Nepal, a country in Asia, lies along the southern slopes of the Himalayan mountain ranges. It is a young country, with more than three-fifths of the population under 30 years of age.
*Please note that the official currency is the currency of remuneration when employed through WorkMotion in Nepal.
Capital : Kathmandu | Currency : Nepalese Rupee (NPR, रू) | Languages spoken : Nepali/Gorkhali |
Population : 29.67 million (2021 est.) | Minimum wage 2023 : NPR 15,000 monthly | Cost of Living index : $ (131 of 139 countries) |
Payroll Frequency : Usually Monthly | VAT - standard rate : 13% | GDP - real growth rate : 4.2% (2021 est.) |
The national holidays mentioned below are valid for the year 2023.
The approximate time for sharing the contract with an employee in Nepal is 6 business days assuming no special requests or changes to our standard employment contract. Any such requests or changes would need to undergo internal and external review, directly leading to a time delay.
NOTE: This number is subject to change and is only an estimation of the Contract Sharing Time. The estimated Contract Sharing Time begins from the moment that WorkMotion has received all required information from both the client and the employee.
The limit on working hours is eight hours per day and 48 hours every week. A rest break is to be provided with half an hour rest after five hours of continuous work.
No employer can compel an employee to work more than the working hours set forth. However, if the nonperformance of work is likely to cause an adverse effect on the life, safety, and health of any person or a serious loss or damage to the employer, the concerned employee may be caused to work overtime.
The limit on overtime is set as not exceeding four hours a day and 24 hours a week. While employing any employee to work overtime, the employer should pay them remuneration at a rate of 1.5 times the basic remuneration receivable during regular hours of work.
While entering into an employment contract with an employee, the employer may so enter into the contract that they remain in a probation period for six months. The employer can terminate the employment contract with the employee if their work is not satisfactory during the probation period.
| Employment Condition | Termination Notice | Source/Other Details |
| Resignation by employee | Deemed to be accepted after 15 days | |
| Termination due to incompetence | 7 days (as an opportunity for clarification). |
|
| Employment-initiated termination |
| Where the employer terminates the employment without giving the prescribed notice, the employer should pay the amount equal to the remuneration for the period. |
| Retrenchment | 30 days before the date of retrenchment | The notice should set out:
|
Every employee should get paid home leave at the rate of one day for every 20 days of the period they have worked. Employees who are employed in an educational institution or who get summer or winter leave should not get home leave.
An employee is entitled to accumulate the home leave for up to 90 days. Where an employee is relieved of the service for any reason or dies, they or their family member as prescribed should get the lump sum amount to be set by the last basic remuneration being drawn by them for their accumulated home leave and sick leave.
Employees get employer-paid sick leave of 12 days a year, provided that employees who work for a period of one year or lesser than one year should get the sick leave proportionately.
Employees who seek sick leave for more than three consecutive days should submit a certificate of their medical check-up by a recognized doctor. If the employee has to take leave because of sudden illness, they should inform the employer through the fastest means possible.
Pregnant female employees should get maternity leave of a total of 14 weeks before or after delivery. They should compulsorily take leave from at least two weeks before the expected date of delivery to at least six weeks after the date of delivery.
The employee who takes maternity leave should get full remuneration from the employer. Where a recognized medical doctor recommends that the female employee who has delivered a baby needs further rest for her or her baby’s health, the employer should approve unpaid leave of up to one month in addition to the maternity leave period or sanction such leave to be adjusted with other leave.
If a male employee’s wife is going to deliver a baby, he gets paid maternity care leave for a period of 15 days. This leave is paid by the employer.
Where an employee has to mourn according to their religion or because their spouse dies or a married female worker has to mourn the death of her father or mother or father-in-law or mother-in-law, such an employee gets a paid mourning leave of 13 days from the employer.
The employer should deposit a total of 31% amount in the Social Security Fund (11% of basic remuneration of the employee and adding 20% of basic remuneration) and deposit the same in the Social Security Fund.
| Contributor | Amount (Basic Salary) |
| Employee | 11% |
| Employer | 20% |
| Total | 31% |
Such amount should be arranged by the Fund as follows:
| Category | Employer Contribution Allocation |
| Medical treatment, health, and maternity security scheme (health insurance) | 1% |
| Accident and disability security scheme (accident insurance) | 1.40% |
| Dependent family security scheme | 0.27% |
| Old Age Security Scheme (pension) | 28.33% |
| Total | 31% |
The employer should procure annual medical insurance of at least NPR 100,000 for each employee. The premium required for medical insurance should be borne by both the employer and the employee on a pro-rata basis. Any contributor making a contribution to the Social Security Fund for six months should get medical treatment and health facility as per this scheme.
The employer should procure accident insurance of at least NPR 700,000 covering all kinds of accidents for each employee. The entire premium required for the accidental insurance should be borne by the employer.
If the employee dies or gets completely incapacitated mentally or physically as a result of an accident, they or their legal heir under the prevailing law should get the entire amount of insurance as compensation. If the employee gets injured or incapacitated in an accident, they should get compensation on the basis of the percentage of incapacitation as prescribed in law.
There are no employer contributions to the unemployment programs.
Any employee who is in regular employment should get compulsory retirement after completing the age of 58 years.
The Social Security Fund should manage old age security scheme from 10% of the basic remuneration of the employees deposited in Social Security Fund for provident fund and 8.33% deposited for gratuity (sum total 18.33%) and 10% contribution amount to be made by the employee for the provident fund (18.33% + 10% = 28.33%). The combined contribution of employer and employee of 28.33% from the social security fund goes towards the old age security scheme.
If employing female employees where the working hours begin after the sunset or before the sunrise, the employer has to make necessary arrangements for transportation to and from the workplace.
The information contained in this Country Guide is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. The contents of this Country Guide contain general information and may not reflect current legal developments or address your situation. You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included in this Country Guide without seeking the advice or representation of a licensed attorney. WorkMotion Software GmbH disclaims all liability for actions you take or fail to take based on any content included in this Country Guide.
Information provided in this Country Guide is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including without limitation warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. WorkMotion Software GmbH periodically adds, changes, improves, updates, or removes information without notice, and assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the contents of this Country Guide. This Country Guide may contain links to other websites. WorkMotion Software GmbH disclaims all liability for the privacy practices or the content of such websites.