Employer in São Tomé and Príncipe

Employers may organise work according to business needs and employee qualifications. They may set working hours, assign duties and categories, apply discipline, plan training and make objective promotion decisions, but these powers remain limited by dignity, employee rights, the employment contract and the law. Employers must pay agreed wages on time, provide physical and moral working conditions, prevent discrimination, support trade-union functions, provide professional training and maintain technical autonomy where required. A written employment contract is preferred. The employer and employee should each receive a copy, and another copy must reach the Ministry responsible for employment within 15 days after work begins. An oral contract is not sufficient for a promise of employment, a fixed-term contract, a foreign-worker contract, multiple-employer arrangements, a commission-of-service arrangement or occasional assignment. Missing written form works against the employer. Employers should report vacancies monthly to the Ministry, including through PE-STP, the official employment and job platform. Fixed-term contracts are limited to temporary business needs; their termination or non-renewal must be communicated to employee representatives within five working days, with quarterly information to the General Labour Inspectorate, known as IGT. The Ministry of Labour, Solidarity, Social Security and Social Affairs, or MTSSS, oversees employment matters. Its Directorate for Labour and Employment, DTEFP, and IGT handle employment administration and inspection. Employers register themselves and their employees with the National Institute of Social Security, INSS. The employee contribution is 4% and the employer contribution is 6%; the employer remains responsible for the full amount, including the employee share. The contribution base includes cash and non-cash pay, basic wages, allowances, bonuses, overtime, night work, holiday pay, Christmas or thirteenth-month payments and other covered remuneration. Employers submit the electronic monthly declaration and pay by the 10th day of the following month. Late payment can lead to interest, forced collection and possible personal subsidiary liability for administrators or managers. Normal working time is limited to eight hours per day and 40 hours per week. The daily rest interval is usually one to two hours, with no more than five hours of uninterrupted work. Overtime is limited to 175 hours per year for micro and small companies and 150 hours for medium and large companies, with a maximum of two hours per day. Employers must record overtime before and after it is worked and obtain the employee's acknowledgement. Night work carries a 100% supplement. Employees receive at least 22 working days of annual leave and a holiday allowance equal to one month's basic wage. The statutory minimum wage exists, but no current amount was reliably established in the available official research, so employers should verify the current applicable rate before calculating pay. Company-size thresholds affect overtime and worker representation. A micro company has up to five employees. The legal wording describes a small company as having more than six and up to 40 employees, leaving six employees without an express classification. A medium company has more than 41 and up to 150 employees, and a large company has more than 150. Employers must keep an up-to-date personnel register and report workplace accidents and occupational diseases. Occupational safety and health duties apply to public, private, cooperative and social employers, including construction, fishing and agriculture. They do not apply in the same way to the armed forces, police or civil protection. Employers organise safe work, assess and communicate risks, train employees, maintain machinery and premises, provide sanitation, arrange first aid, fire protection and evacuation, and supply personal protective equipment free of charge. Mandatory accident insurance covers work accidents, including qualifying commuting accidents. The employer pays for the medical examination before employment or, in urgent cases, within 15 days. Periodic examinations occur yearly for employees under 18 or over 45 and every two years for others. Companies with more than 50 employees need a safety service and a safety officer and must inform the IGT; companies with more than 10 employees may need internal safety rules submitted to the IGT and DTEFP. The IGT and the Health Inspection supervise these duties. Employers must accept legitimate trade-union representation and allow representatives to perform their functions without disadvantage. Worker committees generally have two representatives in micro and small companies, three in medium companies, four in large companies with 101 to 300 employees and five above 300. A workplace with fewer than 40 employees may use a subcommittee formed by one employee. Trade unions operate through sindicatos, federações, uniões and confederações. CCIAS is an established private business representation body for commerce, industry, agriculture and services, while ONTSTP and UGT are central employee organisations. Collective bargaining exists, but its reach depends on the sector and organisation. Employees may strike, and employers may not disadvantage employees for joining or refusing to join a strike. Minimum services may apply, and a lockout is legally defined as an employer pressure measure. Labour disputes can go to conciliation through the competent MTSSS services. A conciliation meeting should be called within 15 days of an application and completed within a further 15 days; a settlement is enforceable, while an unjustified failure to attend may constitute disobedience. Special procedures apply to organisational change. In a business transfer, the employer must inform representatives and employees at least 60 days in advance about the date, reasons, legal effects and planned measures. A permanent transfer causing serious prejudice may be challenged, and the employer bears additional costs; a temporary transfer normally lasts no more than six months. Reduction or suspension of work requires information, documents and negotiation with a representative commission of no more than three or five members. Collective dismissal within three months covers at least two employees in a micro or small company or five in a medium or large company for economic, structural or technological reasons. The employer must notify representatives and MTSSS in writing, consult within 15 days and give each affected employee at least 60 days' notice. Compensation is one month's basic wage plus seniority pay for each year, subject to a minimum of three months' basic wage. A micro-company closure also requires 60 days' information. Foreign hiring requires prior MTSSS approval, including unpaid work. The application identifies the company, location, sector, worker, duties, pay, qualifications and contract duration. Nationally available professionals receive priority, and foreign qualifications are considered when the national supply is absent or insufficient. A foreign company must have at least 20% national employees in management or executive positions and provide in-job training or substitution arrangements. Additional notifications go to the Migration and Border Services. The minimum working age is 15. A 14-year-old may perform only light work after completing compulsory schooling, with notification to the IGT within eight days. Employers must assess risks, provide training and social security, and arrange medical examinations before work or within 15 days in urgent cases and every six months thereafter. Pregnant, recently delivered and breastfeeding employees receive risk and work restrictions; dismissal requires a prior medical opinion, which must be issued within 30 days. Employees with disabilities or chronic illness cannot be forced to work overtime and may be excused from night work with medical evidence. The IGT can inspect workplaces and examine complaints from employees or employers. General fines range from three to 25 public minimum wages for minor violations, 26 to 50 for serious violations and 51 to 70 for very serious violations. Occupational-safety technical breaches range from two to 10, and missing personal protective equipment can cost two to five public minimum wages per affected employee. Failure to report an accident or occupational disease is very serious, and violations involving minors may also lead to imprisonment of up to two years. The formal framework is clearest for registered employment; informal work may not provide the same practical access to registration, inspection or representation.