Employment Contracts
Employers must provide an employment contract with an offer letter within 48 hours of an employee starting a role. A permanent contract must state that is it an indefinite contract, while fixed-term contracts must state an end date. An employment contract must contain the probation period, notice period, severance pay, overtime rate, work hours and salary details.
Working Hours
The standard workweek is 40 hours over a maximum of six days. Those working in pharmacies, leisure, tourism and bakeries work 42 hours a week. Those in the beauty industry or whom are taxi-drivers work 45 hours a week. Those in public transport work 48 hours a week. Those who are guards or janitors work 55 hours a week. Female employees and those younger than 18 years old cannot work between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. and they receive at least 12 hours of rest between a shift. Female employees cannot work in mines or quarries.
Overtime work is capped at 100 hours a year and full-time employees cannot reject overtime. Overtime can be extended beyond 100 hours a year with the labor inspector’s permission. Most employees receive Sunday as a mandatory rest day
Vacation Leave
Employees receive 2.5 days of annual leave per month after one year of service.
Sick Leave
Employees receive up to 26 weeks of paid sick leave.
Maternity / Paternity Leave
Female employees receive 14 weeks of paid maternity leave with six weeks to be taken before the birth. This increases to two weeks for multiple births. This is fully paid and split evenly between the employer and social security. They also receive nine months of unpaid parental leave. There is no paternity leave. Female employees who are pregnant or are nursing mothers are forbidden from part-time employment.
Female employees who work 18 days or 120 working hours a month qualify for a prenatal allowance if they have a medical certificate within three months of the pregnancy. This is paid by social security. They also receive one-hour per day for breastfeeding up to 15 months after the birth. Female employees and wives of insured male employees receive paid medical benefits funded by the Social Security Fund during pregnancy and childbirth.
Female employees who are pregnant can be temporarily moved to another role with no loss of salary if there are health concerns. If there is no substitute work, they can go on sick leave.
Employment Termination / Severance
The probation period is of 90 days for those in managerial and executive level positions, and 30 days for other employees. When terminating a contract, employers must provide written notice. A fixed-term contract can be terminated by mutual agreement or at the end of the contract. For indefinite contracts, either party can terminate by providing notice unless there is misconduct, in which case the employer must provide a reason such as the employee’s health, performance or economic grounds.
Pregnant employees have protected status and if they are terminated for unfair reasons, they receive two years of severance pay or can return to their former position. They can also terminate their employment without notice for up to 15 months after childbirth.
Employees can be made redundant.
Health Insurance Benefits
Supplementary private healthcare is recommended for expats or assigned workers although there is community-based healthcare for some medicines for low-income
citizens. By 2024 the government plans to execute a National Health Development Plan to promote and improve healthcare by striving for universal healthcare.