Employment in São Tomé and Príncipe

A person seeking work can use the PE-STP employability portal to search vacancies, create a professional profile, find remunerated internships and access training. The portal does not state a candidate fee. Private recruitment commonly runs through employers and sector channels, without one universal placement system. Public employment follows concurso público: the recruiting body publishes a vacancy notice through the Diário da República or other media, and requirements depend on the notice and the responsible institution. DGAP has competence for the public-administration process. Fixed-term hiring pathways and possible state support for employer training can apply to first-job seekers and people unemployed for a long period. For dependent employment, a written contract is preferable. The employer should send a copy to the Ministry within 15 working days after work begins. An oral contract can generally be proved, but written form is required for fixed-term work, foreign workers, work for several employers, commission-based work and occasional assignments. The written contract states the parties, occupational category, workplace, base pay and regular supplements, working hours, annual leave, benefits in kind, special conditions and the date and place of conclusion. A missing written contract does not remove the employer’s responsibility to prove the agreed conditions. Probation normally applies unless the parties reduce or exclude it in writing. The usual period is 30 days for an indefinite contract and 180 days for highly complex, highly responsible or qualified work. For a fixed-term contract, it is 15 days when the term is shorter than six months and 30 days when it lasts at least six months. During probation, either side can generally end the contract without notice or compensation. After more than 60 days of probation, the employer gives 15 days’ notice. The statutory minimum wage covers private, rural, domestic and home work. Its current amount is set and updated by a joint order of the Labour and Finance authorities and should be checked in the latest despacho. An employment arrangement cannot lawfully provide for unpaid work. Equal treatment covers access to employment, pay, training and promotion. An employer may not require a pregnancy test, except for a medically justified examination linked to the safety or nature of the role and supported by written reasons. Holiday allowance equals one monthly salary. Normal working time is up to eight hours per day and 40 hours per week. Agriculture generally has a maximum of seven uninterrupted hours per day while retaining a 40-hour weekly limit. Workers receive at least one weekly rest day, normally Sunday, and at least 22 working days of annual leave. During the first employment year, after six months of service, leave accrues at two days for each complete month, up to 20 days. Overtime is restricted to temporary workload peaks and force majeure, subject to daily and annual limits and possible compensatory rest. The Inspecção-Geral do Trabalho and health inspection bodies enforce occupational-safety requirements. Dependent workers, including nationals and foreign workers in public or private employment, temporary and intermittent workers, apprentices, trainees and paid interns, fall within social security. The employer registers the worker, withholds 4% of wages and files the remuneration declaration and payment by the 10th day of the following month. The NISS is the worker’s lifelong social-security number. A record can be interrupted after 12 months without a remuneration entry, but the worker does not lose the entitlement created by employment when the employer’s failure to declare or pay is not attributable to the worker. The employer reports the end of employment to INSS within 30 days. INSS benefits include sickness, parentality, work accident, professional disease, invalidity, old-age, survivor and funeral benefits. Parentality generally covers 90 days, with 15 additional days for a multiple birth. A work-accident claim has no contribution waiting period and the benefit can last up to 24 months. The reviewed INSS catalogue contains no unemployment benefit, so loss of work should not be treated as automatically creating a national unemployment-insurance payment. Independent activity is a separate formal pathway under REPSO. Registration with INSS is compulsory for activities such as taxi driving, fishing, motorcycle transport, street vending, mechanics, barbering, electrical work and similar trades. The mandatory scheme uses a 10% contribution on a chosen conventional wage and covers old-age, invalidity and survivor pensions. The extended 14% scheme adds sickness, parentality and funeral protection. The end of independent activity must be reported within 15 days, although practical coverage remains fragmented and many people work informally. Foreign workers need labour authorization from the Ministry, appropriate qualifications or specialization and a written contract. The authorization considers whether a sufficiently qualified national worker is available. Tourist, visitor, business, student and diplomatic entry generally does not permit employment. Once authorized, a foreign worker has the same employment rights and duties. Regular employment normally starts at age 15 after compulsory schooling and a fitness assessment. At age 14, only light work under schooling and safety conditions is allowed; a worker under 16 may work no more than seven hours per day and 35 hours per week and may not work overtime. Employment can end through expiry, mutual agreement, just-cause dismissal, economic dismissal, collective dismissal or resignation. The employer provides a work certificate showing admission and exit dates, positions and the reason for leaving, together with requested official social-security documents. Final settlement includes proportional accrued leave and pay and the holiday allowance. A worker resigning without cause gives 30 days’ written notice with up to two years of seniority and 60 days after more than two years. For a fixed-term contract, expiry notice is generally 15 days for the employer and eight days for the worker for a six-month term, with shorter notice for a three-month term; statutory compensation may apply to the employer’s expiry, with a minimum of 15 working days. A worker or employer can request labour conciliation from the Ministry. The parties are summoned within 15 days, the conciliation process can last up to 15 days and a settlement is enforceable. Court proceedings remain available if conciliation does not resolve the dispute. National labour and social-security rules apply across São Tomé and Príncipe; no separate employment regime for Príncipe was identified in the reviewed sources.