People: employment, expatriate work permits and the worker/management line

Two things about employing people in Bangladesh reliably surprise foreign employers. The first is that bringing in expatriate staff is a regulated, quota-bound process rather than a visa formality. The second is that the Labour Act does not apply uniformly to everyone on the payroll.

Expatriate employment

An expatriate working in Bangladesh needs a work permit, issued by Invest Bangladesh (formerly BIDA) or the relevant zone authority, and supported by the appropriate visa category. Permission is granted against a defined position, and the authorities expect the employer to show that the role requires an expatriate — which in practice means a documented local-recruitment effort and, frequently, a succession and training plan.

• Permits attach to a position and an employer. Changing either requires fresh permission.
• There are expectations about the ratio of expatriate to local employees, which vary by sector and by zone.
• The correct visa category must be obtained before taking up employment; entering on a business visa and converting afterwards is a common and avoidable problem.
• Secondment from a group company needs structuring. A seconded employee can create permanent establishment exposure for the sending entity.
• Salary remittance and personal tax both depend on the permit being valid and current.

The worker / management distinction

The Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, read with the Labour Rules 2015, protects “workers” — a defined category that excludes those employed in an administrative or managerial capacity. Where an individual falls on that line determines the procedure required to terminate them, the compensation payable, entitlement to service benefits, working hours, and whether a dispute goes to the Labour Court or the ordinary civil courts.

The classification follows the substance of the role, not the job title. An employee called a manager may still be a worker if the role carries no real authority to hire, direct or discipline. Multinational employers typically import a group grading structure and assume it maps onto the statutory categories. It does not, and the error usually surfaces at termination — when a dismissal carried out on the assumption that the Act did not apply is challenged in the Labour Court.

What else to get right at the start

• Written contracts and a compliant service rulebook or standing orders.
• Provident fund, gratuity and the workers' profit participation obligations where they apply.
• Working hours, overtime and leave entitlements for employees who are workers.
• Maternity benefit, and the policies the Act and Rules require to be in place.
• Termination procedure — notice, cause, and the documentary record that supports it.