The problem, in plain terms
If part of your workforce speaks Burmese, some of your most consequential documents are reaching them in a language they can’t read closely:
- Safety procedures — lockout/tagout, PPE, chemical handling, evacuation routes. A worker who nods at a rule they couldn’t read is still an injury waiting to happen, and the file says they were trained.
- Attendance and points policies — how to call off, who to call, how many points a late shift costs, when a warning becomes a termination. People lose jobs over rules they were never able to read.
- Onboarding and benefits enrollment — payroll setup, direct deposit, enrollment windows, plan choices. A missed window means someone goes a year without coverage.
None of this is a language problem for long. It becomes a recordable injury, a grievance, a turnover number, or a supervisor spending their week re-explaining a handbook.
What we translate first, and why
Safety first — always. It is the highest consequence when misread and usually the smallest page count: a lockout procedure, a PPE sheet, a set of posted rules. After that, anything with a deadline or a signature (discipline notices, benefit enrollment, consent forms), then the recurring documents you hand every new hire, which you translate once and reuse indefinitely.
Employers who try to translate the whole handbook at once stall on the cost and translate nothing. A safety set is a finishable start.
One honest caveat before you spend anything
Not everyone from Myanmar reads Burmese. Many workers are Karen or Chin speakers, written in a different script entirely, and a Burmese version may not reach them at all. Ask which language people read, not which one they speak — on a form, not in a hallway. Our guide on which language your workers from Myanmar read covers how to ask. We translate Burmese, and we will say so plainly when Burmese isn’t what your floor reads.
What you get
- Formatting preserved. A handbook keeps its numbered sections, a form keeps its initial boxes and signature lines, a schedule keeps its table. You get the same Word file back, ready to print or post.
- Proper Unicode Burmese that displays correctly in email, on posted notices, and in your HR system — not text that arrives as empty boxes.
- Names and codes left in English. Chemical names, part and machine numbers, department codes, policy numbers and phone extensions stay readable to anyone who has to act on them.
- Reviewed by a person, so workplace terms come out as the words Burmese readers recognize rather than a word-for-word rendering.
What it costs
- $39 per document up to 3 pages, $12/page after that
- From $299 for a workplace package — a safety set or a handbook up to 25 pages
- From $199/month if documents go out regularly — up to 20 per month, next business day
- Two business days standard · rush +50% · invoice or card · W-9 on request
Your first document is free
Send one — the safety procedure you worry about most. We translate it at no cost, so a Burmese-reading employee can check the quality before you commit. Request it at burmesetranslator.com/services#quote, or send us a message and we will reply with how to send it.