Hiring in Cambodia? Start with the model, not the map.

Cambodia is one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing, most dollarised economies, but getting your employment model wrong still carries real cost in time, money, and compliance. We help you choose the right way to hire, place you with the right partner, and stay alongside you for the life of the relationship.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners
  • On your side at renewal

A garment-and-tourism engine. A minimum wage that only covers one sector.

Cambodia has built two decades of growth on garments, footwear, tourism and construction, and the government is open to 100% foreign-owned companies, but there is no general statutory minimum wage: the only legal wage floor applies to the textile, garment, footwear, travel goods and bag sectors, set annually in US dollars, not Cambodian riel. Everywhere else, pay is market-set, and getting the National Social Security Fund’s three separate contribution schemes right matters more than a single headline wage figure.

01

Garment-driven growth, dollarised payroll

Garments, footwear and travel goods dominate exports and FDI, tourism and construction add depth, but Cambodia’s own government prices its statutory minimum wage in US dollars, not riel, because the economy runs on the dollar in practice far more than most.

02

One sector has a wage floor. The rest do not.

A single national Labour Law, a National Social Security Fund running three separate contribution schemes (occupational risk, health care, pension), and a wage floor that legally exists only for garment, textile, footwear, travel goods and bag employers mean your employment structure has to be scoped to the sector you are actually hiring into.

03

Independent expert advice

Not sure whether you need EOR, payroll, or your own Private Limited Company? We map your headcount, timeline, and risk profile and give you a clear recommendation, not a product pitch.

Four ways to hire in Cambodia. Pick once, pick right.

Most businesses arrive having already decided, and often decided too quickly. Here is the honest version of each route. When one fits, the detailed guide is one click away.

Employer of Record

An EOR partner becomes the legal employer of your Cambodian staff, handling the contract, payroll, statutory withholdings across all three NSSF schemes, and Tax on Salary compliance, while you direct the work. Operational in days, no entity needed. Best for testing the market or hiring a small team.

Learn more

Global Payroll

For when you already have a Cambodian entity, or want to consolidate payroll across several countries. You stay the legal employer; a specialist partner runs the monthly Tax on Salary withholding and all three NSSF contribution filings correctly.

Learn more

Entity Formation (Private Limited Company)

Your own Cambodian company, most commonly a Private Limited Company (locally abbreviated Co., Ltd.), formed via the Ministry of Commerce with as few as one shareholder and one director. Full control and a local presence, but you carry registration, GDT tax registration, and ongoing filings. Right when the headcount and permanence justify it.

Learn more

PEO Services

A co-employment model alongside your own Cambodian entity. True PEO co-employment is far less established in Cambodia than in the US, so for most companies EOR or managed payroll is the better fit. We will tell you honestly which one your situation calls for.

Learn more

Cambodia at a glance

Currency

Cambodian riel (KHR) is the legal tender, but the economy is unusually dollarised: most salaries above unskilled, garment-floor levels are quoted and paid in US dollars in practice, and the government’s own minimum-wage Prakas is itself denominated in USD.

Minimum wage (2026)

USD 210 per month for regular workers in the textile, garment, footwear, travel goods and bag sectors for 2026 (USD 208 during probation), set by Prakas and unanimous industry agreement. No general minimum wage exists in law for any other sector; pay outside garments is market-set.

Employer costs

Employers fund three separate National Social Security Fund schemes: occupational risk (0.8% of contributory wage, employer-only), health care (2.6%, fully employer-borne since 2018), and pension (4% in the current phase, split 2% employer/2% employee). Tax on Salary is withheld from the employee, not added to employer cost.

Leave & Notice

Cambodia distinguishes Fixed Duration Contracts (FDC, capped at two years cumulative) from Undetermined Duration Contracts (UDC). UDC notice runs from 7 days to 3 months by seniority, with a semi-annual seniority payment (15 days’ wages per year of service) since 2019. Annual leave accrues at 1.5 days per month (18 days a year), on top of public holidays gazetted annually by the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training.

Hiring in Cambodia: quick answers

The questions we are asked most about hiring in Cambodia.

What is the fastest way to hire someone in Cambodia?

An Employer of Record. Your hire can start in days, with a compliant Cambodian employment contract from day one and no entity to set up. It is the lowest-risk way to test the market or place a small team.

Do I need a Cambodian entity to hire?

No. With an EOR you can employ people in Cambodia without your own company. You only need to incorporate when you are committing to a permanent, larger presence, and we will tell you honestly when that point arrives.

Cambodia’s only legal minimum wage applies to one sector, garment, textile, footwear, travel goods and bags, so outside that sector there is no statutory wage floor to anchor against. Add three separate NSSF contribution schemes and a Fixed Duration Contract regime capped at two years before it converts automatically to an Undetermined Duration Contract, and it is easy to get the structure wrong without local help.

We are independent: we assess what you actually need, place you with the right vetted partner, secure pricing you will not get going direct, and stay on your side to escalate or renegotiate. You get advice, not a product pitch.

Let’s map your Cambodia hire.

Tell us who you want to hire and where you are headed in Cambodia. One conversation maps your options, flags the risks, and usually gets you to a better answer, and better pricing, than going direct. No pitch.

Tax and labour data verified July 2026 (National Social Security Fund, General Department of Taxation, Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, PwC). Figures change; we confirm the current position when we scope your hire.