What is the minimum HR setup for a startup in Myanmar?

What this looks like in practice

A typical Myanmar startup is 1–4 founders plus a few early hires. Below 5 employees, SSB does not yet apply, but every other statute does — DICA registration, ESDL appointment letters, PAYE withholding under the Income Tax Law, and Payment of Wages Law obligations on payslips and pay frequency. The trick is to set the foundation now so the SSB trigger at 5 doesn't catch the company unprepared.

Step-by-step setup

1. Register the company on Myanmar Companies Online (MyCO) — DICA Notification governs the process.
2. Open a corporate bank account for payroll and tax remittance.
3. Issue ESDL appointment letters on Day 1 to every hire — even if it's just two employees.
4. Set up monthly payroll with PAYE withholding and a payslip per employee; pay by the 7th and remit PIT by the 15th.
5. Maintain a leave register and attendance log from the first hire — these are required by the Leave & Holidays Act and the S&E Act.
6. Calendar the SSB trigger — register with the township SSB office within 30 days of reaching 5 employees.
7. Calendar the OSH trigger — safety committee at 50 employees.

Tools, templates and costs

• Founder-run payroll: free, in Excel or a free HRMS tier.
• Cloud HRMS starter tier: MMK 50,000–150,000/month for under 10 employees.
• Templates needed: ESDL appointment letter, payslip, leave application, attendance sheet.
• EOR alternative: providers like Multiplier, Deel and Rippling offer Myanmar coverage if the founder doesn't want to register a local entity yet (typically USD 200–500 per employee per month).

EOR vs hire directly

Pre-DICA-registration startups often use an EOR to onboard their first one or two Myanmar engineers without the registration overhead. Once the team passes 4–5 hires, direct hire becomes cheaper than EOR fees. PEO and EOR services are valid in Myanmar but should be evaluated against the cost of incorporating a local subsidiary — typically a 12-month break-even.

Pitfalls to avoid

• "We'll register SSB at 10" — no, the threshold is 5, and the 30-day clock starts the day you cross it.
• Verbal job offers only — ESDL requires a written agreement within 30 days.
• "Consultants" who are actually full-time — contractor misclassification creates backdated SSB and PIT exposure.
• No payslips — payslips are mandatory under the Payment of Wages Law from the first hire.
• Skipping the township labour register — required even for very small employers.

Related: what is a PEO in Myanmar, EOR options in Myanmar, and running payroll without an HR person.