If you are thinking about expanding your team and going global, then perhaps you have some concerns about a variety of things including PTO. How does PTO work for a global team? In truth, it works much like a U.S.-based team. You should provide holidays off, you have local (in our case state and federal) PTO laws to follow, and your PTO packages above and beyond those laws can provide attractive opportunities for prospective hires. We’ll walk you through what we know at TRUSS, but overall it’s a complicated question that is going to vary in answer depending on what country or countries you build your global team in.
Following Local Laws with Global PTO
The biggest thing that you need to be mindful of as you are building out your global team is local PTO laws. Most countries have more strict laws regarding PTO including things like accrual, how PTO is handled upon separation, PTO rollover, and more.
For example, the country of Georgia provides 24 days of paid vacation to all full-time employees and an additional 15 days of unpaid vacation after 11 months of service. By contrast, in Uzbekistan, after 6 months, employees are granted 15 days of paid vacation per year. All of this is also typically in addition to each country’s established holidays.
Read More: What Are the Global Payroll Best Practices?
How are Holidays Handled in Other Countries?
Every country has its own set of holidays. Some will be holidays that you are familiar with, others not, and still others you may think you are familiar with but they may be celebrated at different times and even for different durations.
Within these holidays, there are going to be government holidays that are required, and other holidays that will be expected by your global team. It can be difficult with just a Wikipedia page to know what these holidays are, but many of them will not align with those that we have in the U.S. Also remember that a global team is a multicultural team. Even when doing your best to follow the cultural norms, be sure to keep an open ear and an open line of communication with your team.
Having different holidays can actually be a benefit. If your holidays are misaligned, you have coverage on the holidays that we typically have off in the U.S. and your global team has coverage on the flip side of that. Additionally, if you have a partner in the region—more on that in a minute—you can easily set up your global team in multiple countries and further improve your coverage. Even within a region, holidays can still vary greatly.
Get an HR Partner to be Your Compliance Guru
There are a few reasons that people use to talk themselves out of getting a global team, and one of them is compliance. Taking on the risk of potentially breaking employment laws in another country can be scary, but it’s only scary if you go in alone.
Instead of going alone, you should take on a partner Like TRUSS. We built TRUSS to support companies that are in your position. Our team wants to take the guesswork out of building a remote team and we will ensure that you are following all local compliance laws including those regarding PTO, holidays, payroll, and more.
Speaking of more, TRUSS can handle everything for you that makes hiring a global team hard. TRUSS already has entities in several countries in Central Asia which allow us to be your employer of record. We have a hiring team that is local to the region to help find the best talent, and we handle payroll for you with our full-service HR platform.
The Cost of an Employer of Record Service
Start Hiring Globally With TRUSS Today!
If you want to start hiring your global team today, then get started with TRUSS. You don’t need to set up an entity, know the local laws regarding PTO or employment, or even be able to pick out the country you want to hire from on a map. We’ve chosen to set up shop in Central Asia for a variety of reasons, and already you can begin hiring from Uzbekistan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan with more to come. Reach out to us now and start hiring!
