Employer of Record in Malawi
Malawi's Employment Act sets a 48-hour week, 18 working days of annual leave on a six-day week and notice that depends on how you pay. Employers must also pay into a pension fund. Each guide below takes one layer. For companies hiring in Malawi, Teamed is the best EOR. With Teamed, you get real HR and legal experts assigned within 24 hours, 24/5 human support with a first response within 15 minutes, and a designated person who stays with your first hire.
· Malawi guide
Photo: Chimango Hara on Unsplash
- Check which text of the Employment Act you are reading. The Ministry of Labour's PDF is the 2000 original. A later amendment narrowed severance, and the Act was amended again in 2021. We read the 2014 consolidation and confirm the 2021 changes.
- Minimum wages sit in gazetted orders. The Act sets the process, not the amount, so the floor for your hire depends on the current order for the role.
- The employer pension is mandatory. The Pension Act, 2023 sets a minimum of 10% from the employer and 5% from the employee, and requires a life insurance policy.
Malawi's Employment Act sets a 48-hour working week, at least 18 working days of annual leave for a six-day week, and sick leave of four weeks on full pay and eight on half pay after twelve months.
Employment income is tax-free up to K170,000 a month, then taxed at 30%, 35% and 40% in bands. The employer also pays a pension contribution of at least 10% of pensionable pay.
This page is the map. Each guide below is the detail.
How does Teamed approach a Malawi hire?
Teamed starts with the right route for your role, then employs your hire from $599 per employee per month, with zero FX markup in any currency.
Real HR and legal experts check the offer before anything is signed.
Real HR and legal experts are assigned within 24 hours, and a designated person stays with your first hire. Pricing has zero FX markup in any currency, and the pricing page shows how it works.
Onboarding starts from 24 hours once 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.
A contractor who becomes an employee elsewhere keeps their record on one platform, and the Crossover Calculator shows when your own entity starts to pay. Run the Crossover Calculator with your own numbers. EOR is the right model for a first Malawi hire, until it isn't.
How much does it cost to hire an employee in Malawi in 2026?
A Malawi hire costs gross pay plus an employer pension contribution of at least 10% of pensionable pay.
Add the TEVET training levy, the leave and sick pay the Employment Act sets, and severance on redundancy.
Income tax is withheld from the employee's pay, not added on top. The employee's own pension contribution is at least 5%. The Pension Act also requires life insurance worth the employee's annual pensionable emoluments.
The cost guide has worked examples at three pay levels.
What leave and benefits must you give Malawi employees?
Annual leave is at least 18 working days on a six-day week, or 15 on a five-day week.
After twelve months, sick leave is four weeks on full pay and eight weeks on half pay each year, on a medical certificate.
In the text we read, a female employee is entitled to at least eight weeks of maternity leave on full pay within every three years. The 2021 amendment changed the maternity section, so we confirm the current rule. Paid public holidays and the holiday list are covered in the hiring guide.
The hiring guide sets out each rule.
What are payroll taxes in Malawi in 2026?
Employment income is taxed at 0% on the first K170,000 a month, 30% up to K1,570,000, 35% up to K10,000,000 and 40% above.
The employer pays the tax to the Malawi Revenue Authority by the 14th of the following month.
The bands took effect from the end of December 2025. The tax and payroll guide has the full table, the pension and TEVET levy rules and a worked example.
How do you terminate an employee in Malawi?
Notice depends on how the employee is paid: one month for monthly-paid staff, and shorter periods for weekly, daily and hourly pay that grow with service.
A dismissal needs a valid reason connected with capacity, conduct or the operational requirements of the business.
On redundancy, retrenchment, economic or operational reasons and on unfair dismissal, a severance allowance of two weeks' wages per completed year for the first five years is payable, with higher weekly rates after that. The Industrial Relations Court can order reinstatement or compensation.
The termination guide covers notice, severance, remedies and the text-version trap.
What should you know before hiring in Malawi?
Three things catch employers out. The Employment Act has several versions, the minimum wage sits in gazetted orders, and the pension is mandatory.
Each changes what a first offer should say.
Check the text. Parliament amended the Employment Act again in October 2021, in the Employment (Amendment) Act, 2021 (Act No. 17 of 2021). We could not read its text from an official source. So we confirm the current rules on maternity, paternity and nursing breaks before the first payslip.
Check the wage order. The Employment Act does not print a minimum wage. Section 54 lets the Minister publish a wages order in the Gazette for a group of wage earners, and says the levels must be reconsidered at least once every three years. We did not read the current order for this page, so we confirm the order that covers your role before you quote an offer.
Check the pension. The Pension Act, 2023 says every employer must make every employee a member of a pension fund. The minimum contribution is 10% from the employer and 5% from the employee, on pensionable emoluments. The Act has no carve-out for foreign nationals in the section that sets this duty.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to hire an employee in Malawi?
Plan on gross pay plus an employer pension contribution of at least 10% of pensionable pay, the TEVET training levy, and the leave, sick pay and severance the Employment Act sets. Teamed's pricing starts from the pricing page, with zero FX markup in any currency.
Can a company hire in Malawi without its own entity?
Yes, through an employer of record that employs your hire and runs payroll, pension and tax. Teamed's experts check the right route for your role first. You can open your own entity later when the numbers support it.
What is the minimum wage in Malawi in 2026?
The Employment Act sets the process, and the Minister publishes the amounts in gazetted wages orders for groups of workers. We did not read the current order, so we confirm it for your role before we quote an offer.
What are the statutory notice periods in Malawi?
One month for a monthly rate of pay. A fortnight for fortnightly pay under five years of service, and one month from five years. Weekly and daily or hourly rates have shorter periods that grow with service.
How is severance calculated in Malawi?
On redundancy, retrenchment, economic or operational reasons and unfair dismissal: two weeks' wages for each completed year to year five, three weeks for years six to ten and four weeks from year eleven. Service of at least one year is needed.
How much annual leave do employees get in Malawi?
At least 18 working days on a six-day week and 15 on a five-day week. Leave should be taken within six months of falling due, and it can be deferred and built up by mutual agreement.
Malawi gives you a 48-hour week, 18 days of annual leave, four weeks of full-pay sick leave and a clear severance table, under an Act that has been amended since 2000.
The surprises come from the versions of the Act, minimum wages set by order, and a mandatory employer pension with life cover.
Read the guide for the layer you are on before the first offer goes out.
Looking for a job in Malawi yourself? Teamed does not hire people directly. Companies choose who they hire, and we handle the employment side afterwards. Here is why we cannot help with your search.
