Labor law in Sierra Leone

The Employment Act 2023 (Act 15) came into force on 11 May 2023, and the Employment Regulations 2023 are set out in Statutory Instrument 10. The Industrial Relations and Trade Union Act 2024 (Act 6) governs trade unions, collective bargaining and industrial action. These national rules apply to employers and workers, including civilian workers in the armed forces, police, fire, correctional and related services. They do not cover members of those uniformed services themselves or self-employed people without an employment contract. No separate labor-law rules for a particular region or city in Sierra Leone were identified. An employment contract may be oral or written, but the Commissioner of Labour and Employment must vet and attest employment contracts, human-resources manuals and personnel policies. Without the required attestation, the document is not binding or valid. An employer must give written employment particulars no later than 12 weeks after work starts and must record changes within four weeks. The particulars should state the parties, start date, role, workplace, wage, deductions, overtime, working hours, leave, sick pay, notice, collective agreement and disciplinary rules. Probation may last no more than six months, with seven days' notice or pay in lieu for termination during probation. A fixed-term contract of less than six months may be renewed no more than once. Casual or temporary work is seasonal or intermittent and may last no more than six months; after more than six months with the same employer, the worker becomes a permanent worker when a vacancy exists. Normal working time is limited to eight hours per day and 48 hours per week. A contract may allow more than eight hours per day up to ten hours, and more than 40 hours per week up to 48 hours. Shift work may average up to ten hours per day and 48 hours per week over a period of no more than three weeks when the worker gives written consent. After no more than five consecutive working days, the worker must receive at least one rest day. A worker scheduled for at least eight hours in a day must receive a break of at least 30 minutes. Overtime covers work above eight hours per day or 40 hours per week. If there is no written overtime agreement, the rate is 50% above the normal weekday rate and 100% above it for weekends and public holidays. Night work runs from 20:00 to 06:00 and attracts at least a 30% additional payment. A temporary exception to rest requirements requires compensatory rest within two months. The national minimum wage is NLe 1,200 per month from 1 April 2026 and applies to workers under oral or written contracts. Employers must provide an itemised pay statement in simple English each time wages are paid. Permitted deductions include tax, NASSIT or pension contributions, agreed food or accommodation charges, proven loss or damage and union dues; an unlawful deduction must be repaid. NASSIT is the National Social Security and Insurance Trust. The worker contributes 5% of basic earnings and the employer contributes 10%, with payment due by the 15th day after the end of each month. These registration and contribution rules also cover contract, part-time, casual and domestic workers. After one year of continuous service, annual leave carries an allowance of at least one month's basic salary. If work requirements prevent the leave, the allowance is one and a half months of basic salary. Risk-related allowances may concern night work, housing or rent, transport, medical care, travel, cash handling, diving and firefighting. The Wages and Compensation Commission deals with public-sector remuneration and reviews of the minimum wage, while the Joint National Negotiating Board also has a role under the Employment Act. Forced labor is prohibited. The law prohibits discrimination on grounds including race, color, sex, pregnancy or maternity, marital status, disability, age, religion or belief, political opinion, union membership, ethnicity and sexuality. Men and women must receive equal remuneration for work of equal value, assessed through job evaluation. Workplace violence and harassment, including sexual and gender-based harassment, are prohibited. A complaint normally begins with the workplace procedure and can proceed to an investigation by the Commissioner and then to the High Court. Privacy and confidentiality apply, and retaliation for making a complaint is prohibited. Children under 15 may not be employed in a workplace. Workers under 18 may not perform underground, night, overtime or hazardous work, and employers must keep a child register. Maternity leave lasts at least 14 weeks with full remuneration, protection against termination and a right to return. Paternity leave lasts two weeks with full remuneration and may be used no more than once in a year. Sick leave requires a medical certificate. Employers may not require a pregnancy test during recruitment except where a high-risk role or a legal restriction justifies it. The Factory Act 1974 and the Factory Inspectorate provide the current occupational-safety framework. The Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health or Factory Inspectorate can inspect without notice, examine records and samples, issue improvement or prohibition notices, temporarily seal or close a workplace and bring proceedings in the High Court. A separate Occupational Safety and Health Act was under review and had not been evidenced as enacted in the available research. Workers may form, join and leave a trade union. Dismissal, threats, inducements or discrimination because of union activity are prohibited. The Industrial Relations and Trade Union Act 2024 provides for union registration, bargaining certificates and Trade Group Councils with equal employer and worker representation. Collective bargaining takes place by sector through those councils. Employers may deduct union dues through check-off arrangements, but workers must have a written opt-out. Sierra Leone Labour Congress is the umbrella worker body, and SLEF represents employers. No general legal requirement for a works council or employee seats on company boards was evidenced. A trade dispute can concern wages, recruitment, working time, conditions, discipline, termination, grievances or settlement machinery. The usual first step is workplace negotiation or a grievance procedure, followed where necessary by conciliation or investigation through the Commissioner of Labour and Employment. Negotiation and mediation must take place before industrial action. A strike requires 21 days' written notice to the employer and the Ministry, sent through the secretary-general of a registered union with a bargaining certificate. A strike may not take place while negotiation or mediation is continuing. The High Court has constitutional jurisdiction over labor disputes, and no separate Labour Court was evidenced. An employer must prove a fair reason for terminating an indefinite contract, such as incompetence, proven misconduct, redundancy or a legal restriction. The normal notice period is one month, or one month's basic salary in lieu. Serious misconduct or repudiatory conduct by the employer can create an exception to notice. A collective termination affecting at least 5% of the workforce within four weeks requires consultation, information and negotiation with the union, notice to the Commissioner, and at least four weeks' notice to representatives before the first termination. For planned redundancy, the employer must inform the Commissioner and union at least three months beforehand, consult them, apply last-in-first-out subject to relative merit, and make best efforts to pay redundancy compensation. A worker with at least one year of service generally qualifies for severance or end-of-service payment, except where justified gross misconduct applies. Payment is due within one month and may be made in no more than two instalments under a payment plan. The employer must provide a certificate of service. Unfair termination remedies can include reinstatement, re-employment, classification as redundancy or compensation of at least 24 months of the national minimum wage. In insolvency, employment ends after one month and unpaid wages have priority. The Ministry of Employment, Labour and Social Security, usually called MoELSS, oversees the system through the Commissioner of Labour and Employment, Labour Officers and Employment Centres. The Registrar of Trade Unions handles union registration, the Wages and Compensation Commission addresses public-sector pay and minimum-wage review, and NASSIT handles social-security contributions. Complaints can be submitted confidentially, and the Commissioner may order repayment, revoke or reduce disciplinary action, order wages for an unpaid suspension or require end-of-service payment. Non-compliance can be referred to the High Court. The available research did not establish a general fee for Ministry or Commissioner procedures, and High Court filing fees remained unclear. The formal legal system is established, but access is fragmented because a large share of work is informal. A ministerial report in December 2025 placed the informal sector at about 70% of the population, while NASSIT's formal coverage was reported at about 9%; broader informal-sector coverage was proposed but its legal framework was still being prepared. Domestic work is functionally included under the Employment Act and NASSIT rules, but implementation is still developing through a National Steering Committee connected with ILO Convention 189. Recruitment, work permits, immigration status, general employer management and ordinary civil-law remedies belong to adjacent areas; labor law applies to the employment duties, rights and procedures themselves.