Employment in Somalia

The Somali Labour Code Law No. 36 of 2024 replaced Law No. 65 of 1972 and generally applies to employers and employees, including public-service employment where no special law applies. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA) oversees labour policy, employment administration and inspection. Employment officers, the Director of Employment, the Federal Labour Commission, regional or district labour inspectors and competent courts perform different functions. Local implementation by Federal Member State and local offices should be checked where the responsible body or procedure is unclear. Somalia's labour market is not uniform. The SNBS Labour Force Survey for 2019 reported employment among people aged 15 and above at 25.5%, labour-force participation at 32.4% and unemployment at 21.4% in accessible areas, excluding nomadic populations. The 2022 SIHBS reported employment at 21.7%, participation at 25.9% and unemployment at 16.3%; its methods are not directly comparable with the 2019 survey. In the 2019 survey, 51.4% of employment was in the informal sector, 43.0% in the formal sector and 5.7% in households. Informal employment commonly lacks employer social-security contributions or paid sick and annual leave and includes own-account work, informal enterprises and contributing family workers. Access to formal services outside accessible urban centres has not been established nationally. A person seeking work with another employer can register in the general employment register and receive a registration card through an authorized officer. The occupational register and public placement service allow an employer to select suitable registered applicants. This system has exceptions for family or relatives, directors and managers, domestic service, enterprises with four or fewer staff and casual work lasting no more than seven days. State and local public service may use an authorized officer or a published competitive examination. The National Employment Service Center (NESC) provides or supports a Job Portal, job matching, CV and cover-letter preparation, interview support, counselling, skills audits, labour-market information through LMIAS, employability and sector training, TVET referrals, work trials, internships, apprenticeships and career fairs. Employer vacancy postings are free. No published nationwide fee schedule for job seekers was identified. Informal hiring, self-employment and personal or local networks continue to matter alongside these formal routes. An employment agreement may be oral or written, but written particulars should state the worker's name, age, sex, address, occupation and disability; the employer; job description; start date and duration; working hours and place; remuneration, payment rate, interval and benefits; leave, sickness and pension arrangements; notice; any collective agreement; suspension and termination rules; and disciplinary rules. Changes should be recorded in writing, and an employment officer should check compliance before they take effect. Failure to meet formal requirements does not remove statutory worker rights. The Code protects equal opportunity and prohibits discrimination based on race, colour, gender, language, religion, political opinion, nationality, ethnic or social origin, disability, pregnancy, age or HIV status. It requires equal pay for the same work and prohibits forced labour and harassment. Workers may form, join or leave trade unions. Employers owe the agreed pay and occupational safety and health protections; workers must perform their duties with care and diligence and report accidents. Normal working time is limited to eight hours per day and 48 hours per week. Overtime may reach 12 hours per week and carries at least a 50% premium. Intermittent or caretaker work may reach ten hours per day and 60 hours per week. Weekly rest is 24 hours, normally Friday. Public-holiday work carries full pay plus at least a 50% premium. Night work runs from 22:00 to 06:00 and normally carries at least a 25% surcharge, except for regular shifts. After one year of continuous service, annual leave is 30 working days with full pay. Unused annual leave is paid when employment ends, and leave is prorated where the relationship ends earlier. Sick leave requires medical certification and notice: three to seven days are paid at 100%, eight to 14 days at 75%, and up to 30 days at 50%; longer periods follow the agreement. Maternity leave is 14 weeks with full pay after at least six months of service, with seven working days' notice. The Code also provides two weeks of fully paid paternity leave and two one-hour breastfeeding breaks per day for up to one year after birth. Pay must be adequate and equal for the same work. Payment may be monthly, fortnightly, weekly, daily, hourly or by piece or job, and deductions must be lawful. The Minister may set category-based minimum wages after consultation with the Remuneration Council and Central Labour Commission, but no current national minimum-wage amount was evidenced. Statutory Eid bonuses apply. For work away from home, accommodation and food, or subsistence and transport, follow the applicable conditions. Employers must notify the Director of Employment of vacancies and report a vacancy being filled or abolished within two weeks. An employee must report cessation within five days, and a registered worker who starts directly must report the start within seven days. Registration by a job seeker should be renewed every three months. At termination, written notice is normally at least ten days for casual work and 30 days for non-casual work; contracts lasting one month or less require no notice, and payment in lieu may be possible. Probation may last up to three months, with a further three months only by agreement, and termination during probation requires seven working days' notice. Redundancy requires notification to the labour officer and union at least one month in advance. Unfair termination is prohibited. A worker with at least 13 months of continuous service may complain to a labour officer within three months and may have further collective-agreement or Labour Court routes; remedies can include reinstatement, re-engagement or damages. A service certificate is due at termination, except where employment lasted less than four weeks. Children aged 13 to 15 may perform only light work, workers aged 16 or above receive protected conditions and training, and hazardous work requires a minimum age of 17. Child night work is generally barred. Workers with disabilities have equal employment, benefit, safety and placement rights. Migrant workers who reside lawfully receive equal treatment under the Code. No nationwide unemployment-benefit system was evidenced, so employment registration and job-service information should not be treated as proof of benefit entitlement.