Employment in Djibouti

Employment in Djibouti covers starting, performing, changing and ending dependent paid work. About 80% of workers are employees, but informality remains widespread: it affects about 52.7% of employment, 77.9% of private-sector jobs, 60.7% of women and 47.6% of men. Services dominate employment in Djibouti City, while inactivity is higher outside the capital. Among people under 35, unemployment affects about 48.1% of men and 53.5% of women, and 46.2% of young people aged 16 to 24 are not in employment, education or training. ANEFIP is a public administrative institution with regional offices. It publishes public and private vacancies, registers jobseekers, assesses profiles, provides counselling and orientation, and supports transparent placement, insertion internships and projects. Registration and placement do not automatically provide a job, and no official registration or placement fee was evidenced in the reviewed sources. Direct recruitment by an employer is permitted and does not require prior ANEFIP placement. Regulated private employment agencies and temporary-work agencies also operate; in temporary work, the agency is the employer under a written dual contract, and the worker may not be charged a placement fee. The main employment contracts are the CDI, an open-ended contract, and the CDD, a fixed-term contract. A CDI must be written under the current rule. A CDD lasting more than one month must be written, may last a maximum of 12 months and may be renewed once. A non-compliant CDD is treated as a CDI. A written trial period may last up to 15 days for hourly workers, one month for monthly-paid workers and three months for maîtrise or management staff; it may be renewed once in writing, and trial work must be paid. Apprenticeships last between six months and two years, require a written contract and visa, and provide a certificate at the end. The apprentice’s pay must be at least 25% of the applicable occupation wage, and the minimum age is 16. The statutory minimum wage, or SMIG, is 35,000 FDJ for contracts effective from 1 January 2018. Equal-value work is subject to equal pay. Employers must issue a payslip and deduct and remit worker contributions to the Organisme de Protection Sociale or CNSS. Monthly wages must be paid no later than eight days after the end of the month, while hourly wage intervals may not exceed 15 days. Informal work has materially weaker access to documented pay, contributions and social protection. The legal working week is 48 hours. Ordinary overtime is limited to five hours per week, and effective work may not exceed 60 hours per week or 12 hours per day. Workers receive at least 24 hours of weekly rest, normally on Friday, and accrue 2.5 working days of paid leave per month of service after the reference period begins. An employer must arrange a medical examination within eight weeks after hiring and an annual examination thereafter. Maternity leave lasts 12 weeks, with wages paid by CNSS up to a monthly ceiling of 400,000 FDJ; pregnancy must be declared from the sixth month. Foreign salaried workers generally enter through a fixed-term contract. The employer files the contract and supporting documents, while ANEFIP handles operational processing and the Ministry responsible for Labour grants the legal authorisation. The file includes the application, declaration of hiring, four copies of the contract, a letter to the Director General of ANEFIP, two identity photographs, a passport and visa copy, and the company’s patente. A visa du contrat and work authorisation are required before the work stay visa. If the employer receives no response within 60 days after filing, the authorisation is deemed granted under the applicable rule. Authorities may refuse authorisation when a national worker with an equivalent qualification is available. A CDD ends at its agreed term. A worker may resign from a CDI subject to the applicable notice period. At the end of employment, the employer must provide a work certificate without fee or stamp duty and settle wages and any due indemnity. Unpaid-wage claims have a one-year limitation period. Conciliation through the Inspection du Travail comes before a dispute proceeds to the Tribunal du Travail.