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Employ Candidates Compliantly in Gabon

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  1. Overview: Gabon
  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?
  7. Global Payroll Calculator
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Global HR Compliance in Gabon

In the desire to diversify the economy of Gabon, the government sought to strengthen the foreign currency, creating jobs and promoting social and economic development in the country.

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 and be in line with economical changes in Gabon.

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 Gabon, 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 Gabon. 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 Gabon, 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 Gabon will help you:

  1. Navigate legislation and local nuances of Gabon. You need to know what is acceptable and what can expose you to employment litigation as well as employee / independent contractor misclassification risk in Gabon.
  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 Gabon. 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 Gabon.
  5. Manage expatriate immigration and visa support nuances in Gabon. 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 Gabon.

Hiring and Firing Workforce in Gabon Guide

# Employment contracts

The employment contract is freely entered into, either verbally or in writing subject to the compulsory production of a medical certificate showing that the applicant for the position concerned is not suffering from a contagious disease and is physically suited to carry out the duties involved in the post.

When agreed in writing, the employment contract is exempt from any stamp duties or registration charges. If agreed verbally, proof may be established by any means.

The contract may be for a fixed period, for an unspecified period or else for carrying out a particular task or project.

# Fixed term employment contract
A fixed-term employment contract is one which covers a pre- determined period, agreed by the parties. A written form is compulsory. It shall be for a period of no longer than two years. It may only be renewed once.

Short-term contracts may however be concluded and renewed more than once, as long as they do not exceed two years in total.

On expiry of a fixed-term contract, it may be renewed at the wish of the parties, even if this is tacit, with the extension turning the contract into a permanent contract, despite any clause forbidding tacit extension. Employment contract for carrying out a particular task or project.

A contract concluded for execution of a particular task or project must note the nature of the task to be performed or project to be carried out. A written form is compulsory.

# Daily or weekly work
Daily or weekly work is that covered by a written contract for one day or one week. The wage is paid at the end of this period. The contract may be renewed the next day or the following week. After one month, if the employment concerned continues at the wish of the parties, even if this is tacit, an extension turns the contract into a permanent contract, despite any clause forbidding tacit extension.

Occupational risks incurred by a daily or weekly employee during the time he/she has worked for the employer are the responsibility of the latter if the worker is not insured.

# Permanent contract
Any employment contract concluded for indefinite period.

# Minimum (Statutory) Employment Rules and Regulations in Gabon

# Hours of work:
In all public or private establishments, including educational or charitable organisations, the legal working hours shall not exceed forty hours a week.

# Probation period:
The probation period requirement precedes conclusion of a permanent contract. It is intended to allow the employer to judge the occupation skills and performance of the worker, and for the latter to assess general conditions of employment, health and safety.

The probation period requirement must be explicitly stated in writing, failing which it shall be invalid. It may be included within the text of a permanent contract. The probation period may not include any time longer than that required to assess the person being employed, given their qualifications, the level of responsibility relating to the post and normal professional practice.

No individual employment contract or collective agreement may include a probation period, including any renewal, greater than six months for clerical staff or three months for office staff, technicians and supervisors, and one month for other employees.

# Annual leave:
The minimum paid leave entitlement is equal to 2 business days per months worked. When calculating periods of leave, four weeks or twenty-four days’ work are treated as being effectively one month’s work.

The holiday period is increased according to the length of service in the company. It is set by regulations in force or the provisions of collective agreements. Holiday entitlement is gained after one year’s service in the company.

# Parental leave:
A pregnant woman has the right to suspend her employment contract for fourteen consecutive weeks by reason of her pregnancy, for six weeks before and eight weeks after the estimated date of delivery.

During this period it is forbidden for an employer to use the services of a pregnant woman in full knowledge of her condition, without an explicit written agreement between the parties, at the employee’s initiative, with a copy given to the competent works inspector. If childbirth takes place after the specified date, the prenatal leave will be extended until the date of delivery, without reducing the postnatal leave. This break in service does not affect the period of service in the job, and will not be treated as a reason to terminate the contract, and also may be extended by three weeks in the event of illness duly reported and as a result of the pregnancy or childbirth. In the event of multiple births, the period during which the employee may suspend the employment contract following childbirth is increased by two weeks. During this period, the employer may not discharge her.

During her pregnancy, and for fifteen months after childbirth, a woman normally employed in a job considered hazardous to health, or who can produce a medical certificate confirming that a change in the nature of her job is needed in the interests of her own health or that of her child, has the right to be transferred, with no reduction in wages, to a job that is not injurious to her condition.

During maternity leave, the woman has the right to free medical care and to the full wages she was receiving at the time her job was suspended, the benefits to be paid by the national social security fund. She retains the right to benefits in kind. For fifteen months from the date she resumes work, the mother has the right to rest periods for breast-feeding. The total period of these breaks may not exceed two hours per working day. These rests periods form part of her working hours and must be paid as such. During this period the mother may leave her job without notice, and without having to pay any compensation for breaking her contract.

# Sick leave:
Employees are entitled to up to 6 months of paid sick leave.

# Overtime:
Hours worked after the legal working limit shall be considered overtime, and additional wages must be paid for them. In all farming and similar businesses, working hours are based on 2400 hours a year. Within this limit, the working time will be set by decree following a proposal by the employment minister. This decree will also determine procedures for payment of overtime.

Exemptions may however be agreed by decree following a proposal from the employment minister. These decrees will determine procedures for application of working time limits for each branch of activity and occupational category, as well as the maximum overtime hours that may be worked in the event of urgent or exceptional work, and for seasonal work.

# State minimum salary:
Gabon’s minimum wage is 150,000 CFA francs per month ($225). Gabon government workers receive an additional monthly allowance of 20,000 CFA francs ($34) per child; government workers also receive transportation, housing, and family benefits. The law does not mandate housing or family benefits for private sector workers. Gabon’s minimum wage was last changed in February 01, 2010.

# Employee dismissal:
Cancellation is the act whereby one of the parties exercises their right to terminate the employment contract. The party initiating cancellation of an employment contract must do it in writing. The termination is effective the day after the dismissal is notified. A copy of the cancellation letter must be sent to the competent employment inspectorate.


Cancellation of the trial period contract

The probation period contract may be broken at any time by either party, without notice unless otherwise agreed. If the contract is cancelled during or at the end of the probation period by either party, the employer pays for the return trip from the workplace for the person recruited.

Cancellation of a fixed-term employment contract
The permanent employment contract may only be terminated early at the wish of one party solely under the situations specified in the contract, or in one where there is serious fault as judged by the competent authorities.

Cancellation of employment contract for carrying out a particular task or project. The employment contract for a particular project or task ends when the work for which it was concluded has been completed. The employee must however be given notice according to the periods specified in article 68 of the Labour Code.

During execution of the contract, this may be broken by the employer if the employee is at fault, or by the worker at will; in either case, unless there is a serious fault, the notice period must be respected.

Cancellation of a permanent employment contract
The permanent employment contract may terminate following:

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