Employment in Tanzania

Employment rules in Tanzania are not completely uniform. Mainland Tanzania applies the Employment and Labour Relations Act, while Zanzibar applies the Employment Act No 11 of 2005 and the Labour Relations Act No 1 of 2005. Confirm the legal area before relying on a rule, filing a complaint or signing a contract. Local terms include ajira for employment, mkataba wa ajira for an employment contract, mwajiri for an employer and mwajiriwa for an employee. The Public Service Recruitment Secretariat, commonly called PSRS, recruits for ministries, departments, agencies, regional secretariats, local government authorities and other public-service institutions. Its ajira.go.tz system covers applications, shortlisting, interviews and placement. The Tanzania Employment Services Agency, or TaESA, provides employment counselling, job-search support and placement through the National Labour Market Information System, known as NLMIS. Private employment agencies are regulated. Direct contact with companies, referrals and professional networks also remain common, especially in informal work. The 2024/25 Formal-Sector Survey recorded 4,565,960 employees: 4,480,778 on Mainland Tanzania and 85,182 in Zanzibar. It recorded 3,220,452 private-sector employees and 1,345,508 public-sector employees, including 4,022,270 regular and 543,690 casual employees. These figures describe formal-sector employment and do not represent every person earning income through informal work. On Mainland Tanzania, employment may be for an unspecified period, a specified period for professionals or managers, or a specific task. At the start of employment, the employer must provide written particulars such as the names and addresses of the parties, age, sex, recruitment place, job description, start date, contract type and duration, workplace, working hours, remuneration and benefits in kind. Changes to those particulars should be given in writing and explained in a way the employee can understand. A job offer, contract, payroll record and social-insurance registration are separate matters; informal work does not automatically provide any of them. For employees covered by the Mainland private-sector Minimum Wage Order 2025, new rates apply from 1 January 2026 and differ across 16 sectors and areas. Examples include TZS 175,000 per month for crop agriculture and other unspecified categories, TZS 733,000 for commercial banks and TZS 765,900 for international energy. A contract or collective agreement can provide better terms. Employers must pay on the agreed pay day, in cash or by cheque or direct deposit with written consent where required, and provide a written pay statement. Deductions require a legal basis such as written law, a collective agreement, a wage determination, a court order, an arbitration award or written agreement for a debt. A deduction for loss or damage cannot exceed one quarter of money remuneration. On Mainland Tanzania, ordinary working time is generally limited to six days and 45 hours per week, with a usual daily limit of nine hours and an overall maximum of 12 hours per day. Overtime requires agreement, is limited to 50 hours in four weeks and is paid at least 1.5 times the basic wage. Work exceeding five continuous hours requires at least a 60-minute break. Night work runs from 20:00 to 06:00 and carries at least a five percent premium. Public-holiday work is paid at twice the basic wage under the stated Mainland rules. Paid leave on Mainland Tanzania generally requires at least six months of service, subject to the seasonal and repeated-employment exception. Annual leave is at least 28 consecutive days in a 12-month leave cycle. Certified sickness can provide 126 days in a leave cycle: 63 days at full pay followed by 63 days at half pay. Paid maternity leave is 84 days, or 100 days for multiple births, with a maximum of four paid maternity terms. A breastfeeding employee may receive up to two hours per day for breastfeeding. Paid paternity leave is three days taken within seven days after birth. Family or bereavement leave is four days. Employment protections include equal opportunity, freedom from forced labour and the right to join a union and bargain collectively. Discrimination is prohibited on grounds including nationality, tribe or place of origin, race, social origin, religion, political opinion, sex, gender, pregnancy, marital status, family responsibility, disability, HIV/AIDS and age. On Mainland Tanzania, children under 14 cannot work, 14-year-olds may perform only light work that does not harm health or schooling, and anyone under 18 cannot perform hazardous work such as mining, factory work, ship work or risky agricultural work. Employment-linked protection depends on the scheme and legal area. The Public Service Social Security Fund, or PSSSF, covers public-service social security on Mainland Tanzania. The Workers Compensation Fund, or WCF, handles work injury, occupational disease and death claims for public and private employees on Mainland Tanzania. Registration, coverage and benefit procedures should be checked for the specific scheme and jurisdiction. Zanzibar has separate social-security and work-injury arrangements. For foreign nationals, the Work Permit Section assesses applications, issues work permits and conducts compliance inspections. A work permit and immigration residence status are separate requirements, so both statuses should be confirmed before work begins. Fees and processing times vary and should be checked with the responsible authorities rather than assumed from another case. On Mainland Tanzania, an employer ending employment must generally show a valid and fair reason related to conduct, capacity, compatibility or operational requirements and follow a fair procedure. The unfair-termination provisions do not apply to an employee who has worked for the same employer for less than six months. Pregnancy, disability, discrimination, lawful rights and union activity are not fair reasons for termination. Notice is seven days during the first month, then four days for daily or weekly workers and 28 days for monthly workers. Notice should be written, state the reason and date, and cannot normally run at the same time as leave; payment in lieu may be used. After at least 12 months of continuous service, severance is at least seven days of basic wage for each completed year, up to 10 years, subject to exceptions such as fair misconduct, retirement, contract expiry or refusal of suitable alternative employment. A final settlement may include unpaid remuneration, unused or accrued annual leave, notice pay, severance and, for a recruited worker, transport back to at least the nearest bus station. The employer must provide a certificate of service. A workplace complaint can move from an internal procedure or union to a Labour Officer, then to mediation by the Commission for Mediation and Arbitration, known as CMA. Arbitration and Labour Court proceedings are available within the stated process, and an arbitration award is binding and can be enforced through the Labour Court. The e-Utatuzi digital CMA system has supported registration and tracking since 2026. Strikes require statutory mediation, a union ballot and notice, with additional rules for essential services. The Prime Minister's Office responsible for Labour, Employment and Skills Development, Labour Commissioners and Labour Officers are among the public bodies that administer employment matters.