Unemployment in Togo

The ANPE is Togo's established public employment service. Togolese nationals and foreigners can register through the SIANPE online system with an email address, telephone number and password, then visit an ANPE office with a passport photograph, curriculum vitae and diploma to obtain a carte de demandeur d'emploi. Registration and candidate services are free, and the card has no stated expiry date. ANPE offices operate in locations including Kégué, Nyékonakpoè, Adakpamé, Aného, Tsévié, Kpalimé, Sokodé, Atakpamé, Kara, Dapaong, Baguida and Adéticopé. The available information does not establish a general periodic reporting duty for registered job seekers. ANPE support can include job matching, job-search skills, soft skills, vocational training referrals, business advice, entrepreneurship support and regular domestic or international mobility. In 2024, ANPE reported training 7,949 job seekers in job-search techniques and 5,589 in soft skills; it also reported short qualifications lasting one to three months for 200 people in five economic regions, including 56 women. Its entrepreneurship support can cover a business model, financial plan, financing and formalities. Its professional-migration unit can provide international vacancy information, regular mobility support and return assistance, including skills assessment and a business plan. Informal work and self-employment are common practical alternatives, but they do not create an unemployment benefit. CNSS coverage for self-employed informal workers or non-salaried workers applies when the person is actually carrying out the relevant activity. A job loss from a formal employer follows different rules from simply having no work. Under Togo's Labour Code, an economic dismissal can result from economic conditions, technological change, reorganization or closure. The employer must notify the Inspection du travail et des lois sociales and negotiate measures to preserve jobs. These measures can include reduced working hours or duties, redeployment or training, part-time work, chômage technique, temporary suspension or a reduction in benefits or wages. They generally cannot exceed three months without written ministerial authorization. The labour inspectorate has 15 working days to decide; silence counts as approval under the documented rule. During chômage technique, an employee may end the employment relationship without notice or a termination indemnity. In certain cases covered by Article 65, Article 69 compensation applies when no better collective rule exists: half pay for up to 30 days with less than one year of service, two months of half pay with more than one and less than five years, and four months of half pay from five years onward. For a formal termination, the minimum notice is 15 days for hourly workers, one month for workers and employees, and three months for cadres. A termination indemnity generally applies after at least 12 continuous months of service, except in cases of serious or gross misconduct. The calculation uses the average monthly wage over the last 12 months, at 35% per year for the first five years, 40% per year for years six to ten and 45% per year from year eleven. CNSS does not provide a documented unemployment-income branch. Its voluntary insurance for temporarily unemployed workers allows continued pension coverage through contributions, but it does not replace lost income. When a person starts a new formal job, the employer should report the worker to CNSS within eight days; if the employer has not done so after one month, the worker may make the registration personally. Never pay anyone to obtain a job or ANPE service; suspected job scams can be reported on 8384.