Global HR Compliance in Eritrea

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

When the company is planning to enter a new foreign market of Eritrea and has a need to employ a local national there, the first question to answer is how it is going to make local hires.

We have designed a Global Employer of Record service to help you outsource global employment of your foreign workforce to companies like ours.

This solution helps you employ your global sales force in Eritrea as well as in other 180+ countries of the world, and provide pay and benefits to your employees, as well as administer any business expenses with our help.

Our solution is different from other hiring modes in that it helps you engage your foreign workforce in full compliance with the local labor legislation. This means you are protected from any non-compliance and employee misclassification risks while we bear all employment risks, not you.

So, it looks very much like hiring your in-house sales force in your home country. However, you focus on only on your global business development while we admin your global HR. In addition, you don’t need to open your own entities in the foreign countries and can leverage our infrastructure in Eritrea instead. With our service, you can become a global company with reduced costs and minimized time and effort on your end.

Your employed foreign sales force will devote 100% of their time to your company product and may stay with you longer than foreign independent sales reps.

Global Employer of Record solution is 100% compliant solution that guarantees you and your employees fully compliance with local legislation in Eritrea.

We are experts in global workforce employment in Eritrea, 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 Eritrea.

See Hiring and Firing Workforce in Eritrea Guide below for a general overview of labor rules and regulations in the country. Or contact us if you need to employ workers in Eritrea or would like to get more details.

Hiring and Firing Workforce in Eritrea Guide

#Employment contracts:
Notwithstanding any provisions in the Civil Code, any person fourteen years of age or older has the capacity to enter into a contract of employment. No contract of employment shall be enforceable against a person below the age of eighteen if it is determined to be prejudicial to the interests of that person, and in such a case, such a young person shall not be liable for any damages against him arising from the contract. A contract of employment concluded for more than a year shall be made in writing. An employee who signs a contract of employment shall do so before two witnesses and place his signature or thumb mark besides the signatures of the two witnesses and the employer. The rights of an employee may not be affected because of failure to conclude a written contract of employment.

# Hours of work:
Hours of work shall spread equally over the working days of a week, provided that where the nature of the work so requires, the hours of’ work in any one of the working days may be shortened and the difference distributed over the remaining days of the week, without extending the daily limits of eight hours by more than two hours. An employee shall have break for relaxation for a limited period between working hours, taking into consideration the nature and place of work. The break shall be part of the regular hours of work.

# Probation period:
No probation period may exceed ninety consecutive days. All conditions of work provided shall apply to a person on probation. Time lost by an employer due to failure or making the employee on probation commence his work on the basis of the contract of employment shall be calculated as part of probation period. An employee on probation found unfit for the job maybe dismissed by the employer without notice and without severance pay. An employee on probation who continues to work after the expiry of the probation period shall be deemed to have successfully completed it and employed on the basis of the contract of employment. An employee on probation may terminate his contract of employment without notice.

# Annual leave
An employee shall, at the time he takes leave, be paid wages due to him for the period of leave. An employee shall be entitled to annual leave with pay amounting to:

1. fourteen working days for the first year of se and
2. fourteen working days plus one working each additional year of service.

Annual leave may not exceed thirty-five working days. No postponement of annual leave shall be permitted. Annual leave may, however, be postponed to for unforeseen shortages or breakdowns. An annual leave postponed under sub-article shall be taken after the cause of its postponement ceases to exist. An employee may take his leave in parts if his agrees. Where an employee falls sick during his annul the provisions of this Proclamation on sick apply. Unless there is an agreement to the contrary for each annual leave, annual leave shall be taken at a time convenient to the employee. An employee whose contract of employment has been terminated under this Proclamation shall be paid wages in lieu of annual leave not taken. Where the employee has completed his probation period but not a year of service, he shall be paid wages in lieu of leave not taken proportionate to the length of time lie has worked during the year. Unless otherwise provided in this Proclamation and except with the consent of the employee, wages may not be paid in lieu of annual leave.

# Parental Leave:
A pregnant employee shall be granted leave with pay for medical examination connected with her pregnancy provided, however, that she is obliged to present a medical certificate of her examination to employer. A pregnant employee shall be entitled to sixty consecutive days of paid maternity leave beginning from the next day of her delivery. She may, however choose to take her maternity leave in two parts, one preceding her presumed confinement and the other after her delivery. An employee who falls sick following the end of maternity leave, shall be granted sick leave.

# Sick Leave:
Where an employee, after having completed his probation, is rendered incapable to work owing to sickness resulting other than from an employment injury, lie shall be entitled to sick leave. The leave referred to in sub-article of this Article may not exceed six months counted consecutively or separately in any twelve-month period starting from the first day of the employee’s sickness. Where the employee absents himself from work on grounds of sickness, he shall, except where the employer is in a position to be aware of the sickness, notify the employer the day following his absence. Unless otherwise provided in the collective agreement, the employee may exercise his right of sick leave provided he presents a valid medical certificate at the beginning of his sickness or subsequently thereafter. The period of sick leave provided for in this Article shall be grated in the following manner:

1. the first one month with 100% of his wages;
2. the next two months with 50% of his wages;
3. the next three months without pay.

An employer shall bear no responsibility under this Chapter for the sickness of an employee, which lasts more than six months.

# Overtime:
An employer may make an employee work over time, provided he may not make the latter work overtime for more than two hours without the latter’s consent. Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-article hereof, an employee shall be compelled to work overtime in the following instances:

1. during an accident, actual or threatened;
2. where there is urgent work;
3. where force majeure occurs;
4. to substitute an absent employee assigned on work which runs continuously.

An employee who works overtime between six o’clock in the morning and ten o’clock in the evening shall be paid at the rate of one and a quarter (2/2) multiplied by the regular hourly rate. For overtime work from ten o’clock in the evening up to six in the morning, he shall be paid at the rate of one and one half (1.5) multiplied by the regular hourly rate. An employee who works overtime on weekly rest clay shall be paid at the rate of two (2) multiplied by the regular hourly rate. An employee who works overtime on public holidays shall be paid at the rate of two and one half (2 1/2) Multiplied by the regular hourly rate. Payment for overtime work shall be effected together with the payment of wages.

# State Minimum salary:
Eritrea’s Minimum Wage is the lowest amount a worker can be legally paid for his work. Most countries have a nation-wide minimum wage that all workers must be paid. Eritrea has no country-wide minimum wage requirement, although minimum wage is 360 Eritrean nakfa per month ($24) in the public sector. Eritrea’s minimum wage was last changed in 1-Jan-2015.

# Employee dismissal:
Legitimate Grounds for the Termination of Employment

• the death of an employee
• where the undertaking cannot to the employer’s death;
• where the employee wishes to discontinue working the undertaking, unless there is agreement to the contrary;
• where the period of a contract of employment expires;
• where it is revealed that the employee had used forged documents or given false information to be employed in the employer’s undertaking;
• where an employee commits theft or breach of trust or any other crime related with his employment;
• where an employee contracts a disease which is not related to his employment and absents himself from work for more than six months;
• where the employee does not, in carrying out his work, show the technical knowledge, speed, honesty, interest and reliability that would reasonably be expected of him;
• where an employee becomes redundant as a result of the reduction of the volume of work or the introduction of new technology and it is not possible to transfer the employee to another section of the undertaking;
• where the undertaking ceases to function permanently due to bankruptcy, natural disaster, war or other causes;
• where an employee absents himself from work without good cause for five consecutive days or for a sum of ten days within a year.

Acumen International can help you fast-track your possibilities of entering and expanding your business in Eritrea by providing you with our Employer of Record services. Our unique mix of PEO/EOR solutions will enable you to jumpstart your global operations almost immediately, cost-effectively and compliantly without any need to set up a legal entity first or afterwards.