Employment in Angola

Employment in Angola includes finding a job, signing and performing an employment contract, receiving pay, using leave and social security, changing jobs and ending the working relationship. The Portuguese terms emprego and contrato de trabalho are commonly used. The worker usually deals with the employer, the National Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (INEFOP), the General Labour Inspectorate (IGT), the National Institute for Social Security (INSS) and the tax administration (AGT), depending on the issue. The labour market combines formal and informal work. Q4 2025 data record 8,876,650 employed people aged 15 and over and an employment rate of 39.6%. Informal employment accounted for 6,973,261 jobs, or 78.6% of employment. The informal share was 93.2% in rural areas, 88.7% among women and 94.1% among people aged 15 to 24. Services and sales were the main occupational group, representing 41.9% of employment. As a separate formal-sector indicator, H1 2025 recorded 109,563 gross jobs and 106,330 net jobs, with 95% in the private sector and 5% in the public sector. A job search can start with INEFOP360, where an applicant records their name, date of birth, Bilhete de Identidade details and telephone number. The service can provide opt-in job and internship lists, applications and application tracking. The Portal do Emprego and INEFOP employment centres provide additional access. The State Electronic Services Portal (SEPE) lists public vacancies and allows searches by role, institution, contract type and province, as well as online CV submission. Direct applications to employers and licensed private placement agencies are also used. No direct applicant fee is evidenced for the public services, but portal availability and any current service conditions should be checked before applying. INEFOP also supports professional training, internships and the Carteira Profissional. This professional card creates a digital profile, may involve provincial validation and an oral or practical assessment, and is valid for three years. JOBE and FUNEA programmes can provide employability support, internships, training, tools or microcredit. Admission to one of these programmes does not itself create an employment contract or guarantee a job. Under Law 12/23, Angola's General Labour Law, an employment relationship starts through a contract. The default form is indefinite employment. A fixed-term contract should be linked to an evidenced temporary need, and fixed-term and other special contracts must be written. The document should identify the parties and their residences, occupational classification, workplace, weekly hours, salary amount, payment method and period, supplements or benefits in kind, start date, term where applicable, place and date of signing, and signatures. Where written form is legally required but missing, the relationship is presumed indefinite. For an indefinite contract, probation normally lasts 60 days. A written extension can take it to a maximum of 120 days, or 180 days for management positions. A fixed-term contract can have a probation period of up to 30 days when the contract states it in writing. The worker receives pay during probation. A short probation period does not remove the need to record the employment relationship and payment properly. Normal working time is limited to 44 hours per week and 8 hours per day. Exceptional arrangements can reach 54 hours per week and 9 to 10 hours per day under the applicable rules. Meal and rest breaks generally last 45 to 90 minutes, and daily rest must be at least 10 hours. Paid annual leave is 22 working days. The recorded admission-leave rule provides 2 working days per month, with a minimum of 6 days. The contract or workplace schedule should show the applicable hours and timetable. From 16 September 2025, the national minimum wage is Kz 100,000 per month. A lower Kz 50,000 monthly minimum applies to micro-enterprises, start-ups and domestic workers. A collective agreement can provide more, and MAPTSS may authorise a temporary sub-minimum wage in a specific case. The worker should compare the gross salary, net payment, payment date and payslip rather than relying only on a stated monthly amount. For dependent employment, the employer normally withholds Industrial Tax (IRT) for the AGT. Standard INSS contributions are 3% from the worker and 8% from the employer on contributory gross remuneration. The domestic-worker regime uses 2% from the worker and 6% from the employer. An employer normally registers the worker with INSS within 30 days after employment begins. The INSS Virtual service can provide registration details, remuneration records and contribution or payment extracts. Informal work may leave the worker without reliable INSS protection, contribution evidence or proof of the agreed pay. Workers have rights to the agreed remuneration, written evidence of the employment relationship, paid leave, social-security affiliation and a work certificate when employment ends. They also have duties to perform the agreed work, attend as required, follow lawful workplace rules, protect the employer's assets and provide accurate identity and dependent information. Keeping the signed contract, payslips, INSS evidence, employer details and later work certificate makes disputes easier to assess. Employment can end through expiry of a fixed term, written mutual agreement or a lawful resolution or termination. At the end, the employer should issue a work certificate stating the admission and cessation dates, functions and qualification. Outstanding salary, unused leave and any compensation depend on the applicable reason for ending the contract. The IGT can receive complaints and support mediation, while a disputed dismissal may require a court challenge. The IGT portal also supports work-accident reporting. Finding another job is a separate consequence and does not change the employment rules that applied to the previous contract. A non-resident foreign worker follows a specific regime under Presidential Decree 49/25. The work visa must cover the contract, and the worker must meet the applicable adulthood, technical or scientific qualification and medical-fitness requirements. Non-resident foreign workers may represent no more than 30% of the workforce, while the 70% national share includes Angolan workers and resident foreign workers. The written fixed-term contract can be renewed no more than twice and is prepared in three copies. The employer registers it with the local Centro de Emprego within 30 days after work begins and provides copies of the passport, work visa and occupational qualification. A fee equal to 5% of monthly contractual remuneration is paid through CUT or RUPE, and a notarised commitment to return to the country of origin is required. The worker remains subject to IRT duties and receives equal pay for the same or equivalent work. Resident foreign workers outside the non-resident category follow the rules applicable to their own status.