Employment in Benin

Formal employment in Benin includes public and private salaried work, while self-employment, volunteering and short employment programmes provide functional alternatives without automatically creating salaried status. The public employment service ANPE/Bénin Emploi offers registration, counselling, career guidance, verified vacancies, placement and post-placement follow-up through 13 branches across 12 departments. Access covers people with different education levels. PaDE operates in 77 communes, and programmes such as P2RDE, PAEI, PSPIE and THIMO support short technical training, self-employment, pre-insertion teaching or temporary work. P2RDE technical training can last up to three months and is free of charge; volunteering can include an allowance and health coverage. Public employees may enter as Fonctionnaire de l'État or Agent Contractuel de Droit Public de l'État through a qualification-based appointment, competition, selection test or file-based selection announced through the Ministry of Labour and Public Service (MTFP). Private employers generally choose their workers freely, report vacancies to the MTFP and must register workers for social protection. A placement intermediary must register with the competent labour service. The worker's contract can be checked through the national contract-visa process, and foreign workers require the employer's formalities, a work-permit procedure and the relevant MTFP visa. A CDI has no fixed end date, while a CDD must be written and state its term or task. CDD renewal and the consequences of non-renewal follow the Labour Code; from the fourth term, non-renewal can trigger notice and an end-of-collaboration indemnity under the applicable rules. A part-time contract must be written and pays proportionally to the working time. A trial period must be expressly written and is paid; it normally ends without notice or indemnity unless the contract or collective agreement provides otherwise. Work outside the worker's usual residence requires a written and registered contract. The statutory minimum wage, known as the SMIG, is 52,000 FCFA per month from 1 January 2023. Employers must provide equal pay for work of equal value, pay in legal currency and issue a payslip or equivalent document. Hourly pay is generally due at least every 15 days, while monthly pay is due at least once per month and no later than eight days after the end of the month. Final pay and applicable indemnities are due when employment ends. Working time is generally limited to 40 hours per week and eight hours per day. Workers receive at least 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest, normally on Sunday, and overtime beyond the permitted annual limit requires authorisation from the Inspection du travail. Paid leave accrues at two working days per month of effective service; workers under 18 receive 30 working days and those aged 18 to 21 receive 24 working days. Maternity leave covers six weeks before and eight weeks after birth, with four additional weeks in case of illness. Pregnancy-related dismissal protection applies unless a serious unrelated fault or impossibility of continuing the employment justifies the measure. The minimum employment age is 14. The Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale (CNSS) covers family and maternity benefits, occupational risks and pensions. Employers register when opening the business or hiring the first salaried worker, and workers receive individual affiliation. CNSS forms are free, with regional agencies including Cotonou, Porto-Novo, Lokossa, Abomey, Parakou and Natitingou. An employer must report an occupational accident or illness to the Inspection du travail and CNSS within 48 hours. A CDI can end through resignation, dismissal or agreement. Notice is generally 15 days for hourly workers, one month for monthly employees, ouvriers and manœuvres, and three months for maîtrise and cadres. During notice, the worker receives two paid days per week to look for another job. A CDD normally ends at its agreed term and can end early only for serious fault, force majeure or written agreement. Economic dismissal requires the MTFP procedure. Employment disputes should first be addressed through a written amicable agreement, then mandatory pre-conciliation at the Inspection du travail, followed where necessary by the Tribunal du travail or its social chambers.