GLOBAL EMPLOYER OF RECORD in 190+ countries
Employer of Record (EOR) in Jordan
Our Global Employer of Record solutions handle contracts, payroll, tax, benefits, and immigration in 190+ countries, so you build compliant teams fast, without incorporating abroad.
GLOBAL EMPLOYER OF RECORD
Global coverage
Acumen International delivers global employment solutions across 190+ countries.
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Hiring and compliance support across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
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Lawful employment and payroll in regulated, compliance-intensive countries.
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Compliant employment solutions in jurisdictions with limited infrastructure.
Employ in Jordan without registering a local company, on Arabic contracts, Social Security enrolment and work permits that meet the Ministry of Labour’s rules.
Acumen International employs engineers, finance and project professionals, regional managers and specialist expatriates in Amman, Aqaba and across the Kingdom.
Employer of Record services in Jordan
With Acumen International as your Global Employer of Record, the contract of employment is between Acumen International and the employee, written in Arabic as the Labour Law requires, and Acumen International is the legal employer. A separate service agreement with your company sets out the role, the pay and the services. Your company decides who joins, directs the work and owns what it produces.
Jordan is often one office in a regional plan. Acumen International employs people in more than 190 countries, so a team in Amman can work alongside colleagues in Riyadh, Dubai or Cairo under one provider.
Where the right person has not yet been found, Acumen International can also run the search, from specialist recruitment to executive search, with background and education checks before the offer.
Why companies employ in Jordan through Acumen International
- A regional base in Amman. A company covering the Levant and Iraq places its regional manager and support staff in Amman, and Acumen International employs them under Jordanian law.
- Staff from an acquisition or a closing subsidiary. A company that buys a Jordanian business, or winds down its own Jordanian entity, keeps the people it needs, and Acumen International takes over their employment with service, Social Security history and leave balances carried across.
- Staff for an aid or development programme. An NGO or implementing partner needs project staff in Jordan for the life of a funded programme, and Acumen International employs them on terms aligned with the programme period.
- A specialist Jordan cannot supply. Acumen International brings in a foreign expert under the specialised-skills route, which remains open after the Ministry of Labour suspended most foreign recruitment from June 2026.
- Port, logistics and tourism operations in Aqaba. A company operating in the Aqaba Special Economic Zone builds a mixed Jordanian and expatriate team under the zone’s own labour and permit rules, with Acumen International as employer.
- A Jordanian sales and customer team. Sales roles are closed to non-Jordanians, so Acumen International employs the company’s account managers and business developers from the Jordanian talent pool.
- Market entry before registration. A company wins its first Jordanian clients and Acumen International employs its first hires before it registers with the Companies Control Department.
- Freelancers who work like employees. People paid as consultants but managed as staff move onto employment with Acumen International, with Social Security contributions paid from that point.
- A fixed-term project. Acumen International employs a project team on fixed-term contracts and ends or renews each one on time, since continuing past the end date turns it into an open-ended contract.
- A bridge to the company’s own entity. Acumen International employs the team until the company’s Jordanian subsidiary is registered and ready to take the employment over.
Jordanian and foreign hires: who can be employed in which role
Jordan’s labour policy puts Jordanians first, and the rules decide the shape of a team before any offer is made.
Professions closed to non-Jordanians. The Ministry of Labour’s permit guidelines reserve a list of occupations for Jordanians. It includes office and administrative work such as secretarial and data entry roles, sales of goods and services in every category, education roles other than teachers, faculty and research staff, security guards, electrical and maintenance trades, and decoration and car repair work.
Recruitment from abroad. From 1 June 2026, the Ministry of Labour suspended recruitment of non-Jordanian workers across most sectors. Occupations that need specialised skills not sufficiently available in Jordan are excluded from the suspension, as are approvals issued before it.
Specialised-skills permits. A foreign professional qualifies where they bring rare skills that help train Jordanians, rare technical experience, expertise that transfers knowledge, the ability to attract job-creating investment, or experience in a profession employers need. These permits run for three months, six months, one year or two years, and some professions need prior approval from a body such as the Jordan Engineers Association or the Central Bank of Jordan.
The permit comes first. A non-Jordanian may not start work until the permit is issued. Employing someone without one carries a fine of at least double the permit fee, rising to four times for a repeat offence, and the worker can be deported with a five-year ban on returning to work in Jordan.
Residence follows the permit. With the work permit issued, the employee applies for annual residence through the Public Security Directorate’s borders and residence department. The application needs Ministry of Interior approval, a medical clearance certificate from a Ministry of Health medical centre and a work permit valid for at least two more months, and the residence is renewed each year with the permit.
What Acumen International contributes
- Each role checked against the closed-profession list before the offer, so the team is designed around who can lawfully fill each position.
- Acumen International as the Jordanian employer for the work permit, with the specialised-skills case and any professional-body approval prepared for the Ministry of Labour.
- Permits renewed ahead of expiry and updated with every change of role, so the expert’s right to work in Jordan stays current.
Employing in the Aqaba Special Economic Zone
The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) runs its own employment, visa and residence directorate, which issues work permits, residence permits and visas for businesses registered in the zone. Registered institutions may employ up to 70% of their workforce from abroad, and the ASEZA Board of Commissioners can approve a higher share in special cases.
For companies in shipping, logistics, hospitality and industry around Aqaba, that allowance shapes the whole staffing plan. Acumen International confirms with each client whether the role sits inside the zone or on the mainland before the hire, because the permit authority and the foreign-worker limits differ.
Social Security in Jordan
Every employee, Jordanian or foreign, is registered with the Social Security Corporation from the first day of work. Contributions are a percentage of the monthly wage:
| Insurance | Employer | Employee |
|---|---|---|
| Old age, disability and death | 11% | 6.5% |
| Work injury | 2% | – |
| Maternity | 0.75% | – |
| Unemployment | 0.5% | 1% |
| Total | 14.25% | 7.5% |
Contributions are capped at a maximum insurable wage that the Social Security Law set at JOD 3,000 a month and that rises with inflation every January. Private-sector employers can reduce their old-age share by up to half for Jordanian employees under 30 under the applicable bylaw.
Because Social Security covers the employee, the Labour Law’s end-of-service gratuity of one month’s pay per year applies only to workers outside the Social Security system. For a covered employee, the pension and unemployment savings take its place.
Pay, working hours and income tax in Jordan
Minimum wage. JOD 290 a month for the private sector from 1 January 2025, set by the Tripartite Committee for Labour Affairs to remain in force until 31 December 2027.
Hours. Up to 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week, excluding meal and rest breaks, and no more than 11 hours in a single day where hours are spread across the week. Friday is the default weekly rest day and is paid.
Overtime. Worked only with the employee’s agreement and paid at no less than 125% of the hourly wage, or 150% on the weekly rest day and on official and religious holidays.
Income tax. Employment income is taxed at 5% on the first JOD 5,000 of taxable income, then 10%, 15% and 20% on each further JOD 5,000, 25% up to JOD 1 million and 30% above that. A 1% national contribution applies to taxable income above JOD 200,000. A resident employee is exempt on JOD 9,000 a year, with a further JOD 9,000 for dependants and up to JOD 3,000 of family deductions for medical, education and housing costs, within a family cap of JOD 23,000. The employer withholds the tax monthly through Jordanian payroll.
Employment contracts in Jordan
Arabic first. The contract must be in Arabic and signed in at least two copies, with a copy in an approved foreign language for a non-Arab employee. Where a contract is not in writing, the employee can prove its terms by any means.
Probation. Up to three months, paid at no less than the minimum wage. If the employee keeps working after probation, the contract becomes open-ended and the probation counts as service.
Fixed-term contracts. A fixed-term contract ends on its expiry date. If both sides carry on after that date, it becomes open-ended. An employer who ends a fixed-term contract early owes the wages and benefits for the rest of the term.
Inventions. Under Jordan’s Patent Law, the employer owns an invention made under a contract that requires the employee to invent, but the employee is entitled to fair compensation if its economic value was not foreseen. Where the employee was not hired to invent but used the employer’s resources, the employer must claim the invention in writing within four months, again with fair compensation. Contract terms that reduce these rights are void, so the contract assigns the invention to the client and sets out the compensation route rather than relying on a waiver.
Ending employment in Jordan
Notice. Either side ends an open-ended contract with one month’s written notice. An employee who leaves without serving it forfeits the notice pay and owes the employer the equivalent.
Arbitrary dismissal. If a court finds a dismissal arbitrary, it can order reinstatement or compensation of half a month’s wage for each year of service, with a minimum of two months’ wages, on top of notice and other entitlements. The employee has 60 days from the termination to bring the claim.
Protected employees. Notice may not be served on, or employment ended for, a woman from the sixth month of pregnancy or during maternity leave, or an employee on military or reserve service, annual leave or sick leave.
Final settlement. The employee receives final pay, pay for accrued leave and any contractual end-of-service benefit. Social Security registration is closed, and a non-Jordanian employee’s work permit is cancelled with the Ministry of Labour or ASEZA.
Employment risks in Jordan and how Acumen International mitigates them
| Risk in Jordan | How Acumen International mitigates it |
|---|---|
| A foreign hire is offered a role in a profession closed to non-Jordanians | Checks every role against the Ministry of Labour’s closed-profession list before the offer and fills closed roles from the Jordanian market. |
| A recruitment request falls under the suspension of foreign recruitment | Builds the specialised-skills case for the role and secures any professional-body approval before the application. |
| A foreign employee starts before the permit is issued | Starts employment only once the work permit is granted by the Ministry of Labour or ASEZA. |
| A role is placed under mainland rules when it sits in the Aqaba zone, or the reverse | Confirms the place of work before the hire and applies to the right permit authority. |
| Consultants managed as staff are found to be employees, with back Social Security contributions due | Moves them onto Arabic employment contracts with Social Security registration from the start of employment. |
| An employee claims rights over an invention, or the employer misses the four-month window to claim it | Assigns inventions in the contract with a fair-compensation clause the Patent Law will uphold, and tracks notified inventions against the deadline. |
| A fixed-term contract runs past its end date and becomes open-ended | Ends or renews each fixed-term contract before expiry. |
| A dismissal is ruled arbitrary within the 60-day claim period | Documents the reason and the process, serves notice correctly and settles final entitlements in full. |
| Notice is served on a protected employee | Checks pregnancy, maternity, military service and leave status before any notice is issued. |
| Pay differs between men and women in the same work | Sets pay by role and grade, since unequal pay by gender carries a fine of JOD 500 to 1,000 under the Labour Law. |
| A regional manager’s authority to sign contracts creates a taxable presence for the client | Defines the role’s authority in the job description and keeps contract signing with the client outside Jordan where that is the intent. |
Cost of hiring in Jordan
The statutory employer cost in Jordan is mainly Social Security at 14.25% of the wage, up to the maximum insurable wage. Income tax and the employee’s 7.5% Social Security share come out of gross pay.
On a salary of JOD 2,000 a month, the employer’s Social Security contribution is JOD 285, bringing the statutory cost to JOD 2,285. Above the insurable ceiling, contributions stop rising with salary.
Professional packages in Amman commonly add private medical insurance, transport or housing allowances and, for senior roles, an annual bonus, which the cost plan needs to include. The Global Payroll Calculator gives the full employer cost for any salary in Jordan.
Hiring cases in Jordan and how they are handled
| Case | How Acumen International handles it |
|---|---|
| A UK software company wants a six-person engineering team in Amman. | Acumen International employs the engineers on Arabic contracts, registers them with Social Security and assigns their code to the company under a Patent Law-compliant invention clause. The company runs a Jordanian development team without registering a subsidiary. |
| A German manufacturer needs a non-Jordanian process engineer to commission a plant line. | Acumen International files a specialised-skills permit with the Jordan Engineers Association’s prior approval and starts employment once the permit is issued. The engineer works lawfully despite the suspension of general foreign recruitment. |
| A logistics company in Aqaba plans a team of 20 with experienced expatriate supervisors. | Acumen International applies through ASEZA’s employment directorate and keeps the foreign share within the zone’s 70% allowance. The team is staffed to plan under the zone’s rules. |
| An international NGO has paid three Amman project officers as consultants for two years. | Acumen International moves them onto fixed-term employment matched to the grant period, with Social Security from the start of employment. Their engagement is compliant for the rest of the programme, while any exposure from the consultancy period stays with the NGO. |
| A US company wants its regional sales lead for the Levant based in Amman. | Acumen International recruits a Jordanian candidate, since sales is a closed profession, and defines the role’s contracting authority. The company has its sales lead in place on lawful terms. |
Leave and benefits in Jordan
Annual leave. 14 working days of paid leave a year, rising to 21 days after five consecutive years with the same employer. Leave cannot be split into periods of less than two days, and an agreement to give it up is void.
Sick leave. 14 days of paid sick leave a year, extendable by a further 14 days for an employee admitted to hospital.
Maternity and paternity leave. Ten weeks of fully paid maternity leave, at least six of them after the birth, funded through Social Security maternity insurance for registered employees. Fathers receive three days of paid leave.
Public holidays. Official and religious holidays are paid, and work on them is paid at no less than 150%.
Competitive packages. Professional benefit packages in Jordan usually include private medical insurance, transport or housing allowances and, at senior level, schooling support for expatriates’ children.
Sources
- Labor Law No. 8 of 1996 and its amendments
- The comprehensive guide of principles for issuing work permits for non-Jordanian workers
- Labour Ministry freezes foreign worker recruitment to prioritize local employment
- Social Security Law according to the latest amendments
- Start your work now
- Law No. 32 of 1999 on Patents
- Jordan to boost private sector minimum wage to JD290 in 2025
- Jordan: taxes on personal income
- Jordan: deductions
- Borders and residence department information services
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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Have questions about hiring globally? You’re not alone. Below you’ll find answers to the most common questions from teams expanding into new markets — from compliance and onboarding timelines to payroll and local benefits.
If you don’t see what you’re looking for, our team of in-country experts is always ready to help you navigate the details.
Can Acumen employ both blue-collar and white-collar roles in Jordan?
Not necessarily. Acumen can assess both professional and operational roles in Jordan, including technical, field and site-based positions. Feasibility depends on the worksite, sector rules, health and safety responsibilities, licensing, collective terms and immigration requirements attached to the role.
Can Acumen employ a temporary project workforce in Jordan without our own entity?
Yes, where the roles and duration are suitable. An EOR can provide the local employment structure for a project team in Jordan without creating a company solely for that workforce, subject to worksite, sector and employment requirements.
What remains with the client when Acumen is the Employer of Record in Jordan?
The EOR takes responsibility for the employment framework it provides in Jordan; it does not transfer every business risk to the EOR. The client continues to own operational management, PE and corporate tax analysis, sector licensing and any responsibilities arising from the way its business is conducted locally.