employer of Record (EOR). Multiplier is a reputed name to help you with logistics without having to set up an entity in Fiji.
• You may also set up an internal HR team to hire new employees in Fiji.

The Steps to Hiring in Fiji

There aren’t any set laws for recruiting in Fiji. The basic steps in the general hiring process in Fiji are:

Advertise a job post:

• Begin with putting up any opening along with the requisites to go along. 
• There are several resources for job postings in Fiji. You may share the open positions on sites like  jobisland.com or even myjobsfiji.com.
• Traditional newspapers such as Fiji Times also have a spec for job openings. 

Interact with potential employees:

• The initial round of interaction through phone or video calls helps you with basic shortlisting. 

Schedule the interview:

• Next, schedule an online or face-to-face interview with prospective candidates.

Selection of the right candidate

• Decide on the final selection of candidates. Informing the candidate via phone call is the usual norm in Fiji.

Let Multiplier be Your EOR Platform in Fiji

Recruiting employees and decisions around the same takes time and involves several steps, from advertising jobs to onboarding training.

You can seek the services of a PEO-EOR platform such as Multiplier to speed up hiring processes. The team ensures that the recruitment process in Fiji is simple as we offer Saas-based Employer of Record solutions for hiring. Multiplier lets you understand local laws to comply with during the hiring process in Fiji.