Labor law in Equatorial Guinea

Ley Núm. 4/2021 is the main labor-law basis and replaced Ley 10/2012. Ley Núm. 6/2026 modified certain provisions. The reform has no retroactive effect, and rights already acquired under the 2021 law remain protected. The exact publication and effective-date record for the 2026 amendment requires confirmation through the Boletín Oficial del Estado or the Ministerio de Trabajo y Formación Ocupacional. Labor law has public-order character, so a contract cannot lawfully remove statutory protections. When the wording is doubtful, interpretation favors the worker, and the factual relationship prevails over the label used in the contract. The framework applies to dependent work for Empresas, Asociaciones, Fundaciones, Organismos Autónomos and Entidades Paraestatales. Civil and military servants follow special statutes. Foreign diplomats and consuls are excluded, but locally hired embassy staff are not automatically excluded. A purely family-run activity with fewer than five people, including the household head, may fall outside labor law when the facts do not show an employment relationship. Occasional unpaid favors and community work can also fall outside the employment relationship, while prisoners and domestic workers have special rules. Labor-law rules alone do not establish current work-permit or immigration requirements for foreign workers; those requirements need separate confirmation from the competent authorities. An employment relationship can exist even without a written document, but the employer has a legal duty to provide a written contract. If required documents are missing, the employer generally bears the evidentiary burden. A first-time employee needs a local good-conduct certificate. The employer must register or verify the contract with the Ministry and report the worker to the Oficina de Empleo no later than seven days after work begins if the report was not made earlier. Jobseeker registration is free. INSESO registration and affiliation apply to every contract type. Probation depends on the work category. It may last up to one month for unqualified work, three months for middle-level technicians and six months for higher-qualified, highly qualified or difficult-to-assess work. The worker receives the category's basic wage during probation. Either side may end the relationship during a valid probation period without severance payment. Extending probation beyond the legal limit can trigger INSESO and proportional employment rights from the first day. An indefinite contract is the normal continuing form. A fixed-term contract generally lasts three months and may be extended for a total period of up to one year. Replacement contracts and contracts for a new or restructured labor-intensive activity follow specific limits; the latter may last one year plus one additional year with Ministry approval. A contract for a specific work or service may last up to two years. Continuing work after a lawful fixed term normally converts the relationship into an indefinite one. Part-time work requires a written statement of hours and their distribution; otherwise, full-time work is presumed. Formative or practical placements may last up to six months with a certificate. An apprenticeship may last six months and reach twelve months by agreement, with at least 50% of the applicable SMI. An ETT assignment may last up to six months; afterward, the worker becomes indefinite with the user company. Illegal labor leasing is prohibited, and the user company can be subsidiarily liable or jointly liable when the law has been evaded. The 2026 reform summary removed the former group or company contract category. Telework under the 2026 rules covers work performed wholly or partly outside the employer's premises through information and communication technology. Examples include software work, technical support, data analysis, online customer service, social media, accounting, web design, digital marketing, telemedicine and content production. Telework is voluntary and reversible. The employer provides the necessary work equipment, applies equal treatment, protects data and privacy, and gives prior information before using cameras, recording or geolocation. A telework policy and digital disconnection rules are required, and the employer cannot demand work during rest periods. Isolation and other psychosocial risks require attention. When work requires a transfer outside the worker's place of residence, the employer pays transport to and from the work location, adds 25% of the basic wage and pays at least one month's installation allowance. From the third month, transport for first-degree dependants is also covered. Exceptional cross-border work can create travel, installation and reinstallation costs for the employer. Normal working time is eight hours per day and 48 hours per week for daytime work, six hours per day and 36 hours per week for night work, and seven hours per day and 42 hours per week for mixed work. Daytime runs from 06:00 to 18:00 and nighttime from 18:00 to 06:00. Offshore work may reach twelve hours, consisting of eight regular hours and four extraordinary hours. A meal or rest break of up to one hour is generally included in the working day. An interruption of more than two hours creates a split working day and is generally not counted as working time. A team average may be used over a period of up to three weeks, but the average may not exceed eight hours per day or 48 hours per week. Night and mixed schedules, and work by minors, are calculated against eight daytime hours. Overtime is generally limited to two hours per day for preparatory work, follow-up work or exceptional additional work, subject to emergency exceptions. It is not automatically required in every situation. Employers must record daily and monthly working time. Overtime carries a 25% supplement during the day and a 50% supplement at night or on mixed schedules. Work during weekly rest or public holidays carries a 50% supplement and a replacement rest day. Workers may not normally work more than five hours continuously, should receive at least twelve hours between shifts and receive one rest day after at least six consecutive working days, preferably on Sunday. National and local public holidays apply, and the employer must visibly publish working and rest schedules with the required official validation. Annual paid leave is 30 days. It may be divided into no more than two periods per year, and unused leave may be carried forward or accumulated for no more than two years. Unused leave is paid proportionally when employment ends. A reported and documented illness gives three paid days, after which Social Security rules apply. Paid leave includes ten days for marriage, two days for changing residence, seven days for the death of a close relative and up to two days per month, with a maximum of 15 days per year, for legally required public or personal duties. Maternity protection covers six weeks before and six weeks after childbirth and can be medically extended. During the first twelve months, breastfeeding allows two paid 30-minute breaks each day. The Government sets the SMI, the statutory minimum wage. The latest officially verified reference in the available material is Decreto 121/2011, extended by Decreto 30/2016, which set XAF 117,304 per month for the national private sector. Sector and job categories may use coefficients and different basic wages. No newer SMI decree was found in the checked official and ILO material, so the Ministry or Boletín Oficial del Estado should confirm the applicable amount before payment decisions. Equal work requires equal pay, and wages may not fall below the statutory minimum. A seasonal contract lasting no more than six months must provide at least the minimum wage plus an agreed 25% gratuity. Payment in kind may not exceed 30% of pay. Wages are paid directly by cheque or bank transfer, with a payment period of no more than one month. Final settlement is generally due within one month. Wage assignment is prohibited except within legally permitted deductions. Public holidays and weekly rest days are paid. Annual bonuses of 15 days are linked to Independence Day on 12 October and Año Nuevo on 20 December, with proportional payment for employment lasting less than one year. Domestic work has internal and external regimes and may be full-time or part-time. It includes household, care, childcare, cooking, gardening, driving and security work. Cash pay for domestic workers must be at least 80% of the SMI. For live-in workers, accommodation and food apply unless the parties agree otherwise. INSESO coverage, pre- and postnatal leave, annual leave and other general protections apply. Live-in workers normally receive twelve hours between shifts, reducible to ten hours under the special rule, one weekly rest day and no holiday work. The 2026 reform summary provides 15 seniority days per year for domestic work. The regular minimum working age is 18. A 16- or 17-year-old may perform only light work with parental or guardian permission or Ministry authorization, provided that health, safety, morals and schooling are not harmed. Hazardous work is prohibited. Daily work is limited to six hours and must remain compatible with school or training. Sectoral prohibitions include mining and hydrocarbons outside administrative work and other dangerous environments. The statutory threshold for practical training and apprenticeship is 16. Labor law prohibits discrimination based on characteristics including race, ethnicity, sex, religion, political opinion, social origin and union affiliation. Workers have rights to privacy and dignity. Employers must provide effective employment, wages, suitable tools, safe and hygienic conditions, health protection, free protective equipment and safety training, and may not retaliate for the exercise of protected rights. Workers must perform their duties carefully, follow lawful instructions, attend work and observe safety rules. A worker may refuse dangerous work. Technical safety and hygiene committees operate at national, provincial, local and company levels with worker, employer and inspector participation. Risk work requires medical examinations at intervals of no more than three months. INSESO and occupational-injury protection cover treatment, medication, transport, pensions and compensation. An employer can face civil and criminal liability for failing to register a worker or for intentional or negligent conduct. Workers have a legal right to professional association, union membership, collective bargaining and strikes under the law. Worker representatives receive special status. In practice, independent union recognition is limited, and country reporting for 2023 and 2024 described a registration hurdle of at least 50 workplace members. No authorized strike practice was reported in that reporting. Labor NGOs also face restrictions. Equatorial Guinea has ratified ILO Conventions C029, C087, C098, C100, C105, C111, C138, C182, C001, C014, C030 and C103, among others, with 14 conventions in force. An indefinite contract may be dismissed only for a justified cause. The worker should receive knowledge of the allegation and an opportunity to defend themselves when reasonably possible. Examples of serious grounds include fraud, theft, violence, serious damage, breach of secrecy, severe safety misconduct, habitual intoxication or drug use, a final criminal conviction, illegal strike participation and repeated absence for three consecutive days or four times in one month. The employer must give the reason in writing. Without written notice or a written reason, the dismissal can lead to reinstatement and back pay. Employer notice is one week after one month of service and 20 days after at least six months of service; substitute pay may replace omitted notice. A worker who resigns ordinarily gives one month's notice. Serious employer breaches, such as repeated non-payment for up to three consecutive months, danger or an unlawful change in working conditions, can support indirect dismissal. Seniority compensation was based on 45 salary days per year under Ley 4/2021, while the domestic-work figure was 15 days. The 2026 reform summaries indicate a general minimum of 30 salary days per year and 15 days for domestic work. The application date and transition rules require confirmation from the official publication. Acquired rights under the 2021 law cannot be reduced retroactively. Seniority compensation is calculated using the last salary adjustment and excludes specified non-salary, tax-exempt and non-seizable amounts, except where family duties permit a lawful exception. Employers should account for and pay the amount annually where the law requires it. Unfair dismissal normally begins with conciliation. Reinstatement and back pay are the primary remedy. If the employer refuses reinstatement, compensation is generally 45 salary days per year, calculated proportionally. Economic, technical or structural dismissal does not lead to reinstatement and carries compensation of at least three months, subject to statutory thresholds. The reform summary sets a cap of 22 salary days per year after more than five years. If an employer ends a fixed-term or specific-work contract without justification, the worker can generally claim the wages due until the scheduled end. A worker who ends such a contract without justification can owe one month's salary. The Delegación de Trabajo and the Servicio Nacional de Mediación, Arbitraje y Conciliación Laboral handle the first conciliation stage. The national service is attached to provincial labor delegations. A settlement is binding. If conciliation fails, the worker can bring the matter to the Magistratura de Trabajo for a hearing, decision and enforcement. A reinstatement claim generally has a 90-day limitation period from the dismissal notice. Employer labor infractions generally have a three-year period, while accident claims generally have three years from the accident or the onset of the condition. Social-security complaints can proceed through the competent labor authority or Inspección de Trabajo y Seguridad Social, and INSESO can act against non-compliant employers. Sanctions range from XAF 50,000 to 100,000 for a minor infraction imposed by a Delegado, XAF 100,001 to 250,000 for a serious infraction imposed by the Dirección General, and XAF 250,001 to 500,000 for a very serious infraction imposed by the Minister. A repeat within one year can raise the classification. More than ten very serious infractions in one year can lead to closure. An Inspector may suspend dangerous work, and the Minister may order temporary or permanent closure. Formal rights may therefore be stronger than the protection available in practice, particularly where wages are delayed, inspections are limited, informal work is not recorded, or forced labor, trafficking, passport retention, child exploitation or domestic exploitation risks arise.