Hire in Mozambique

The hiring of fixed-term contract workers for permanent duties is prohibited by Mozambican labor law. Fixed-term contracts may be entered into for temporary duties that do not correspond to the typical cycle of production and operation of the firm. Failure to state the reason justifying the conclusion of a fixed-term contract converts it into an open-ended employment contract.

The temporary needs include:

• replacement of employees who are unable to perform their duties for whatever reason (sick leave, maternity leave, etc.)
• performance of work due to an exceptional increase in production and performance of seasonal work
• performance of work that does not meet the permanent needs of the employer
• performance of a single piece of work, a project or other specific temporary activity

A fixed-term contract can be signed for a duration of two years (24 months), although it can be renewed twice. As a result, the maximum duration of fixed-term contracts, including renewals, is 72 months. Small and medium-sized businesses, on the other hand, are free to enter into fixed-term contracts during their first eight years of operation.

As per the Labor Law, a probationary period refers to the initial time frame during which an employment contract is executed.

For permanent contracts, the probationary period cannot exceed:

• 180 days for intermediate and higher-level and employees holding leadership and management positions
• 90 days for other types of employees

For fixed-term contracts, the probationary period cannot exceed:

• 15 days for fixed-term contracts of up to six months
• 30 days for fixed-term contracts of between six months to one year
• 90 days for fixed-term contracts of longer than one year

According to the labor law, normal working hours consist of eight hours per day and 48 hours per week. It is possible to extend the daily work hours to nine hours, as long as the worker receives an additional half day of rest per week in addition to their usual weekly break.

In rare circumstances and as agreed in a collective agreement, the maximum daily working hours may be extended by up to four hours, as long as the total weekly working hours do not exceed 56 hours.

When there are material reasons for extending working hours, an employee may perform up to 96 hours of overtime per quarter. Nevertheless, overtime hours should not exceed eight hours per week or 200 hours per year.

Overtime is permitted only when employers have an increased workload that does not justify hiring new employees and where there are substantive reasons. If a worker works longer than the specified working hours during the week, he or she is entitled to overtime compensation according to the rate below:

• 150% of the normal hourly rate for overtime hours until 8 p.m.
• 200% of the normal hourly rate for the overtime hours from 8 p.m. to the start of normal hours on the following day.
• 200% of the normal wage rate for when a worker works on Sundays, public holidays or additional rest days.

When a worker is required to work on a weekly rest day, a public holiday or an additional rest day, a compensatory rest day is provided. The compensatory rest day must be granted within the next three days of work. However, if the extraordinary work does not last more than five hours, an employee is entitled to a half-day of compensatory rest.

An employment contract may be terminated for the following reasons:

• expiry of contract
• mutual agreement
• termination by the employee (with or without just cause)
• termination with or without just cause by the employer

Employees cannot be terminated at will by simply serving them with a notice period. For employees on fixed contracts, employers are required to provide written notice before the contract comes to an end. If an employer needs to make redundancies, they must also give written notices to the affected employees who will be terminated.

An employment contract can be terminated by either party by serving notice or paying in lieu of notice. If an employee terminates a fixed-term employment contract, the law demands at least 30 days’ notice or payment in lieu of notice. When a permanent contract is terminated, the law mandates the following notice periods:

• 15 days if the service period is longer than six months but less than three years
• 30 days if the service period exceeds three years.

On termination, a permanent employee is entitled to severance pay as follows:

• 30 days of wages for every year of service if the basic monthly wage of an employee, including the length of service bonus, is between one and seven times the national minimum wage;
• 15 days of wages for every year of service if the basic monthly wage of an employee, including the length of service bonus, is between eight and 10 times the national minimum wage;
• 10 days of wages for every year of service if the basic monthly wage of an employee, including the length of service bonus, is between 11 and 16 times the national minimum wage; and
• 3 days of wages for every year of service if the basic monthly wage of an employee, including the length of service bonus, is greater than 16 times the national minimum wage.

When a fixed-term contract is terminated, the employer must provide the affected employee with monetary compensation equivalent to the wages they would have earned from the termination date until the contract’s expiration date, whether it is in days or months.

As per the Labour Law, compensation can be based on the amount of work done, the duration of work or a combination of both.

Wages should be based on real hours spent at work and paid in a legal tender on a regular basis (weekly, fortnightly or monthly).

Employers are required to maintain a record of the payroll list or relevant payslips, along with the tax and social security payment forms that should be stored as well.

Employees are entitled to the following paid annual leave based on their years of service:

• 12 days (one day for every month of actual service during the first year)
• 30 days as from the second year onwards

Employee’s entitlement to take paid leave cannot be waived, nor can it be denied under any circumstances. Annual leave is usually taken in one long block but parties can also agree to split it apart. The shortest duration that can be taken at one time is six days.

Employees with a fixed term of more than three months but less than one year are entitled to one day of vacation for every month of actual service.

Employers are required to provide sick leave for up to 15 days in a row, or five non-consecutive days in a quarter, after which they can refer the employee to a health board to evaluate whether or not they can still work. Additionally, according to social security legislation, in the event of an accident or a non-work-related sickness, employees are entitled to up to 365 consecutive days of sick pay under the social security system. As a result, any employee who contracts a disease or has a non-work-related accident may be eligible for sick leave under the Social Security system, and the employer is not obligated to pay the person’s wages during that time.

Maternity Leave

Female employees have the right to a maternity leave of 90 consecutive days. This leave can start 20 days before the expected delivery date. The 90-day leave also applies in cases of full-term or premature delivery, regardless of whether it was a live or stillborn birth.

The remuneration of a worker on maternity leave is regulated by the mandatory social security system.

During pregnancy and up to one year after the end of the maternity leave, the employee’s employment contract cannot be terminated, except in cases of dismissal or expiry.

Paternity Leave

Male employees are entitled to a seven-day paternity leave, starting the day after the child’s birth. The employee cannot use paternity leave within one year and six months after the previous leave was taken.

If the mother is incapacitated or deceased, the father is granted 60 days of paternity leave. If both spouses work for the same employer, they may exchange their maternity or paternity leave to balance work demands. The employee must provide written communication to the employer to inform them of paternity leave.

There are usually nine public holidays in Mozambique.