Employer in Guinea-Bissau

An employer directs the work, sets instructions for its performance and may organise discipline and economic objectives through managers or other supervisors. A workplace with more than 10 employees must have internal workplace rules covering technical organisation, discipline, working hours and breaks, entry and exit, hygiene and safety. Employee representatives must be consulted in advance, and the rules must be deposited in two copies with the Inspeção do Trabalho or the relevant Delegacia; the inspection service reviews them within five days. Employers also display the working-time schedule using the inspection model. The normal limit is 8 hours per day and 45 hours per week. Agriculture generally uses a limit of 44 hours per week and 10 hours per day. Employers keep an overtime register showing the start and end of each period, with the employee's confirmation. Night work normally covers 20:00 to 07:00. Lei n.º 7/2022 has applied since 19 July 2022 and replaced Lei n.º 2/1986. It recognises employment contracts that are permanent, fixed-term, open-ended for an uncertain term, subject to a terminating condition, a promise to conclude a contract, a commission de service or a probation arrangement. A contract is generally formed by agreement and should be in writing. Written form is required for fixed-term, part-time, domestic and foreign-worker contracts, probation and training arrangements. A contract for a specific task may remain unwritten only when the task lasts no more than 30 days. A fixed-term employer must state and prove the reason for the term, and the total duration including renewals may not exceed six years; ordinary renewals are limited to two. Employers register with the Instituto Nacional de Segurança Social (INSS), Guinea-Bissau's social-security institution, within 30 days after beginning activity when they fall within the compulsory regime. The regime covers identifiable employers in commerce, industry, services and agriculture. The employer registers workers, keeps payroll records including each new employee's start date, and pays the total contribution including the employee share. The statutory rate is 22% of the relevant contribution base: 14% for the employer and 8% for the employee. The base generally includes cash and in-kind pay, regular benefits, bonuses and commissions, but excludes transport, expense allowances and certain welfare benefits. Payment is due from the first to the fifteenth day of the following month. A separate contribution for work accidents and occupational diseases applies, with the rate depending on the sector and currently described as 2% to 10% in the available framework. The INSS regime provides protection for sickness, maternity, family responsibilities, invalidity, old age, survivors and work accidents or occupational diseases. The general INSS regime does not have a reliably established unemployment benefit. Public and private social-insurance systems remain separate; proposed unification should not be treated as an implemented rule. A recent national estimate places informal employment at 88.5% of workers aged 15 to 64, and the INSS portal reports approximately 2,300 contributors. Small businesses, family businesses, households and seasonal agricultural or cashew employers often do not register workers even though formal duties may apply. Informal practice does not equal legal compliance, and no separate employer licence or direct digital employer platform has been established for this purpose. The employer must plan, assess and control workplace risks, provide information and training, consult workers, arrange health monitoring and supply protective equipment. Safe conditions cover all work-related aspects. Employers working at the same site must cooperate on safety. Employee safety representatives may contact the Inspeção do Trabalho. The inspection service can investigate fatal or particularly serious accidents and impose sanctions, while the health authority may investigate occupational disease cases. Employee safety representatives are elected directly and secretly. Their maximum number is 3 for workplaces with fewer than 300 employees, 4 for 301 to 500, 5 for 501 to 1,000, 6 for 1,001 to 1,500 and 7 for more than 1,500; the mandate lasts three years. The employer organises continuing training for these representatives. Employers must apply specific protections for pregnancy, maternity, breastfeeding and young workers. A pregnant worker must not be assigned night work, overtime or a transfer without suitable conditions. Maternity leave is 90 days and paternity leave is 15 days. During the first six months of breastfeeding, the worker receives a 60-minute nursing break in each work period. Dismissal of a pregnant, recently delivered or breastfeeding worker is presumed unjustified without justa causa. The normal minimum working age is 16, together with completion of compulsory schooling and suitability for the work. Contracts for minors must be written, and the employer must assess risks and register the worker with the INSS. Work by a child under 16 is restricted to education or training arrangements under special rules and must be reported to the Inspeção do Trabalho within eight days. The employer must respect workplace representation. Workplaces with fewer than 25 employees may have Delegados de pessoal. Other structures include a comité sindical, comité de empresa, union sections and commissions. The employer provides the facilities and means needed for protected union activity. A comité may receive production and economic information and copies of written contracts and termination documents. It must receive an opportunity to give its view on restructuring, closure, reduced working hours, transfer of the business, training plans, new control or organisational systems, and mergers, sales or changes of legal form that affect employment. CCIAS represents private-sector employers. UNTG-CS and CGSI-GB are central trade-union organisations, while the Conseil National Tripartite de Consultação Social provides a state-organised channel for social dialogue; its current meeting frequency is not established here. Disputes usually move from internal representatives or a union to the Inspeção do Trabalho or the Direcção-Geral do Trabalho. A collective dispute may enter conciliation before the competent labour authority after written notice given by one side at least eight days in advance. The authority should convene the parties within 15 days. If conciliation fails after one month, mediation may follow, and voluntary or legally available compulsory arbitration may be used. An individual dismissal dispute goes before the competent judicial court. Dismissal without justa causa and disguised discrimination are prohibited. At the end of a contract, the employer issues a work certificate stating the start date, end date and position. Organisational change can trigger collective-dismissal duties when at least two employees are affected because of declining activity, permanent closure or economic, cyclical or technological reasons. The employer simultaneously informs the labour ministry, affected workers and unions, stating the reasons, timing, selection criteria and each affected worker's name, age, length of service, category, pay and compensation. The union has 15 days to give its view. Selection should consider qualifications and experience, length of service, family responsibilities, work accidents, union functions and age. Collective suspension can be used as an alternative for up to six months if the parties agree. Reinstatement, compensation and challenge risks can be substantial when the process is incomplete. The responsible public bodies are associated with the Ministério da Função Pública, Trabalho, Modernização Administrativa in the 2026 government structure, while ILO material also refers to MAPTESS. The Direcção-Geral do Trabalho and Inspeção do Trabalho handle labour administration and inspection, the INSS handles social insurance, and the Ministério das Finanças is relevant to public employment regimes. Guinea-Bissau therefore has a formal employer function, but coverage is fragmented and many employment relationships remain informal or personally arranged. Formal registration, written records, payroll controls, risk prevention and documented consultation give an employer a clearer basis for managing workers and responding to inspections or disputes.