Maldives
Min. wage
(x12 payments)
Varies by employer size
About the minimum wage
Employer tax
Annual leave
30 days
Learn about annual leave
Notice period
2-8 weeks (by tenure)
Termination and notice info
Updated
Sep 2026
An indefinite (permanent) employment agreement has no fixed end date and continues until terminated by either party per the Employment Act's notice, cause, and redundancy procedures. It is the default and most common contract type.
The Employment Act recognizes definite-term, indefinite-term, and work/task-specific agreements. A fixed-term contract (including renewals) cannot exceed 2 years total; beyond that, or if conduct indicates intention to continue indefinitely, the contract is deemed converted to indefinite. Fixed-term contracts end automatically on expiry without requiring notice.
The working week is limited to 48 hours excluding authorized overtime; daily maximum commonly 8 hours/day in practice. Overtime paid at 1.25x normal hourly wage on ordinary days and 1.5x for work on a Friday or public holiday. Employees required to work normal hours on a public holiday must additionally be paid at least half the minimum daily wage on top of overtime. 30-minute meal break for 5+ hour shifts; 15-minute prayer break for 4+ hour shifts.
Employers may specify a probationary period of up to 3 months. During probation, either party may terminate without notice or stated cause. Probationary employees are still entitled to all other statutory rights (working hours, overtime, leave, wage protections) and at least the statutory minimum wage from the first salary payment; MRPS pension contributions apply from day one.
The Maldives Employment Act does not require a 13th or 14th month salary. Some employers, particularly in tourism/resort and financial sectors, pay a discretionary annual/festive (often Eid) bonus, but this is company policy, not statutory law.
Foreign (expatriate) employment is tightly regulated via a work-permit/quota system. Under Regulation No. 2025/R-120 (effective 14 December 2025), a growing list of job roles are being progressively 'localized' on phased timelines: 2 years for hairdressers, personal trainers, electricians, tour guides, accountants, imams; 3 years for divers, nurses, building inspectors, surveyors, pilots; 4 years for electrical engineers and dive instructors; 5 years for housekeeping/HR/front office managers and teachers. No new quotas issued at all for taxi drivers, aircraft co-pilots, vessel captains, entertainers, and fruit/vegetable retail cashiers.
Employers contribute a minimum of 7% of each employee's pensionable wage (basic salary) to the Maldives Retirement Pension Scheme (MRPS). This is currently the sole mandatory statutory payroll contribution for local employees; no separate unemployment, health, or disability insurance levy. Employers may elect to fund the full 14% (both shares) themselves.
Employees contribute a minimum of 7% of pensionable (basic) wage to the MRPS. Combined with the employer's 7%, total MRPS contributions equal 14% of pensionable wage. Mandatory for Maldivian nationals aged 16-65; voluntary for foreign employees and self-employed Maldivians. Separately, employees earning above tax-free thresholds are subject to progressive income tax via EWT (0% up to MVR 720,000/year, 5.5% up to 1.2m, 8% up to 1.8m, 12% up to 2.4m, 15% above) - an income tax, not a social security contribution.
In addition to statutory leave, employees are entitled to the following statutory benefits:
The Maldives' only mandatory social-security-style scheme is the Maldives Retirement Pension Scheme (MRPS). There is no separate unemployment insurance, disability insurance, or employer-funded health insurance levy - universal health coverage (Aasandha) is funded by the government from general revenue, not payroll contributions.
The Maldives does not operate a dedicated, premium-funded workers' compensation insurance scheme.
The Maldives Employment Act does not provide a separate statutory severance payment (additional lump sum based on years of service, on top of notice) for ordinary dismissals.
There is no statutory 13th (or 14th) month salary requirement in the Maldives.
P.S. our team speaks multiple languages and we'd love to chat in your preferred language if requested.
Your employee's hours, time off, holidays, bonuses, and commissions are automatically calculated into payroll. RemoFirst will invoice you in either US Dollars (USD), Euros (EUR), British Pounds (GBP), Canadian Dollars (CAD), Australian Dollars (AUD), or Singapore Dollars (SGD) around the 15th of each month to make sure your employees are paid on time. To make it even easier, you can summarize your entire global team's salaries to aggregate them into one payment (instead of many individual payments).
Unlike full-time employees, contractors work on projects with multiple companies at a given time and are technically self-employed. Full-time employees are solely focused on their employer and usually receive benefits (such as health insurance, equity or stock options, and time off) as an additional form of compensation. While it can be cheaper to work with international contractors instead of paying benefits to a full-time employee, you run the risk of misclassification. It's recommended to work with an EOR for contractor onboarding and payments, so you can know that your international contractors are paid compliantly and on time.
Whenever the employee or employer has a question about, or anything else related to international employment, they can speak with our customer support team to get answers from our team of experts.
