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Employ Candidates Compliantly in Djibouti

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  1. Overview: Djibouti
  2. Work permit for hiring expats via PEO
  3. Global PEO and payroll
  4. Global HR Compliance
  5. Expand without a company set up
  6. Contractor vs. employee: which is better?
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Global HR Compliance in Djibouti

Tracking changes in the tax and labor legislation, their correct interpretation and application in the performance of personnel and settlement operations require constant participation in the process of highly qualified specialists. As a result, the company either has to allocate significant internal resources to support these functions, distracting them from the tasks of developing the core business, or to incur additional administrative and financial risks that can lead to real financial damage and administrative and criminal liability under the current legislation.

Successful cooperation with major international companies, focusing on a narrow area of specialization and clear market positioning allowed Acumen International to develop effective models for managing personnel administration and payroll processes in companies of various profiles in Djibouti.

The war for global talent has never been tougher. Attracting and keeping sought-after international employees requires knowledge. Whether your company is already engaging or planning to engage global workforce in Djibouti, you need to trust that your operations are executed without flaw and without any unnecessary risks.

Businesses of all sizes face a devastating lack of information and support on global employment, taxation, and immigration in Djibouti. There’s a common and significant gap between what’s required to be 100% compliant and what most organizations actually have at their disposal.

Acumen International can fill the gap in fragmented Global HR Compliance knowledge

We are experts in global workforce employment in Djibouti, 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.

We act as an information service for corporate clients, agencies, and independent contractors and freelancers. Our Global HR Compliance service in Djibouti will help you:

  1. Navigate legislation and local nuances of Djibouti. You need to know what is acceptable and what can expose you to employment litigation as well as employee / independent contractor misclassification risk in Djibouti.
  2. Avoid areas of possible risk. Certain areas and activities can create unnecessary risk, such as employer-employee relations. We can help you with worker classification, payroll and tax calculations, and social cost contributions.
  3. Handle currency exchanges and local invoicing in Djibouti. We save you time and effort, freeing you from having to understand complicated regulations and tax calculations written in the local language and subject to frequent changes.
  4. Create employment contracts and handle compliant engagements. Our objective is to assist you with international HR compliance issues and offer you the best payment and taxation options in Djibouti.
  5. Manage expatriate immigration and visa support nuances in Djibouti. Acumen International provides information about the best scenarios of expat immigration and employment.
  6. Handle global recruitment issues. We can help you select the person and then employ him with our help. We advise you on local employment laws and implied compliance risks to determine the most cost-effective, compliant, and risk-free solution for you.
  7. Withdraw from the region in the least risky and most cost-effective way. If you choose to do so, we can help you withdraw from the region as simply as possible.

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 Djibouti.

Hiring and Firing Workforce in Djibouti Guide

# Employment contracts

The employment contract is an agreement of will by which a natural person undertakes to put his professional activity under the direction and the authority of another natural or legal person, public or private, for remuneration.

The employment contract may be of fixed or indefinite duration and any employment contract may be full-time or part-time. The employment contracts are passed freely, however:

  • the apprenticeship contract;
  • a fixed-term contract exceeding one month;
  • the employment contract whose performance is outside the usual place of residence of the worker;
  • the contract of foreign workers;
  • the stipulation of a trial period in a contract;

The employment contract must be recorded in writing. Contracts and written stipulations are exempt from stamp duty and registration.

Irrespective of the place of the conclusion of the contract and the residence of either party, any employment contract entered into for execution in the Republic of Djibouti shall be subject to the provisions of this Law, except in the case of partial execution, in the Republic of Djibouti, of a contract of employment initially concluded under other legislation, for displaced workers whose mission in the territory does not exceed six months.

# Minimum (Statutory) Employment Rules and Regulations in Djibouti

# Hours of work:
The legal duration of work of employees, irrespective of their sex and method of remuneration, is set at forty-eight hours a week.

The hours during which work is considered night work are in the period between 10 pm and 5 am.

# Probation period:
In contracts of indefinite duration, the probationary period may not exceed fifteen days for employees, laborers and laborers paid by the hour; one month for employees, laborers and laborers paid monthly and three months for supervisors, managers and the like. This period can only be renewed once and in writing.

In the fixed-term contract, the probationary period may not exceed a period which, expressed in working days, is equal to one day per week of work scheduled or foreseeable, but may not exceed one month for employees, laborers and laborers and three months for supervisors, managers and the like.

Work performed during the probationary period must be paid at the rate of the category in which the worker was hired, in accordance with the professional classifications of the collective agreement or agreement that may be applicable to the enterprise.

# Annual leave:
Except in the case of more favorable provisions of the collective agreements and the individual contract of employment, the employee shall be entitled to paid annual leave, at the expense of the employer, on the basis of two and a half working days of leave per month of actual service.

Working days are defined as any day of the week except for the weekly rest day and any public holidays.

Within the annual limit of eleven days, the exceptional leave granted to the employee on the occasion of family events directly affecting his home cannot be deducted from the length of the leave:

  • 3 days for the marriage of the worker;
  • 1 day for the marriage of a child;
  • 3 days for the death of a spouse, father or mother;
  • 1 day for the death of the brother or sister;
  • 1 day for the death of the father-in-law or stepmother;
  • 3 days for the birth of a child under parental leave.

# Parental leave:
Every pregnant woman is entitled to maternity leave which begins eight weeks before the expected date of birth and ends six weeks after the date of delivery. The period of suspension may be extended by three weeks in the event of illness duly ascertained by a physician as a result of pregnancy or confinement.

When the delivery takes place before the presumed date, the rest period is extended until the completion of the fourteen weeks to which the employee is entitled. When the delivery takes place after the presumed date, the woman does not return to work until six weeks after delivery.

She is entitled during the period of the leave, to the full salary she received at the time of the suspension of work. The payment of this allowance will be made for half by the Social Protection Agency and half by the employer according to the terms and conditions in force. It retains the right to free care and benefits in kind.

# Sick leave:
For the first 29 days of temporary disability, employees are generally entitled to receive 50% of their salary. After 29 days, they are entitled to receive 75% of their salary.

# Overtime:
The employer may, by its sole decision, subject to the posting and communication procedures to the Labor Inspector, impose on employees the fulfillment of overtime within a limit which may not exceed five hours per week and per employee.

For fixed-term employees only part of the year, this number is reduced in proportion to their time in the company.

In case of replacement of an employee in progress year, this number refers to the same position. In addition, overtime is subject to the prior authorization of the Labor Inspector. Overtime is paid at a higher rate fixed by agreement or collective agreement.

# State minimum salary:
Djibouti has no national minimum wage, as it was canceled by the 2006 Labor Code for occupational categories. Wages are set after common agreement between employers and employees. For public sector workers, minimum wage was 35,000 DFJ ($198) per month.

# Employee dismissal:
The fixed-term employment contract may be terminated before the expiry of the term:

  • for gross negligence, as defined in the Labour Code or in the company’s internal regulations, which may, in case of dispute, to be assessed by the competent court;
  • in case of force majeure;
  • in case of economic and financial or technical difficulties, reported, in writing to the Labor Inspectorate;
  • by court decision;
  • by written agreement of the parties.

The unjustified breach of the contract by one of the parties entitles the other party to damages, without prejudice to any other compensation.

In addition to respecting the notice the employee may be dismissed only if there is a real and serious reason not to maintain his employment contract. In case of dispute, proof of the existence of this real and serious cause lies with the employer, subject to the assessment by the competent court.

The reason for the dismissal may be the employee’s person, for example, his state of health, his inability to hold the job, his professional inadequacy or his misconduct. The dismissal is then for personal reasons.

The reason for the dismissal may be economic or technical, for example the removal or substantial transformation of the workstation occupied by the employee for reasons relating either to technological changes, to the organization, to economic difficulties or to the closure of the company. The dismissal is then dismissed for economic reasons.

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