The recent authorization for certain companies and foreign representatives to directly hire Cuban workers has raised an unavoidable question: if the foreign company becomes the employer, will it also be able to pay salaries directly in dollars?
The response arising from the new regulations is more complex than a simple yes or no. Direct hiring eliminates the obligation to use a state employer in certain cases, but does not automatically convert the salary into a payment in foreign currency.
The new Cuban Labor Code maintains an explicit rule: the salary is a remuneration in Cuban pesos and must be paid in CUP. At the same time, other regulations allow certain workers to receive gratuities in foreign currency, a legal category different from salary.
What changed with direct contracting?
The , published on October 2 in Official Gazette No. 82, allows foreign commercial representations established in Cuba to directly hire their employees.
Until now, hiring had to be carried out exclusively through employer entities authorized by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, which formalized the employment relationship with the worker and then provided that workforce to the foreign representation.
CiberCuba reported on this change following the release of the new regulations.
The outlines the new system and establishes that foreign commercial representations can hire directly or may continue to rely on an employer entity.
When opting for direct hiring, the representation itself assumes the role of employer and must comply with Cuban labor and social security legislation.
Hiring directly does not mean paying the salary in dollars
The key to understanding what currency can be used appears in a regulation published just two weeks prior: the .
Article 7 expressly states that foreign investment modalities and foreign commercial representations based in Cuba are governed by the Labor Code, along with the adjustments provided in their specific regulations.
Article 246 is even more precise: it defines salary as “the payment in Cuban pesos that the employer pays to the worker”.
And Article 261 establishes that the salary is paid in Cuban pesos at least once a month, whether in cash, through a banking instrument, or electronically.
Therefore, the possibility of a foreign commercial representation directly signing a contract with a Cuban worker does not in itself authorize the establishment of that ordinary salary in dollars, euros, or another foreign currency.
What fundamentally changes is who acts as the employer and who signs the contract, not the currency in which the Labor Code defines the salary.
Salary and bonus are not the same
Here a fundamental difference appears.
The Labor Code itself states that a person's remuneration can consist of salary and other legally established income.
And Article 246 clearly states that bonuses are not considered salary.
This opens up the possibility for certain workers to receive additional income in foreign currency without those payments replacing the mandatory salary in CUP.
The Foreign Investment Law does provide for bonuses in foreign currency
The situation is particularly clear for the so-called foreign investment modalities.
The updated version of the , modified in 2026, establishes in its Article 29 that joint ventures, fully foreign-owned enterprises, and international economic association contracts can create incentive funds using their profits.
The same provision states that workers “may receive bonuses in foreign currency, provided that the form of foreign investment generates them”.
This means that a worker can have a salary subject to general rules in Cuban pesos and, in addition, receive certain additional payments in foreign currency when specific legislation allows for it.
They are not legally the same.
Not all foreign companies fall into the same category
This distinction is particularly important because a foreign commercial representation is not necessarily a form of foreign investment under Law 118.
Law 118 includes mixed enterprises, wholly foreign-owned companies, and international economic association contracts as its fundamental modalities.
For these entities, direct contracting had already been relaxed in September through the and the modifications introduced in the Foreign Investment Law.
The reform of October 2 extends a similar logic to foreign commercial representations, but through another regulatory package: Decree-Law 137 and Resolution 62.
And what about the bonuses for branch and representation workers?
The Cuban legislation already acknowledges the existence of bonuses received by workers linked to branches of foreign firms and other representations.
The , explicitly mentions individuals who receive bonuses for working in branches of foreign commercial firms, representative offices of banks, financial companies, and other representations of foreign entities accredited in Cuba.
But having that additional income recognized for tax purposes does not convert a bonus into salary nor does it automatically allow for the replacement of the salary in CUP with a monthly payment in dollars.
The Central Bank allows currency transfers, but only when they are authorized
Another element that can cause confusion arises in the banking regulation.
The sets new rules for foreign currency bank accounts and includes transfers from legal entities to individuals for reasons such as remunerations, bonuses, authorized travel expenses, and per diems.
The key word is "authorized."
The Resolution 102 regulates how a payment in foreign currency can be processed bank-wise when there is a legal basis to do so, but it does not replace labor legislation nor does it by itself constitute a general authorization to pay any salary in dollars.
CiberCuba explained in September the new rules for bank accounts in foreign currency, which are part of the expansion of foreign currency operations within the Cuban economy.
What changes then for the worker?
The change is not insignificant.
When a foreign commercial representation uses direct contracting, the worker signs their contract with the representation itself, and it assumes the responsibility of the employer, instead of maintaining a contractual relationship with a state intermediary agency.
Resolution 62 also establishes that those who were already working for these representations cannot receive lower income than what they earned prior to the transition.
For foreign investment modalities, a similar situation occurs under Resolution 56: the company can hire directly and assume the corresponding labor and social security obligations.
But the liberalization of who is hired does not equate to a complete liberalization of how payments are made.
So, can a foreign company offer a monthly salary of 500 dollars?
With the revised regulations, direct hiring alone does not provide a basis for replacing the legal salary in Cuban pesos with an ordinary salary expressed entirely in dollars.
The Labor Code explicitly maintains the salary in CUP.
It is different in that, in addition to the salary, there are bonuses or other income in foreign currency expressly permitted by the regulations applicable to each type of company or representation, which can be channeled through the banking system.
Therefore, the main novelty of the reforms is not that Cuban workers have started to be paid automatically in dollars, but that certain foreign companies can hire directly and negotiate the employment relationship without the mandatory mediation of a state employer entity.
The dollar may appear as a bonus or additional income in authorized cases. The salary, according to the current Labor Code, continues to be in Cuban pesos.
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