Today, many businesses are setting up and hiring remote teams — an indication that remote work has become more common, even among companies with physical offices.
Remote working has always made international teams more feasible and appealing. It makes no difference whether a team member is ten feet away or ten thousand miles away when they log into a shared collaboration platform.
As a multinational looking to expand and hire remote talent in Nigeria, here are the things you need to know.
Nigeria – A Broad View
Nigeria is the most populous African country with major petroleum, tourism, agriculture, and mining industries. As a result, Nigeria has various job opportunities in multiple sectors.
As of 2021, Nigeria’s nominal GDP ranked 27th in the world.
However, Nigeria, with a population of over 200 million people, ranks as one of the world’s top ten most populous countries.
In addition, Nigeria, the continent’s largest economy and a member of the African Union, has many skilled workers, particularly in technology. As a result, Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria, has been dubbed “Africa’s Silicon Valley.”
Nigeria is an emerging market, dominating the service sector. As a result, hiring skilled individuals and highly qualified professionals trained in various soft and hard skills is crucial.
These specialisations range from business consultants to copywriters and graphic designers, project management, Graphics design, UI/UX, machine language, web development (front and back end), and copywriting are among the crucial skills that have seen recent growth.
The Cost of Hiring Remote Talent in Nigeria
The cost of hiring employees in Nigeria varies depending on the company and industry. However, when budgeting for new hires, you must consider direct and indirect costs. The following are some costs to consider:
- Statutory contributions such as Group Life, NSITF etc
- Benefits such as 13th month, Leave allowance etc.
- Hiring and onboarding costs
- Employee salaries, payroll processing etc.
You can leverage Workforce Africa’s employment calculator [currently in Beta mode] to determine how much it will cost to hire remotely from Nigeria.
Finding and Hiring Remote Talent in Nigeria
Every city in Nigeria has unique characteristics that make it suitable for various industries.
In addition, Nigeria is a beautiful country with a varied landscape that is a great place to live and offers a range of opportunities for employees from various sectors.
Some cities to find the best-skilled workforce include Lagos, Ibadan, Port Harcourt and Kano. However, Lagos – the commercial capital and arguably the most populous city, is understandably more stacked with top talent than elsewhere.
Establishing an Entity in Nigeria
For businesses seeking fast and flexible options to manage and hire remote talent who offer in-demand skills, leveraging PEO/EoR services is the best approach.
This option eliminates the time, legal fees, local market expertise and physical set-up cost for even better outcomes.
However, there could be advantages to establishing a physical presence, especially when >>
- Direct access to the market confers significant business advantages
- The market is viable, tested and trusted.
Most organisations with a long-term plan to establish physically in the country begin through remote talent management. But, first, to test the market and ascertain the market potential.
Only then do organisations opt for setting up an entity in the country. Thus, you may want to start lean with a remote model and transition once it makes sense.
What to Know Before Hiring Remote and Distributed Teams in Nigeria
Hiring talent from Nigeria has become attractive to several organisations and businesses seeking to leverage the ease of access and the expertise required to drive business outcomes.
And seeing that you can engage the services of Nigerian talent for a premium – but at a lesser cost compared to talent from North America and Europe, it becomes such that the move also makes business sense.
You’ll need a firm understanding of the Nigerian labour landscape to hire remote teams from Nigeria, including >> Contract law, termination and severance requirements, payroll taxes, working hours, benefits, and more.
Here we will highlight some of these Nigerian labour dynamics to help you consolidate your hiring strategy for Nigeria. Let’s get started >>
1. Working Hours
Employees in Nigeria work eight hours per day, four days per week. Therefore, employers must include overtime work terms in the employment contract. However, there is no governmental mandate requiring overtime pay.
Employees can opt out of their regular working hours if fixed by mutual agreement; however, they cannot opt out if a collective bargaining agreement specifies their working hours.
Nigerian labour law can be more adaptable than European or American models. Employers and employees can determine working hours through collective bargaining or statutes by the labour board.
The Labour Act requires one hour of break and rest time for every six hours of work each day and at least twenty-four hours of uninterrupted time off every seven days.
Employees work overtime when they spend more than the hours specified in the employment contract. However, because the Labour Act does not set the overtime pay rate, employers and employees are free to negotiate the rate.
However, the standard working week in Nigeria consists of 48 hours, 8 hours per day, running from Monday-Friday.
2. Wages and Salary
Salary structures in Nigeria are diverse. The National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission, which is directly under the presidency’s control, established these salary structures.
The body was founded in 1993 and based its salary structure decisions on recommendations from 1960 to the present.
In Nigeria, the national minimum wage is currently 30,000 NGN per month.
3. Payroll and Taxes
In Nigeria, employers of labour should withhold income tax and social security contributions from their employees as part of the payroll process.
Taxes and social security contributions can be processed through a PAYE system and reported to the appropriate state Internal Revenue Service.
Income tax deductions in Nigeria are made at a graduated rate across income bands. Tax rates on income range from 7% to 24%. Employees’ salary is made monthly, biweekly, or weekly in Nigeria.
Employers must pay salaries at least once a month. There are, however, no legal requirements for 13th-month salary payments.
4. Leave
Under The Labour Act, employees are entitled to at least six days off with full pay following their first year of employment.
Similarly, Section 16 of the Labour Act states that a worker is entitled to wages for up to 12 days of absence due to temporary illness in accommodative care in a calendar year.
Female employees have the right to at least 12 weeks (4 months) of 50% paid maternity leave to cover both the pre-and post-partum periods. Maternity leave may begin six weeks before delivery if a certified health practitioner confirms that confinement will occur within six weeks.
Furthermore, nursing mothers are permitted 30 minutes of breastfeeding twice daily. The law does not specify the age at which mothers are entitled to breastfeeding breaks for their children.
5. Termination Process
An employer can terminate an employment contract at any time and without explanation or cause, provided that the employee receives appropriate notice of termination or is paid a wage in place of such notice.
The length of service determines the required notice period for terminating an employment contract. For service of three months or less, the notice period is one day; for service of not more than three months but less than two years, the notice period is seven days (one week).
The notice period is 14 days for service of two to five years; and one month for service of five years or more.
What Can We Do for You?
When it comes to compliance, you cannot afford to take chances— you must abide by local regulations, especially regarding taxes and legalities.
This is where we come in.
Workforce Africa’s Employer of Record solution enables your company to hire from Nigeria compliantly to fill critical roles and diversify your workforce — without the need to establish an entity.
We help to hire, onboard and manage your remote teams using locally compliant employment contracts.
Our experts will help you hire remote talent compliantly and make them feel connected and supported, no matter where they live in Nigeria.