Employment in Guinea-Bissau

Employment in Guinea-Bissau can be found in public administration, private companies, NGOs, religious and cooperative institutions, agriculture, domestic work, port and maritime activities, apprenticeships and self-employment. Informal work is the dominant pathway into earning income. In 2022, approximately 93.5% of adult employment was informal, including 96.9% for women, 90% for men and 99.2% for young people. An ILO workshop in 2024 reported that more than 94% of economic activity was informal, while contributory social-security coverage remained below 3%. Agriculture and agri-food activities are central: the World Bank estimated that agri-food accounted for about 50.3% of the labour force, and approximately 86% of agro-industry jobs were family-owned or self-employed. Women are strongly concentrated in informal agriculture and trade. The formal framework is based on Lei n.º 7/2022, the Código do Trabalho, which entered into force on 19 July 2022 and replaced the 1986 labour law. It applies to dependent work, including individual contracts in public employment. Relevant bodies include the Ministério da Função Pública, Trabalho e Modernização da Administração Pública, the Direcção-Geral do Trabalho, the Inspeção-Geral do Trabalho, INSS as the public social-security institution, trade unions, employer organisations and the courts. AGEFP or ANGEFP is the public employment service. Its channel combines vacancies, vocational training and employability guidance, but the service is not yet fully effective, particularly for young people. A dependent employment contract is normally based on agreement between the worker and employer. A written contract is required for fixed-term, part-time, domestic, foreign-worker, probation and apprenticeship contracts, as well as contracts subject to a condition that ends the relationship. A specific-task contract lasting no more than 30 days may be concluded without writing, and either party may request a written document. Employment can be presumed after 30 uninterrupted days when the worker is integrated into the employer's organisation, follows employer instructions and a set schedule, depends economically or on time on the employer, and uses the employer's tools. A fixed-term contract may last up to six years including renewals and may normally be renewed twice. A further renewal lasting two to four years can be allowed after the relevant limits are reached. A special first-employment contract for a qualified first-job seeker may last up to three years. A probation period applies by default unless the contract excludes it in writing: up to six months for senior staff and three months for other workers. For a fixed-term contract, probation normally lasts 30 days, or two months when the contract lasts more than four years. During probation either party may end the relationship without notice or proving just cause. After probation, an employer giving notice must generally provide at least seven days when the probation period exceeded 60 days. The statutory minimum wage is a monthly floor that also covers rural workers. Piecework and task work have a daily minimum floor, and equal-treatment rules apply. The Government fixes the amount annually with social partners, considering consumer prices, productivity, the share of labour income and the general economic situation. The reviewed evidence does not establish a current official amount reliably, and the ILO reported in 2025 that the machinery for reviewing and fixing the minimum wage remained deficient, so older figures should not be treated as current. Normal working time is limited to eight hours per day and 45 hours per week. A recovery schedule can reach ten hours per day, while agriculture generally allows up to 44 hours per week and ten hours per day. The worker receives a one- to two-hour break after no more than five consecutive hours and one weekly rest day, normally Sunday. Work on a rest day is paid at double rate and requires a full compensatory day within three days. Overtime normally has a yearly limit of 175 hours and a daily limit of two hours; a collective instrument can raise the yearly limit to 200 hours. Overtime premiums are 50% for the first hour, 75% for following hours and 100% on rest days or holidays. Night work carries a 25% premium subject to Code exceptions. Annual paid leave applies under the Labour Code. In the hiring year, a worker who completes six months receives two working days per completed month, up to 20 working days. A contract lasting less than six months gives two working days for each completed month. Maternity leave lasts 90 days and ordinary paternity leave 15 days. The father can receive the mother's equivalent or remaining leave in cases of maternal incapacity or death; in the event of death, the period is at least 30 days. A breastfeeding worker receives a 60-minute dispensation during each work period for the first six months. Dismissal of a pregnant, recently delivered or breastfeeding worker is presumed to lack just cause unless the employer proves otherwise. Workers under 18 have a maximum of eight hours per day and 40 hours per week. They generally may not work overtime or at night, although a worker over 16 may work in those periods when indispensable vocational training and a medical opinion support the exception. Workplace safety measures must not cost the worker money. A worker may leave a workplace presenting a serious and immediate danger without suffering a disadvantage. Workers also have collective-bargaining, union, worker-committee and strike rights under the Code. An employer with staff must affiliate with INSS and register employees. INSS manages the general social-security regime and compulsory insurance for work accidents and occupational diseases, with benefits that include sickness and medication support, old-age pensions and funeral or loss support. Formal coverage remains very low, and current INSS work to extend protection to informal and independent workers in Bissau and Biombo represents an access-expansion effort rather than universal coverage already available. A worker may respond to serious employment breaches through the responsible institutions. If wage arrears continue for more than 60 days from the first unpaid due date, the worker may terminate for just cause or suspend work after written notice to the employer and the Inspeção-Geral do Trabalho, normally giving 15 days' advance notice. Labour-inspection procedures and the courts address compliance disputes and unlawful dismissal. A worker's ordinary notice is 30 days for up to two years of seniority and 60 days after more than two years. Leaving a fixed-term contract early normally requires 30 days' notice when the contract lasts at least six months and 15 days when it lasts less. A just-cause termination must be made in writing within 30 days after the worker learns of the ground. Compensation generally ranges from 15 to 45 days of base pay and seniority allowance for each completed year, with a minimum of three months; for a fixed-term contract, the floor is the outstanding wages. The employer must issue a certificate stating the admission and end dates and the worker's category. Collective dismissal covers at least two workers and requires 90 days' notice. Each affected worker receives two paid working days per week to seek another job and has a preference for rehire during the following two years. Unemployment insurance is a separate transition subject and is not covered by this employment overview.