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Once you decide to expand to Latvia, two of the next tasks you may think about are recruiting and hiring employees. Your employees are your greatest asset, and you need to find the right team members who will help build a new location. However, it’s difficult to hire employees in Latvia when you’re also trying to run several company locations and keep up with the country’s compliance laws.
G-P can step in to help with Latvia hiring outsourcing services. As a global PEO, we can make it easier for you to expand to new countries by utilizing our existing subsidiaries. When you work with us for your Latvia expansion, you can start operating in a few days instead of a few months, and you won’t have to worry about compliance.
Recruiting in Latvia
Since Latvia has a small economy, it can be difficult to find top talent for niche positions at a reasonable salary. If you need to recruit professionals in a narrow specialization, you can either carry out market research to determine the availability of those people or attract talented candidates and provide a robust training program to prepare them for the job.
Many people speak more than one language, which can help you recruit without needing an interpreter. Russian, English, and German are the most common languages, so make sure you know what dialect candidates speak to communicate with them effectively.
Your recruiting efforts in Latvia may include hiring individuals from other countries. Starting at the end of 2019, the country instituted new policies to make it easier to hire expats. This can also help fill the employment gap and small economy. If you want to hire someone outside of the country, you must advertise the vacancy with the Employment Agency for 10 days (previously 30 days). You won’t need to present documents on the nonresident’s education or experience for certain positions, including cleaners, gardeners, and seasonal workers.
Latvia Labor Law prohibits you from staffing your business with any permanent worker who is under 15 years old. One exception is that children 13 or older can work outside of school hours in certain jobs with written consent from their parents or guardian. The work must also be light work that would not harm their safety, health, morals, or development. Children can also work as a performer for cultural, artistic, sporting, or advertising activities as long as a parent or guardian gives written consent, and it will not harm the child or interfere with their education.
How to Hire Employees in Latvia
You need to hire all of your Latvian employees using an employment contract that’s either indefinite or fixed-term. The country’s labor laws allow fixed-term contracts only under specific circumstances, so you should check to see if your situation applies. All employment contracts should be in writing and include information about compensation, benefits, termination, and more. We also recommend including any salary, compensation, or monetary bonus amounts in Euro instead of any other currency.
On August 1st, 2022, several Labor Law amendments came into force including updates to the required notifications to employees. Employers must now provide additional information on work conditions and terms, including:
- The employee’s place(s) of work – this must be stipulated within the employee’s contract
- Working schedule
- The right to training
Latvia Employment Laws
Latvia’s employment compliance laws change depending on a worker’s nationality. If you want to hire someone who is a member of the European Union (EU), that person will not need a work permit. However, they’ll need to apply for a residence permit if they’re staying for longer than 90 days. Non-EU nationals need a work permit before they can start working in the country.
As an employer, you cannot discriminate during your recruitment process. For example, you can’t choose a candidate based on gender, race, color, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or any similar characteristic. If you fail to follow Latvia’s employment compliance laws, you could face fines or even delays.
Onboarding in Latvia
You can choose how you want to onboard employees and create a process that works best for your company. For example, if you’re hiring employees for highly specialized positions, you may want to put a job training program in place for employees to succeed. If you plan to operate a small subsidiary in Latvia, you could plan to onboard several employees at one time. Then you can travel to Latvia to welcome them and also set up events for new employees to get to know each other.
Benefits of Hiring Outsourcing in Latvia
If you aren’t sure how to hire employees in Latvia or simply don’t have the time for the onboarding process, G-P can help. We’ll hire employees who work for your company — either recruiting top talent or onboarding your preferred candidates. When you choose Latvia hiring outsourcing with us, you won’t have to worry about compliance — we’ll act as the Employer of Record.
Work With G-P To Expand Globally
G-P will make it easy to meet Latvia’s employment compliance laws even while you’re focused on running your company. Contact us today for more information.