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I never thought I’d end up in Punjab, Pakistan, selling moisture-proof pads for outdoor furniture. Back in Hubei, I studied horticulture. I thought I’d grow plants. Instead, I’m trying to figure out how to pay people fairly in a country where the rules seem written in invisible ink.

It started with a simple question: Why does my local team keep asking for cash in envelopes?

I thought it was just cultural—maybe they didn’t trust bank transfers. Or maybe they wanted to avoid taxes. But after three months of asking around, I realized it wasn’t about trust. It was about confusion.

In Punjab, there’s no single, clear document that says: “This is how you structure a payroll for foreign employers.” The Labour Law 2010 exists. The Minimum Wage Ordinance exists. The Social Security Institution (SSI) registration is mandatory. But no one I talked to—local HR managers, accountants, even lawyers—could point to a single, updated checklist that matched what foreign companies were actually doing on the ground.

I spoke to a Pakistani manager who’d worked for three different Chinese firms in Faisalabad. He said: “We follow the letter. But not the spirit. Because the spirit isn’t written down.” He showed me a printed copy of the Punjab Labour Department’s wage guidelines from 2021. The font was blurry. The margins were torn. He said, “We update it in our heads.”

That’s the first variable: information asymmetry.

You think you’re compliant because you’ve paid the minimum wage. But what counts as “minimum”? Is it gross or net? Are overtime hours calculated before or after Eid holidays? Are bonuses part of the base salary for social security calculations? The answers depend on who you ask—and whether they’ve read the latest SSI circular from last November.

I spent 17 days last month just trying to get a clear answer on whether we needed to pay for 12 public holidays or 14. The official list from the government website said 12. The local chamber of commerce said 14. My accountant said, “It depends on your industry.” My team said, “We get paid for 14, so that’s what we expect.”

I felt stupid. Not because I didn’t know. But because I didn’t know how to know.

I started asking: Who benefits when payroll is unclear?

Then I saw the news: Foreign companies sent back $2 billion in profits from Pakistan in just 10 months of FY26. That’s not just repatriation. That’s extraction. And I realized—payroll opacity might be one of the cheapest ways to maximize margins. If you don’t formalize overtime, don’t register everyone with SSI, don’t pay for mandatory leave, you save money. And if no one’s auditing you? Why fix it?

But here’s the quiet cost: time.

I spent 40 hours last month just trying to reconcile one employee’s pay slip. The guy worked 280 hours in March. We paid him 45,000 PKR. But his contract said 160 hours/month at 180 PKR/hour. That’s 28,800. The rest? “Overtime bonus.” But was it calculated at 1.5x? 2x? Was it paid monthly or quarterly? We had no system. Just a spreadsheet with handwritten notes.

I didn’t have a legal team. I didn’t have a local HR expert. I had one intern who spoke English and Urdu, and a WhatsApp group with three other Chinese small business owners in Lahore.

We shared screenshots of pay slips. We compared notes. One guy said: “We just pay 10% above minimum and call it ‘benefit.’ No one complains.” Another said: “Last year, two workers sued us for unpaid leave. We settled for 80,000 PKR. It was cheaper than fighting.”

That’s when it hit me: I’m not here to cut costs. I’m here to build something that lasts.

I don’t want to be the foreigner who leaves Pakistan with a bank account full of profits and a trail of unpaid wages behind me.

So I started small.

What I’m Doing Now (No Promises, Just Steps)

  1. I’ve started documenting everything in English and Urdu.
    Every pay slip now has:

    • Gross salary
    • Breakdown of allowances (transport, food, housing)
    • Overtime hours and rate (1.5x, per Punjab Labour Rules)
    • Deductions (if any)
    • Net amount
    • Date of payment
    • Signature line (employee + employer)
      I print two copies. One stays with the employee. One goes in the file.

  2. I’m registering all staff with the Social Security Institution (SSI).
    I don’t know if it’s mandatory for companies under 10 employees. But I did it anyway. The form took three visits. The office in Faisalabad didn’t have the latest version. I had to get it from Lahore. I made a friend there—a local accountant who’d been doing this for 12 years. He said: “If you’re here for more than a year, register. Otherwise, you’ll regret it when someone gets hurt.”

  3. I’m paying for public holidays. Even if the law is unclear.
    Eid ul Adha 2026 was declared a 3-day holiday. I paid everyone for those days—even those who didn’t work. Because I saw how much joy it brought. And because I didn’t want to be the boss who counted pennies on a day when families were celebrating.

I’m not saying this is perfect. I’m not saying it’s “compliant.” I’m saying it’s visible. And that’s the first step.

❓ FAQ: What Should You Actually Do?

Q1: How do I know what the minimum wage is in Punjab for foreign employers?

Steps:

  1. Visit the official Punjab Labour Department website: https://labour.punjab.gov.pk
  2. Look for “Minimum Wage Notification” under “Notifications” or “Wage Rules.”
  3. Download the latest PDF (usually updated yearly).
  4. Cross-check with the SSI website for any wage-related contributions.

Key Points:

  • Minimum wage varies by sector (manufacturing, services, etc.).
  • It’s usually set per day, not per hour.
  • Foreign employers are not exempt.
  • If you can’t find it online, call the Labour Department in Lahore at +92-42-99201111 (ask for “Minimum Wage Inquiry”).

Note: As of early 2026, the minimum daily wage in Punjab’s manufacturing sector was around PKR 350. But this may change. Always confirm.

Q2: Do I need to pay social security for part-time or temporary workers?

Steps:

  1. Check SSI’s official definition of “employee”: https://www.ssi.gov.pk
  2. If the worker is under contract for more than 30 days, they are likely covered.
  3. Register them even if you’re unsure. The penalty for non-registration is higher than the cost of registration.

Key Points:

  • Registration is free. Contribution is 5% of gross salary (employer) + 1% (employee).
  • You can register online via SSI’s portal.
  • Keep a copy of the registration certificate.
  • If your worker leaves, you must notify SSI within 15 days.

I learned this the hard way: one worker quit after 45 days. I didn’t notify SSI. Six months later, I got a notice—“Outstanding contribution.” I paid twice as much to clear it.

Q3: Can I pay in cash? Is it illegal?

Steps:

  1. There is no law that says you cannot pay in cash.
  2. But if you pay in cash and don’t document it, you have no proof of payment.
  3. In case of a dispute, the burden of proof is on the employer.

Key Points:

  • Always issue a signed pay slip—even if cash is given.
  • Use a ledger book. Write the date, name, amount, and signature.
  • If you pay in cash, take a photo of the signed slip with the employee.
  • Avoid large cash payments (>PKR 50,000) without a receipt.

A friend’s company was audited last year. They paid 12 people in cash. No slips. The labour inspector fined them PKR 420,000 for “failure to maintain records.”

I still feel overwhelmed. I’m not a lawyer. I’m not an HR specialist. I’m just a guy from Hubei who wanted to sell waterproof mats and ended up learning how to pay people fairly in a country where the rules change faster than the weather.

I used to think compliance was about avoiding penalties. Now I think it’s about avoiding regret.

I don’t want to be the foreigner who left Pakistan with a profit margin and a quiet conscience.

If you’re in Punjab, and you’re asking these same questions—don’t wait for a perfect answer. Start documenting. Start asking. Start showing up.

I’ve been talking to JingJing from Lvga.com about this. She doesn’t give advice. She just listens. And sometimes, that’s more helpful than a legal opinion.

If you’re curious about how others are handling payroll in Pakistan—whether in Lahore, Faisalabad, or Multan—feel free to join the Lvga.com community. We’re not a service. We’re just a group of people trying to do better, one pay slip at a time.

🔸 延伸阅读

🔸 Foreign companies operating in Pakistan sent back USD 172 million in profits in 10 months 🗞️ 来源: moneycontrol – 📅 2026-05-20
🔗 阅读原文

🔸 Pakistan, Eid ul Adha holidays announced 🗞️ 来源: pakistannews_pk – 📅 2026-05-20
🔗 阅读原文

🔸 Foreign companies operating in Pakistan sent back $172 million in profits in 10 months 🗞️ 来源: deccanherald – 📅 2026-05-20
🔗 阅读原文

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