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Everything an employer should know about hiring in
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Hiring in Democratic republic of the congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, also known as DR Congo, is a country in Central Africa. Kinshasa is the capital and the largest city of DR Congo. DR Congo is rich in natural resources, whereby it’s the world’s largest producer of cobalt ore, and a prominent producer of copper and diamonds. Its main trading partners are the United States, China, India, Spain, France and the Netherlands. Global PEO or Employer of Record (EOR) play a pivotal role in providing companies with services related to hiring employees, and ensuring compliance with DC Congo’s legal and tax regulations. The Labor Code stipulates that employees are entitled to 12 days of annual leave after one year of service. Residents are taxed on worldwide income; non-residents are taxed on DR Congo- source income. Global PEO’s or Employer of Record facilitate companies by ensuring compliance with the Labor Code and tax laws.
statutory labor requirements
Probation Period
- The probation period may not exceed 1 month for an unskilled laborer without specialization, and 6 months for the other employees.
Annual Leave
- The duration of annual leave has to be of at least one day for every month of effective service, for worker over the age of 18.
- It shall be of at least one and a half day for workers under the age of 18.
- It shall be increased of one day per month every 5 years of seniority in the same employer or replaced employer
Public Holidays
- New Year's Day (1st January)
- Martyrs' Day (4th January)
- Heroes' Day (Laurent Kabila) (16th January)
- Heroes' Day (Patrice Lumumba) (17th January)
- Labor Day (1st May)
- National Day of the Revolution and the FARDC (16th May)
- Independence Day (30th June)
- Parents' Day (1st August)
- Christmas Day (25th December)
Maternity Leave
- Upon pregnancy, women have the right to suspend their work for 14 consecutive weeks, a maximum of eight weeks post pregnancy and six before childbirth.
- During this period, whether the child lives or not, the employee is entitled to two-thirds of her salary and continuation of the contractual benefits.
Paternity Leave
- Fathers have a right to paternity leave with a minimum of 2 days of mandatory paid paternity leave
Sick Leave
- There is no statutory sick leave, but some employers grant some days of paid sick leave.
Work Hours
- In every public or private establishment, even those directed to education or charity, the legal working time of employees and workers, of whichever sex, no matter the nature of the work, cannot exceed 45 hours per week and 9 hours per day.
Overtime
- The overtime rate amounts to a percentage of the corresponding salary
- 30% for each of the first six hours worked in excess of the statutory weekly working time or the period considered equivalent;
- 60% for each of the following hours; and
- 100% for each hour of overtime performed on the weekly day of rest
Notice Period
- Unless the parties or the collective agreement stipulate a longer period, the notice period is equal to 14 working days as from the day after the notification, where the notice is given by the employer.
- This period is increased by seven working days per full year of continuous service, counted from date to date.
Severance
- There is no statutory severance pay
income tax
- The personal income tax (IPR) is calculated according to the following annual progressive tax table:
|
Taxable bracket (CDF) |
Gap (CDF) |
Rates (%) |
Tax due as per bracket (CDF) |
Cumulative tax (CDF) |
|
|
From |
To |
||||
|
0 |
1,944,000 |
1,944,000 |
3 |
5 832,00 |
5 832.00 |
|
1,944,001 |
21,600,000 |
19,655,999 |
15 |
2,948,399.85 |
2,954,231.85 |
|
21,600,001 |
43,200,000 |
21,599,999 |
30 |
6,479,999.70 |
9,434,231.55 |
|
43,200,001 |
And more |
40 |
- |
- |
|
- IPR cannot exceed 30% of the taxable salary.
- The indemnities and allowances paid to an employee in relation with the termination of one’s contract of employment are taxed to IPR at the specific rate of 10%.
- Moreover, the sums paid to casual employees (employees hired on a day-to-day basis) are subject to IPR, but at a preferential rate of 15%.
- Incomes other than salaries are not subject, in practice, to IPR.
- Moreover, foreign-sourced profits are not taxable in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
deductible expenses
- INSS contribution (employee's share only) is deductible from the IPR taxable basis.
- 2% per dependent (limited to nine dependents) may be deducted from IPR.
immigration
- The General Direction of Migration issues temporary work visas.
- To obtain a temporary work visa, the following documents must be submitted to the Direction:
-
- Work contract of the expatriate
- Proof of identity of the expatriate
- Identification picture
- Completed form provided by the Direction together with the contract between the DRC company and the foreign company
- To obtain a work permit, an authorization for a work card from the Labor Ministry is required.
- The process used to obtain temporary work visas also applies to work visas and work permits.
- This process also applies to establishment visas and multiple entry visas.
|
Type of Visa/Permit |
Documentation |
Validity |
Eligibility |
|
Temporary Work Visa |
|
3months |
|
|
Work Permit |
|
1 to 2 years |
|
value added tax
- The VAT base includes whatever sums, amounts, goods, or services that are received as compensation for an operation; this involves subsidies as well as any other costs, taxes, rights, or any related levies, whatever their nature, excluding the VAT itself.
- There are two rates:
-
- A standard rate of 16%.
- A rate of 0% on exports and assimilated transactions.
|
VAT |
|
|
Standard Rate |
16% |
|
Zero Rate |
0% |
withholding tax
Dividend
- The rate of dividend withholding tax for mining companies is 10%. A notional dividend withholding tax applies to branches (branch remittance tax).
- The rates of this tax are 8% for public limited liability companies and 10% for other limited liability companies.
Interest
- Interest on loans abroad to mining companies is not subject to withholding tax
Royalties
- The net amount of royalties is subject to tax. For this purpose, net royalties equal gross royalties minus professional expenses, or 30% of gross royalties (resulting in an effective tax rate of 14%).
Fees for Technical Services
- This withholding tax applies to payments for services provided to Congolese companies by foreign companies and individuals without a permanent establishment in the DRC.
- The tax base is the gross amount of the applicable invoice.
- The WHT on various types of payments are as follows
|
Payment |
Rate |
|
Dividends |
20% |
|
Interest |
20% |
|
Royalties from patents, know-how etc. |
20% |
|
Fees for technical services, digital services and professional activities |
14% |
termination
- In the DRC, both the employer and the employee can terminate every employment contract but termination cannot be done freely and is subject to a strict regime.
- Concerning the termination of fixed term contracts, note that these contracts always end by expiration of the term for which they were initially concluded, and any clause stipulating the possibility of giving notice is null and void.
- Therefore, every premature termination of fixed-term contracts gives rise to compensation.
- Unless the parties or the collective agreement stipulate a longer period, the notice period is equal to 14 working days as from the day after the notification, where the notice is given by the employer.
- This period is increased by seven working days per full year of continuous service, counted from date to date.
- There is no statutory severance pay
statutory benefits
- These are mandatory benefits as postulated by law
- These include probationary period, annual leave, public holidays, maternity leave, paternity leave, overtime pay, notice period, and severance pay
- Statutory benefits also include social security benefits
|
Statutory Benefits |
|
Probationary Period |
|
Annual Leave |
|
Public Holidays |
|
Maternity Leave |
|
Paternity Leave |
|
Overtime Pay |
|
Notice Period |
|
Severance Pay |
|
Social Security Benefits |
payments and invoicing
- IPR is withheld at source by the employer via the pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) system only.
- There is neither obligation nor possibility for employees to file an individual tax return and to pay IPR directly.
- In May 2015, a single tax return was instituted for declaration and payment of taxes, social contributions, and employer contributions on salaries.
- In practice, the single tax return entered into force on 31 August 2015.
- IPR is paid monthly by the employer by the 15th day of the month following the month of payment of the salary.
ease of doing business
- The ease of doing business index is an index created by Simeon Djankov, an economist at the Central and Eastern Europe sector of the World Bank Group.
- Higher rankings (a low numerical value) indicate better, usually simpler, regulations for businesses and stronger protections of property rights.
- According to the World Bank Democratic Republic of Congo ranked 183rd in the World in 2019 in terms of ease of doing business.
employer accruals
Additional information (Country Accruals)
| INSS, occupational risk | 1.50% |
| Pension | 5.00% |
| Family benefit | 6.50% |
| INPP |
3.00% |
| Description: Social and employment contributions are as follows: |
|
| National insurance fund (Institut National de Sécurité Sociale or INSS): The Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo signed the Decree n°18/041, dated 24 November 2018, fixing the rates of social contributions. These rates of social contributions are applicable to the branches of family benefits, pensions, and occupational risks. The said rates are set as follows: |
1.5% borne by the employer (branch of occupational risks). 5% borne by the employer (pension branch). 5% borne by the worker (pension branch). 6.5% exclusively borne by the employer (family benefits branch). |
| National office for professional training (Institut National de Préparation Professionnelle or INPP): INPP contribution is paid only by the employer at: |
3% for state-owned companies and private companies with up to 50 employees. 2% for private companies with 51 to 300 employees. 1% for private companies with over 300 employees. National office of employment (Office National de l’Emploi or ONEM): ONEM contribution is paid only by the employer at 0.2%. The deadline to file INSS, INPP, and ONEM returns is the 15th day of the month following the month where the salary has been paid. |
Employer Accruals Additional information
| Employment Accruals | ||
| Annual Leave | The duration of annual leave has to be of at least one day for every month of effective service, for worker over the age of 18. | This equals 3.28% (12/365 days) of annual income |
| Maternity Leave | Upon pregnancy, women have the right to suspend their work for 14 consecutive weeks, a maximum of eight weeks post pregnancy and six before childbirth. During this period, whether the child lives or not, the employee is entitled to two-thirds of her salary and continuation of the contractual benefits. |
This equals 66.6% of 26.9% (14/52 weeks) of annual income |
| Paternity Leave | Fathers have a right to paternity leave with a minimum of 2 days of mandatory paid paternity leave | This equals 0.5% (2/365 days) of annual income |
| Overtime | The overtime rate amounts to a percentage of the corresponding salary • 30% for each of the first six hours worked in excess of the statutory weekly working time or the period considered equivalent; • 60% for each of the following hours; and • 100% for each hour of overtime performed on the weekly day of rest |
Depends on the number of overtime hours worked. |
| Social Security | National insurance fund (Institut National de Sécurité Sociale or INSS): • These rates of social contributions are applicable to the branches of family benefits, pensions, and occupational risks. • The said rates are set as follows: o 1.5% borne by the employer (branch of occupational risks). o 5% borne by the employer (pension branch). o 5% borne by the worker (pension branch). o 6.5% exclusively borne by the employer (family benefits branch). National office for professional training (Institut National de Préparation Professionnelle or INPP): • INPP contribution is paid only by the employer at: o 3% for state-owned companies and private companies with up to 50 employees. o 2% for private companies with 51 to 300 employees. o 1% for private companies with over 300 employees. National office of employment (Office National de l’Emploi or ONEM): o ONEM contribution is paid only by the employer at 0.2%. |
This equals 21.2% of annual income. |
