Definitive Guide to Hiring in Equatorial Guinea

Hiring in Equatorial Guinea

Hiring employees compliantly in Equatorial Guinea means doing it yourself or using an Employer of Record like Global Expansion. You should be careful using independent contractor agreements in Equatorial Guinea so that you don’t run afoul of employment laws. To hire an employee compliantly and offer them mandatory benefits and compliant agreements, you can:

(a) Establish your own new legal entity, banking, accounting and payroll service in Equatorial Guinea; or

(b) use an Employer of Record like Global Expansion who can handle all of the details for you.

Labor Laws in Equatorial Guinea

Employment laws in Equatorial Guinea are uniquely suited to the country’s way of life, and crucial to understand if you want to employ local talent in this country. Get the details on Equatorial Guinea employment laws and Equatorial Guinea policies here.

Employee Probation Period

• Probation period is as follows: -
  • 1 month (unqualified workers)
  • 3 months (middle level technicians)
  • 6 months (seniors technicians or highly qualified workers)

Annual Leave in Equatorial Guinea

• The worker is entitled to one month of paid annual leave, for each year of continuous work.
• After 10 years of service, annual leave shall be increased one day per year worked.

Holidays in Equatorial Guinea

Workers are entitled to paid holidays during Festival (public and religious) holidays. These include memorial holidays and religious holidays (Christian origin).

Here is the full list of public holidays in Equatorial Guinea:

Maternity Leave Equatorial Guinea

• Women shall be entitled to maternity leave as from 6 weeks before the birth, after having informed the employer and presented the medical certificates attesting the pregnancy.
• Maternity leave benefits shall be paid to all women covered by the social security, during the first 6 weeks before the birth and 6 weeks after the birth.

Paternity Leave Equatorial Guinea

• There is no paternity leave

Sick Leave in Equatorial Guinea

• Employees receive sick pay after 3 days if they have contributed in the past year

Working Hours in Equatorial Guinea

• The duration of work cannot exceed 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week, of daily work
• If mixed, the duration of work cannot exceed 6 hours per day, and 36 hours per week.

Overtime in Equatorial Guinea

• Regular working time can be extended up to 2 hours per day, respecting a maximum of 200 hours per year, with the finality of performing preparatory or complementary work, which shall be accomplished outside the habitual working time, or to allow the employer to face extraordinary increase of work.
• Overtime work hours shall be paid an increase of 25% over the regular amount due for an hour of work performed during the day; and 50% over the regular amount when performed during the night, or when they constitute an extension of the mixed working time entering the night period.

Termination of Employment in Equatorial Guinea

• Article 83 of the labor law of Equatorial Guinea states that a company can terminate employment contracts due to a reduction in work force or the end of its contract.
• It also states that the Company may end the contracts of employees due to economic, technological, structural or comparable reasons.
• For redundancies the employee will receive 45 days’ pay for each year of service

Notice Period in Equatorial Guinea

• The notice period is as follows: -
  • 1 week after one month of service
  • 20 days after 6 months of service

Severance in Equatorial Guinea

• For redundancies the employee will receive 45 days’ pay for each year of service

Equatorial Guinea Salary and Wages

13th / 14th Month Salary in Equatorial Guinea

• Yes (Mandatory)
• There seems to be a statutory requirement to pay the 13th month salary equating to 15 days pay to be given before December 24th.
• The 14th month salary is also payable before the 12th of October. Both bonuses are payable after one year of service.

• Employers and employees must contribute monthly to the National Social Security Fund (INSESO) and the Work Protection Fund.
• Employer contributions are 1% of the gross salary to the Work Protection Fund and 21.5% to INSESO.
• The rates for employees are 0.5% of net salary (net after the deduction of tax and INESO contributions) to the Work Protection Fund and 4.5% of gross salary to INSESO.
• The net salary is based on the administrative practice to calculate and pay both contributions based on the gross salaries.

Immigration Equatorial Guinea

• A person who wants to enter Equatorial Guinea must apply for a temporary visa.
• This visa can be obtained by contacting an Equatorial Guinea Embassy in Belgium, Cameroon, China, Ethiopia, France, Gabon, Morocco, Nigeria, the Russian Federation, Spain or the United States.
• Foreigners who do not have an Equatorial Guinea Embassy in their countries may obtain a temporary visa in any country where an Equatorial Guinea Embassy is located.
• Tunisian and US nationals are not required to obtain visas.
• The labor ministry issues the following five types of work permits:
  • Permit A (PA) is granted to an employee who will work in a single work location for less than six months. It is not renewable.
  • Initial Permit B (IPB) is granted to an individual who will engage in an established profession, working place or activity. It is valid for one year.
  • Permit B Renewed (PBR) is granted to individuals holding IPB at the end of the validity period for IPB. It is valid for two years.
  • Permit C (PC) is granted to individuals holding PBR at the end of the validity period for PBR. It is valid for three years.
  • Permanent Permit (PP) is granted to individuals holding PC at the end of the validity period for PC.
• A company must apply for a work permit before the foreign employee begins work in Equatorial Guinea.
• An application must be filed with the employment office of the city where the employer resides or where the employment contract will be carried out.
• Before applying for a work permit, a person must apply for the authorization of recruitment.

Value Added Tax (VAT) in Equatorial Guinea

• VAT is imposed on the supply of goods or services and on imports.
• Companies engaged in business in the oil and gas sector are not subject to VAT in EG.
• The standard VAT rate is 15%.

• A zero rate applies to exports and similar transactions.
• Some products are subject to a reduced rate of 6%, others are exempt and others are assessed to a special duty tax at a rate of 30%.
• Where special duty taxes apply, the transaction will be assessed at 30% rather than the 15% VAT

Mandatory Benefits in Equatorial Guinea

• These are mandatory benefits as postulated by law
• These include probationary period, annual leave, public holidays, sick leave, maternity leave, paternity leave, overtime pay, notice period, severance pay and 13th month pay
• Mandatory benefits also include social security benefits.

Payroll Accrual in Equatorial Guinea

Country Accruals Additional Information

Description

IThe employer part of contributions to the National Institute of Social Security (INSESO for its Spanish acronym) is 21.5%. The employee part is 4.5%. The employer part of contributions to the Work Protection Fund (WPF) is 1%. The employee part is 0.5%

Payroll Accruals Additional Information

Accrued Benefits in Equatorial Guinea

Why use Global Expansion to hire in Equatorial Guinea

Establishing a branch office or subsidiary in Equatorial Guinea can be time-consuming, expensive and complex. With such a robust labor market in place, one must pay great attention to detail when structuring employment because Equatorial Guinea labor laws are complex.

The company also has a responsibility to comply with specific employment practices dictated by Equatorial Guinea law to maintain its good standing as an equal opportunity employer.

Global Expansion makes it easy for you to expand into Equatorial Guinea. We'll help you hire your candidate of choice, handle HR matters and payroll, and ensure that you comply with local laws without the burden of setting up a foreign branch office or subsidiary. In addition, you'll have complete control and direction over your employees.

We enable you to stay in control of everything. Our Equatorial Guinea Global Professional Employer Organization (PEO) and Employer of Record (EOR) solution provides you with peace of mind to focus on running your company and the security to enter new markets.