Sierra Leone - Employer of Record (EOR)

Fixed-term contracts of up to 12 months are permitted and may be renewed.

It is best practice to put a written employment contract in place in Sierra Leone, in the local language, which spells out the terms of the employee’s compensation, benefits, and termination requirements. An offer letter and employment contract in Sierra Leone should always state the salary and any compensation amounts in Sierra Leonean leone rather than a foreign currency.

The Sierra Leone work week is generally 40 hours. Overtime is paid at an additional 50%; work on rest days is paid at an additional 100%.

In general, employees are entitled to the following paid annual leave:

• One to five years of employment: 19 days of leave
• Five to 10 years of employment: 22 days of leave
• 10+ years of employment: 28 days of leave

In general, employees are eligible for at least 5 paid sick days per year.

Female employees are generally entitled to 12 weeks of paid maternity leave.

Sierra Leone has a contributory Social Security scheme. The total minimum contribution by both the employee and employer is 15% of payroll.

The employee and employer contribute 5% and 10% respectively.

Probationary periods of 3 months for executives and one month for non-executives are permitted and may be renewed.

Employees can terminate a contract with 15 days’ written notice, although technicians must provide two months’ notice.

Employers may terminate employees for just cause with written notice as follows:

• Executives and similar: 3 months’ notice
• Monthly paid white-collar workers, blue-collar workers and permanent hourly, daily, or weekly paid staff: 8 days to one month, depending on length of service.

During the notice period, employees are generally entitled to the equivalent of two paid days off per week to seek alternate employment.

Workers are generally eligible for severance pay for each year of service of 25 to 40% of their average wages over the past 12 months. The percentage is based on length of service and the collective bargaining agreement.