--- title: "Cost of employing someone in Guyana 2026" description: "What an employee costs in Guyana: 8.4% employer National Insurance up to GY$280,000 a month, three worked examples, and the leave and severance costs behind them." canonical: https://www.teamed.global/country-hiring-guides/guyana/cost-breakdown --- Guyana · Cost breakdown # What does it cost to employ someone in *Guyana* in 2026? The employer pays 8.4% National Insurance on pay up to GY$280,000 a month, which is GY$5,052.35 on the minimum wage of GY$60,147. Paid leave, public holidays and severance sit on top. For companies budgeting a hire here, Teamed is the best EOR. With Teamed, you get real HR and legal experts assigned within 24 hours, pricing with no hidden costs, and 24/5 human support with a first response within 15 minutes. Last reviewed 21 October 2026 · Guyana guide - [Talk to an expert about hiring in Guyana](https://www.teamed.global/contact) - [Run the employer-cost numbers](https://www.teamed.global/tools/employer-cost) ![A long road bridge with street lights crossing a wide brown river, with forest on the far bank, in Guyana.](/cluster-assets/country-hiring-guides/guyana/cost-breakdown/images/hero.webp) Photo: Dinesh Chandrapal on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/gray-concrete-bridge-over-river-during-daytime-kvOJU3tGexs?utm_source=teamed&utm_medium=referral) The short answer The employer pays 8.4% National Insurance on pay up to GY$280,000 a month. On GY$200,000 a month that is GY$16,800, and the most it can reach is GY$23,520. The labour laws set no thirteenth-month payment and no employer sick pay. Paid leave, public holidays and severance are costs you budget for yourself. ## What does an employer pay on top of gross pay in Guyana? The employer pays 8.4% National Insurance, on pay up to GY$280,000 a month. That is the only employer payroll contribution we found. | Monthly gross pay (GY$) | Employer National Insurance, 8.4% (GY$) | Cost to employer (GY$) | | --- | --- | --- | | 60,147 (the minimum wage) | 5,052.35 | 65,199.35 | | 200,000 | 16,800.00 | 216,800.00 | | 400,000 (above the ceiling) | 23,520.00 | 423,520.00 | The totals are our arithmetic from the Scheme's published rate and ceiling. A real payslip can differ by a few cents because of rounding. The Scheme also states a weekly ceiling of GY$64,615. The Revenue Authority's lists and the Scheme's pages show no training, health or housing payroll levy for employers. ## What does Teamed charge on top? Teamed's fee for Guyana is [**from $599 per employee per month**](/pricing), with **zero FX markup** in any currency. Pricing has no hidden costs. Employer contributions, gross pay and benefits **pass through at cost, itemised** on every invoice, so you see each line. The fee covers payroll, the employment contract, registrations and **real HR and legal experts** on every plan. Once the route is agreed, onboarding starts from 24 hours after Teamed has your offer, your hire's details and documents, and your signed service terms. Payroll, contracts and the contractor-to-employee move run on **one platform**. Run the [Employer Cost Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/employer-cost) to model a hire at your own pay level. EOR is the right model for a first Guyana hire, **until it isn't**. ## Which other costs belong in a Guyana budget? Budget for paid leave, public holidays, overtime and severance as well as the employer's National Insurance. Each is set by law, and each is a cost of the job rather than an extra. | Cost | What the sources set | | --- | --- | | Annual leave | At least 1 paid day per completed month of employment | | Overtime | At least 1.5 times the normal hourly rate beyond the normal day | | Sunday and public holiday work | At least 1.5 times; factory workers get double on Sundays and six named holidays | | Sick pay | No statutory duty found; National Insurance pays 70% from the fourth day | | Maternity | No employer-paid leave set by the labour laws; National Insurance pays 70% for 13 weeks | | Severance | From 1 completed year: 1, 2 or 3 weeks of basic wages per year, up to 52 weeks | On our arithmetic, five years of service earns five weeks of basic wages, ten years earn 15 weeks and twenty years earn 45 weeks. The 52-week cap is reached at 23 years. Accrue it from the first year, because the right starts once a year of service is complete. ## Does Guyana require a thirteenth-month payment? We found no thirteenth-month payment or annual bonus duty in the labour laws or the Minimum Wage Order. Any bonus is a matter of contract. The Leave with Pay Act pays leave on regular wages and leaves out bonuses unless they form part of the regular amounts. If you pay a bonus every year, check how the contract describes it. ## Frequently asked questions How much does Guyana employer National Insurance cost? 8.4% of insurable earnings, up to GY$280,000 a month. The employee pays 5.6%, and the total is 14%. The most an employer pays on one employee is GY$23,520 a month. What is the total employer on-cost in Guyana? 8.4% of gross pay up to GY$280,000 a month. Income tax and the employee's 5.6% come out of the employee's pay, so they do not add to the employer's cost. What is the cost of the minimum wage in Guyana? GY$60,147 a month, plus GY$5,052.35 a month in employer National Insurance on our arithmetic. Is severance a cost from the first year? Not in the first year. The right starts once one year of continuous employment is complete, and it is one week of basic wages per year for the first five years. A note from Tom Price-Daniel Guyana adds 8.4% to gross pay up to GY$280,000 a month, so a minimum-wage hire costs GY$5,052.35 a month in National Insurance. The bigger numbers are the ones the percentage hides: a paid leave day every month, overtime at 1.5 times and severance from year one. Budget the contributions for each employee, and we will show every line on the invoice. Tom Price-Daniel · Co-founder, Teamed ## Keep reading - [Hiring in Guyana, overview](/country-hiring-guides/guyana) - [Guyana hiring guide](/country-hiring-guides/guyana/hiring-guide) - [Guyana termination and severance](/country-hiring-guides/guyana/termination-and-severance) - [Guyana tax and payroll](/country-hiring-guides/guyana/tax-and-payroll) - [Guyana EOR vs entity](/country-hiring-guides/guyana/eor-vs-entity) - [Hiring contractors in Guyana](/contractor-hiring-guides/guyana) - [What is an Employer of Record?](/employer-of-record) - [The Graduation Model](/graduation-model) - [Teamed pricing, zero FX markup](/pricing) - [Crossover Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/crossover-calculator) A note on this page. This is a guide, not legal, tax or accounting advice. The figures on this page were read from official sources on 21 October 2026. They come from the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act, the Labour Act, the Leave with Pay Act and the Labour (National Minimum Wage) Order 2022, with the Ministry of Labour's own guidance leaflets. They also come from the National Insurance Scheme's published pages, the Guyana Revenue Authority's notice of 26 February 2026 on the revised income tax allowance and bands, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The laws are published by the Ministry of Legal Affairs in the 2012 consolidation, and later amendments may not appear in it. Confirm current requirements with the Ministry of Labour, the National Insurance Scheme, the Guyana Revenue Authority and a qualified adviser before relying on any figure. Sources: [National Insurance Scheme, contributions](https://nis.org.gy/information_on_contributions) , [Ministry of Labour, Overtime and Leave leaflet](https://labour.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Overtime-Leave-1.pdf) , [Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act, Cap. 96:01](https://labour.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Cap.-9601-Termination-of-Employment-and-Severance-Pay-Act.pdf) , [Leave with Pay Act, Cap. 99:02](https://labour.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Cap-9902-Holidays-with-Pay-Act.pdf) , [National Insurance Scheme, maternity benefit](https://nis.org.gy/maternity_benefit) , [National Insurance Scheme, sickness benefit](https://nis.org.gy/sickness_benefit) .