What is a PEO and is it available in Myanmar?
A Professional Employer Organisation (PEO) is a co-employment arrangement where the PEO becomes the formal employer on payroll while the client retains day-to-day direction. In Myanmar, true co-employment is legally complex; most providers actually offer Employer of Record (EOR) services. Multiplier, Deel, Rippling and local providers cover Myanmar at USD 200-500 per employee per month.
What this looks like in practice
A Professional Employer Organisation (PEO) in the US sense is a co-employment arrangement where the PEO becomes the legal employer for tax and benefits while the client retains day-to-day direction. In Myanmar, ESDL recognises a single legal employer per worker, so true PEO co-employment is legally complex. What providers actually offer in Myanmar is Employer of Record (EOR) — the provider is the sole legal employer and bills the client as a service.
How EOR works in practice
- The provider's DICA-registered Myanmar entity issues the ESDL appointment letter, runs SSB registration and PAYE.
- The client signs a Master Services Agreement with the provider, paying salary + employer SSB + PIT-on-behalf + provider markup.
- The worker reports day-to-day to the client, but is the provider's employee on paper.
- Statutory filings sit with the provider — IRD, SSB, ESDL all flow through provider's entity.
- IP and confidentiality are typically assigned through a tri-partite agreement so client owns the deliverables.
- Termination is the provider's act on the client's instruction; severance per ESDL Notification 84/2015.
Providers and costs
- Global EOR providers with Myanmar coverage: Multiplier, Deel, Rippling — USD 200–500 per employee per month plus pass-through salary and statutory.
- Local EOR providers: several Myanmar-incorporated firms; pricing varies, often slightly cheaper for Myanmar-only mandates.
- Total per-employee cost: monthly salary + employer SSB (capped MMK 9,000) + PIT pass-through + EOR fee.
- Setup fee: typically USD 500–1,500 one-off.
- Templates: master services agreement, tri-partite IP assignment, equipment-loan letter, termination request form.
When EOR makes sense
EOR is right when: you don't have a DICA-registered Myanmar entity yet; you want to hire 1–5 Myanmar staff before incorporation; you're testing the market; or you have a short-term project (under 12 months). Once your team passes 5–10 hires and 12 months of operation, the EOR markup typically exceeds local-entity overhead — direct hire becomes cheaper.
Employer takeaway
True PEO co-employment is legally complex in Myanmar; what's available is EOR via providers like Multiplier, Deel, Rippling and local firms at USD 200–500 per employee per month. The provider becomes legal employer; client retains day-to-day direction. EOR fits pre-DICA hires and small teams; direct hire wins past 5–10 employees and 12 months. The single most-failed move is staying on EOR past the break-even point.
Pitfalls to avoid
- Confusing PEO with EOR — true co-employment is hard in Myanmar; expect EOR.
- Staying on EOR past break-even — fees scale faster than local-entity overhead.
- No tri-partite IP agreement — client may not own deliverables by default.
- Treating EOR-employed staff as contractors — they're employees of the provider.
- USD-only payslips — Myanmar payslip needs MMK with CBM-rate conversion.
Related: what is an EOR, EOR vs direct-hire, and foreign-invested company HR.
- ESDL 2013 — employer responsibilities and co-employment limits
- Social Security Law 2012 — IP registration via legal employer
- Income Tax Law / Union Tax Law 2025-2026 — PAYE through legal employer
- Myanmar Investment Law — registration paths
Related questions
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