Employer in Nepal

In Nepal, an employer may be a company, private firm, partnership, cooperative, nonprofit or for-profit organisation, business or service provider. The local terms रोजगारदाता and व्यवस्थापक refer to the employer or managing party. There is no separate standalone employer authority. Employers generally deal with the Department of Labour and Occupational Safety (DOLOS), Labour Offices, the Social Security Fund (SSF), the Labour Court and, for union administration, the Trade Union Registrar or DOLOS. Provincial and municipal bodies mainly affect administration; the core duties come from national labour rules. Sector-specific rules can add requirements for areas such as tea, domestic work, hazardous work, tourism or construction. An employer appoints an executive manager and gives every worker a written employment agreement or appointment letter. Labour categories include regular, work-based, time-based, casual and part-time work. Casual work is limited to seven days per month, while part-time work is limited to 35 hours per week. A trainee may work up to eight hours per day and 48 hours per week and receives occupational-safety protection equivalent to that of other workers. A foreign worker follows the work-permit and DOLOS process, and the contract must not provide terms below the statutory floor. A labour supplier needs a licence and generally may supply workers only for non-core work. The principal employer remains responsible for checking the supplier and ensuring supplied workers receive wages, facilities and occupational-safety protection. Wages and service conditions may not fall below the statutory minimum, and an employer may not reduce them unilaterally unless a collective agreement permits the change. Wages accrue from the employment start date. The minimum identified for rules effective 17 July 2025 outside tea plantations is NPR 19,550 per month, made up of NPR 12,170 basic wage and NPR 7,380 dearness allowance, or NPR 754 per day and NPR 101 per hour. The identified part-time rate is NPR 107 per hour; employers should check the applicable Gazette for later changes. Normal working time is up to eight hours per day and 48 hours per week, with a 30-minute break after five hours. Overtime is limited to four hours per day and 24 hours per week and is paid at 1.5 times the basic wage. Payment follows the contract; a worker employed for less than one month receives payment within three days after completing the work, while a casual worker is paid immediately. Only lawful deductions may be made. For formal employment covered by SSF, the combined monthly contribution is 31% of basic wage: 11% withheld from the worker and 20% paid by the employer. The employer deposits the total within 25 days after the wage month. The contribution allocation includes health and maternity at 1%, accident and disability at 1.4%, dependent family protection at 0.27% and old age at 28.33%. Where SSF coverage applies, provident-fund, gratuity and medical obligations are generally integrated into that contribution system. The employer also pays the premium for statutory accident insurance, with minimum coverage of NPR 700,000. Informal or self-employed participation in SSF does not automatically create the full employer duties that apply to a formal employment relationship. An employer must prevent discrimination based on characteristics such as religion, caste, sex, ethnicity, origin, language or ideology. Annual performance evaluation is allowed when the criteria and procedure are fair and disclosed before the evaluation period. The employer should give feedback and a reasonable opportunity to improve, and the worker may record disagreement. An internal regulation or bylaw is expected for workplace management, must be registered with the Labour Office and must be distributed to workers. Disciplinary termination generally requires a fair process. In an establishment with at least 10 workers, the worker normally receives seven days to respond before termination. Performance-based termination follows the applicable rules and may arise after three consecutive unsatisfactory evaluations. The employer creates, implements and registers a workplace safety and health policy. The policy addresses site hazards, machinery, accidents and sensitive chemicals, and the employer controls chemical, physical and biological risks. Workers receive information and training in an appropriate language, free personal protective equipment, warning signs and safe entry and exit arrangements. The employer also protects non-workers on the premises and reports accidents and occupational diseases through DOLOS-ILMIS. An establishment with at least 20 workers, including workers supplied by a labour provider, forms a worker-represented Safety and Health Committee that meets at least four times each year. DOLOS has inspection powers, and current rules also cover hazardous-work and occupational-disease notices. Workers may form, join and operate a trade union. An enterprise union application requires at least 10 signatures and membership of at least 25% of the workforce. An establishment with at least 10 workers has a Labour Relations Committee for dialogue on productivity and work systems and for grievance handling, as well as a collective bargaining committee. After receiving written bargaining notice, the employer responds and arranges a meeting within seven days. A collective agreement binds the parties. The employer may not interfere with union activity, intimidate workers, fabricate evidence, retaliate or obstruct lawful organisation. Management-grade workers are excluded from union collective demands and strike roles. An individual grievance normally starts with the employer's internal process and may proceed to a Labour Office or DOLOS complaint or claim portal. A collective demand generally moves through bargaining and conciliation; unresolved matters may proceed to an office decision, mediation or arbitration under the Labour Act. The Labour Court handles adjudication and appeals. DOLOS-ILMIS supports labour audits, grievances, claims, collective agreements, accident and disease reports and labour-supplier workflows. Decisions and agreements can be enforced, and non-compliance can lead to fines, compensation, arrears, doubled damages or other sanctions. In special circumstances an employer may place workers on standby, known locally as जगेडा. For an establishment with at least 10 workers, standby may last up to 15 days without consultation; a longer period requires consultation with the official union or Labour Relations Committee. Workforce reduction for financial difficulty, merger surplus or partial or full closure normally requires at least 30 days' advance notice to the Labour Office and the official union, active union or committee. The employer consults on alternatives, selection criteria and conditions. The usual selection order gives priority to ending foreign workers' employment, then employment involving comparatively more disciplined misconduct, weak performance and the latest hire in the same work, although reasons may justify a different order. A worker with at least one year of service receives one month's basic wage for each completed service year. If the establishment reopens or adds workers within two years, retrenched workers receive priority after notice. Except in cases of misconduct, termination notice is one day for employment of up to four weeks, seven days for more than four weeks up to one year and 30 days after more than one year. The employer pays compensation instead of notice when it does not provide the required notice. Health and disability protections can require reassignment and affect termination decisions. A worker may challenge unlawful termination and seek reinstatement or compensation. Registration and SSF onboarding use the SSF Employer portal, while labour-audit and related compliance processes use DOLOS-ILMIS.