Global HR Compliance in Central African Republic

If you hire international workforce, or plan to hire, then Hiring and Firing Workforce in Central African Republic Guide below will help you understand the nuances of labor legislation in the country.

Companies hire international workforce for various reasons but in most cases they are:

• entering the foreign markets to sell company products. To do so, the company hires sales representatives who would represent their product and sell it to their local client base.
• hiring a global talent with unique skills that is unavailable in the local market or costs the company less than the talent with similar skills hired in the home country.

Before entering a certain foreign market or engaging a global talent, it is crucial for the company to understand how it can make local hires and reward its workers on a monthly basis. Growing companies often face a challenge of paying benefits and bonuses to the commission-based independent sales representatives they are working with.

If you intend to hire and pay your foreign workforce in full compliance with labor laws and regulations of Central African Republic, then the Global Employer of Record service from Acumen International may be the best way for you to go. We are an International PEO company and we specialize in global employment, meaning we can employ your employees in Central African Republic and act as their legal employer on your behalf. We will payroll your foreign workforce monthly and provide benefits to them through our global network so you don’t have to set up your own legal entities there.

We are experts in global workforce employment in , and our goal is to become your single provider. Instead of working with numerous local staffing agencies and legal advisors, Acumen International can solve your global business challenges and save you time, costs, and resources.

Our team of English-speaking professionals frees you from working through language nuances. Acumen International works 24/7 and can assist you whenever you need, regardless of time zones. Our goal is to create tailored labor solutions for you that are managed legally and in full compliance with the local employment laws.

With our knowledge and deep understanding of local nuances, you easily satisfy your need for skilled professionals in your global industry. With our qualified local partners, you can trust that your global workforce satisfies all local tax, social security, and immigration requirements in Central African Republic.

A Hiring and Firing Workforce in Central African Republic Guide

# Employment contracts

The employment contract can be concluded for :

• fixed term;
• an indefinite period.

The fixed-term contract of employment is a contract which ends on the arrival of the term fixed by the parties, in writing, at the time of its conclusion. With the exception of contracts for daily workers, engaged on an hour or a day basis, for a short-term occupation and paid at the end of the day, week or fortnight, the fixed-term employment contract must be in writing or noted by a letter of employment.

Any fixed-term contract of employment, which does not include a specific term, fixed at the time of its conclusion or concluded for a period of more than two (02) years, is deemed to be of indefinite duration.

The fixed-term employment contract may include a test clause under the same conditions as those fixed for contracts of indefinite duration. If the contract of employment includes a renewal clause, in principle, this one remains optional. Accordingly, the refusal to do so is only abusive where the ground relied on is an intention to injure or a personal enmity or the trade union activity of the worker. However, short-term employment contracts may be concluded and renewed several times provided that their duration does not exceed two (2) years.
The contract of employment concluded for a definite duration must include a precise term, fixed as soon as it is concluded. It must indicate either the date of its expiry or the precise period for which it is concluded.

The contract of employment of indefinite duration is the one whose term was not fixed by the parts at the time of its conclusion. In the absence of writing, the fixed-term employment contract is deemed to be concluded for an indefinite period and the worker’s commitment considered final from the day of the hiring. With the exception of imprecise futures contracts, which are assimilated to the contracts of daily workers, engaged on time or day for a short-term occupation and paid at the end of the day, during the week or the fortnight, all fixed-term or fixed-term contracts of employment fixed at conclusion or concluded for a period exceeding two (02) years are deemed to be of indefinite duration.

# Minimum (Statutory) Employment Rules and Regulations in Central African Republic

# Hours of work:
In all non-agricultural public or private establishments, lay or religious, even if they have a character of teaching or beneficence, the hours of work of the employees or workers working on time to the task or to the parts, can’t exceed forty (40) hours per week.

Hours worked beyond the weekly period fixed above or the period considered equivalent give rise to a salary increase. In agricultural and similar establishments, the weekly working time is forty-eight (48) hours. Hours worked in excess of forty-eight (48) hours of work result in increased wages. Work done between twenty-two (22) hours and five (5) am in any season is considered night work.

# Probation period:
The execution of a contract of employment of indefinite duration must begin with a probation period stipulated obligatorily in writing, countersigned by the two parts as of the engagement and whose maximum duration varies according to the professional category of the worker. Any trial period stipulated after the execution of the employment contract is null and void.
The purpose of the test is to enable the employer to judge the professional skills and behavior of the worker and to assess the general conditions of work, hygiene and safety in the company.

In the absence of a written contract and for locally recruited staff, the probation period should be:

• eight (8) days for the worker paid by the hour, the day to the week or the fortnight;
• one (1) month for the paid worker per month;
• two (2) months for supervisors and assimilated;
• three (3) months for executives.

In the case of a written contract, the probation period must be expressly stipulated. It may be concluded for longer than the time required to test the committed staff, given the technical and professional usage. The probation period can only be renewed once for the same period. However, for workers recruited out of Central African territory or outside of their habitual residence, deadlines and recruitment drive are not included in the maximum duration of the probation period.

In case of renewal of the probationary period, the employer must notify the worker in writing. The renewal of the test must be notified in writing to the worker before the expiry of the initial period, in the following time limits, except for more favorable provisions:

• two (2) days before the end of the trial period when it is eight (8) days;
• eight (8) days before the end of the trial period when it is one (1) month;
• fifteen (15) days before the end of the trial period when it is two (2) or three (3) months.

# Annual leave:
Any worker, employee or apprentice of industrial, commercial, craft or agricultural establishments, even if they are in the form of a cooperative and any employee of the liberal professions, civil societies, associations and groups of any nature whatsoever. or, are entitled to paid leave each year at the expense of the employer.

Unless there are more favorable provisions in individual contracts or collective agreements, a worker who, during the reference year, has been shown to have been employed by the same employer for a period equivalent to a minimum of one (1) month of work. employee, is entitled to a leave of which the duration is determined at the rate of two (02) working days per month of work without the total duration of the holiday payable can’t exceed thirty (30) working days.

The absence of the worker can’t have the effect of reducing his leave entitlements more than proportionally to the length of his absence. The right to enjoy leave is acquired after a period of one (1) year of actual service. This right is prescribed by two (2) years. However, by individual contract or collective agreement, this requirement may be extended to thirty (30) months for workers recruited more than five hundred (500) kilometers from the place of employment.

The duration of the annual leave can be increased because of the seniority according to the modalities which are determined by convention or collective agreement of work.
Mothers are entitled to one additional day of leave per year for each child under the age of fourteen (14) years.

# Parental leave:
Any pregnant woman whose current condition has been medically diagnosed or whose pregnancy is apparent may leave work without notice and without having to pay a termination indemnity. On the occasion of her confinement and without this interruption of service being considered as a cause of breach of contract, any woman has the right to suspend her work for fourteen (14) consecutive weeks, including six (06) previous weeks and eight (08) weeks post grant. This suspension may be extended by three (03) weeks in the event of illness duly certified by a licensed physician and resulting from pregnancy or childbirth. During this period the employer can’t give him leave.

In no case is the woman allowed to work during the period of six (06) previous weeks or eight (08) weeks postpartum. Under the Labour Code, men who work for others, whether an individual or a public or private corporation, except for civil servants, are entitled to up to ten days a year of paid leave for “family events concerning their own home”.

# Sick leave:
The labor code requires employers to provide paid sick leave

# Overtime:
No data

# State minimum salary:
The Central African Republic’s minimum wage is 35,000 CFA francs per month, which divides to 218.75 francs per hour. Central African Republic’s minimum wage was last changed in January 01, 2011.

# Employee dismissal:
The contract of employment during the trial period may be terminated at any time by either party without notice, unless otherwise agreed. In the event of termination of the contract during the probationary period, the journey of the recruited worker from his usual place of residence and his legally dependent family is the responsibility of the employer. In the latter case, the termination of the employment contract entitles him to a notice allowance corresponding to that of his category.

The fixed-term employment contract may not terminate before the end by the will of one of the parties except in the cases provided for in this Code or in case of gross negligence left to the discretion of the competent court.

The contract of employment of indefinite duration can cease in the following cases:

• dismissal;
• resignation;
• termination of right;
• retirement;
• death of the worker.

The dismissal is the termination of the contract resulting from the initiative of the employer. The dismissal can be pronounced either for an economic reason or for a personal reason. The economic reason may relate to the reorganization, reduction or suppression of the business activity. The personal reason may relate to the physical or professional incapacity of the employee or to his faulty behavior.

Collective redundancy is the termination of the employment contracts of all or part of the personnel for economic reasons provided for in this Code. Any employer considering dismissal for economic reasons must bring together the staff representatives, the members of the works council and the shop stewards and search with them, in the presence of the Inspector of Labor and Laws all other possibilities such as: shift work, part-time work, technical unemployment, readjustment of bonuses, allowances and other benefits of all kinds.

At the end of the negotiations, the duration of which must not exceed thirty (30) clear days and if an agreement has been reached, a report signed by the parties and the Inspector of Labor and Social Legislation, specifies the measures adopted. and the duration of their validity.