Hire Employees in the Gambia

The Gambia is a West African republic using the Gambian dalasi.

Two routes exist. A local entity gives direct employment; an Employer of Record removes that setup and acts as legal employer.

One body handles everything. The Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation describes itself as the Gambia’s sole provider of social protection services, supporting over 9,500 employers.

Established in 1981, SSHFC now operates four constituent funds: the Federated Pension Fund, the National Provident Fund and the Industrial Injuries Compensation Fund, plus the Housing Finance Fund under the SSHFC Act 2015, which has made it the largest estate developer in the country.

Which pension scheme applies determines both the rate and the base, and the two differ more than the headline suggests.

Federated Pension Scheme (FPS): 15% of gross salary, meaning basic salary plus all fixed allowances. Contribution payment is entirely the responsibility of the employer, the employer pays on the employee’s behalf and there is no employee deduction at all. SSHFC notes that management have set the rate at 15% at present.

National Provident Fund (NPF): 15% of basic salary, of which 10% is paid by the employer and 5% is deducted from the employee. SSHFC describes this as members’ savings being matched by their employers at a ratio of 1:2.

Industrial Injuries Compensation Fund (IICF): 1% of gross salary, subject to a ceiling of D15.00 for all salaries of D1,500.00 and above, also paid by the employer.

So employer cost is roughly 15% of gross under the FPS, or 10% of basic under the NPF, in each case plus a nominal injury levy.

Break-even rule of thumb: EOR fees begin to exceed the running cost of a Gambian entity somewhere between 12 and 20 employees. See EOR vs Entity.

The base difference is the point most easily missed, because both schemes are quoted at 15%.

The FPS charges on gross salary, basic plus all fixed allowances. SSHFC explains that this gives a comprehensive base so pension benefits reflect the employee’s total regular compensation rather than just the basic wage.

The NPF charges on basic salary only. Where allowances form a meaningful part of the package, the same nominal 15% produces materially less contribution, and a materially smaller pension.

The injury levy looks proportional but is not. The 1% rate applies only up to D1,500 of gross salary; the D15.00 ceiling binds at and above that point. On a D5,000 salary it is 0.3%. On D40,000 it is under 0.04%. In practice the IICF is a flat monthly charge of about twenty US cents per employee, whatever they earn.

That makes it immaterial to costing but not to compliance, registration and reporting obligations still attach to it.

Gross annual salaries in Gambian dalasi. Employer cost is shown on the FPS basis at 15% of gross; under the NPF it would be 10% of basic only.

Benchmarks below are gross annual salaries in Gambian dalasi. Employer cost depends on which pension scheme applies and on whether the base is gross or basic salary.

Payroll runs monthly, with contributions remitted to SSHFC.

Employers must register the business and all eligible employees with SSHFC, deduct employee contributions accurately and on time, and remit both employer and employee shares within the specified deadlines.

Employers must also maintain accurate payroll records and contribution documentation, inform employees of their social security rights and benefits, and report workplace accidents and occupational diseases.

Non-compliance may result in penalties, fines or legal action.

Whether anything comes off the payslip depends entirely on the scheme.

Under the Federated Pension Scheme there is no employee contribution, the employer pays the entire 15% on the employee’s behalf. Under the National Provident Fund the employee contributes 5% of basic salary.

Income tax is administered separately and withheld from salaries. Confirm the current bands with the Gambia Revenue Authority before configuring payroll.

The Labour Act 2007 governs employment conditions, wages and termination.

Confirm the current minimum wage position before setting pay, since Gambian minimum wage orders are occupation-specific and have historically been updated infrequently.

Coverage of the social security system remains limited primarily to formal sector employees, with informal sector workers having minimal protection.

Contracts should record pay, hours, leave, notice and termination terms.

State the basic salary and each fixed allowance separately. Under the NPF the split directly determines the contribution; under the FPS it does not, but the distinction matters if the scheme changes.

Register the employee with SSHFC at the point of hire.

Under the FPS, fixed allowances form part of the contribution base, so adding an allowance raises the 15% charge.

Under the NPF only basic salary counts, so an allowance-heavy package attracts proportionately less contribution.

The injury levy is unaffected either way, being capped at D15.00.

The Gambia observes public holidays including Independence Day on 18 February, alongside Islamic and Christian observances.

The Gambia observes public holidays including Independence Day on 18 February, alongside Islamic and Christian observances.

The FPS pension is paid in two parts. On retirement, 75% of total employer contributions is paid as an annuity and the remaining 25% as a lump sum. An early pension is reduced based on the age at retirement.

SSHFC describes the scheme as guaranteeing members a regular monthly income on retirement up to the time of death.

The two schemes pay survivors very differently. Under the FPS the survivor benefit is a lump sum of two times the deceased’s annual earnings, split among named survivors according to proportions the deceased stated. Under the NPF it is simply the accumulated employee and employer contributions plus accrued interest.

Cash sickness and maternity benefits operate as an employer-liability system rather than through the funds. A 2010 law extended cash maternity benefits to six months and introduced paid paternity leave of up to 10 working days.

The injuries scheme covers over 136,000 members across more than 4,790 companies, and was formally launched in 1996 after the 1990 Act replaced the Workmen’s Compensation Act of 1949.

The Labour Act 2007 sets out when severance pay is due, and one trigger is easy to overlook.

Employers must provide severance pay to employees on contracts of unlimited duration who are dismissed for economic, organisational, climatic or technical reasons, including mechanisation or automation.

Severance is also due if the place of employment moves more than 40 kilometres and the employees decline offers of employment. A relocation can therefore create a severance liability without any dismissal being intended, worth checking before moving an office or site.

Unfair dismissal can lead to reinstatement or compensation.

Confirm work authorisation before committing to a start date.

Several categories are excluded from the schemes altogether: self-employed persons, military, police and correctional personnel, household workers and family labour.

That exclusion list matters when engaging domestic staff or family members, who fall outside the system rather than simply being exempt from a rate.

Applying one scheme’s rate to the other’s base is the most likely costing error. Both are quoted at 15%, but the FPS runs on gross salary and the NPF on basic only.

Assuming an employee deduction under the FPS is the second, there is none, the employer funds the whole contribution.

Modelling the injury levy at a true 1% is the third. The D15.00 ceiling binds from D1,500 of salary, making it a flat nominal charge.

Note also the 40-kilometre relocation severance trigger; that maternity benefit runs to six months as an employer liability; and that self-employed and household workers are excluded entirely.

Confirm which pension scheme the employer falls under, and configure the correct base, gross for the FPS, basic for the NPF.

Register the business and every eligible employee with SSHFC, remit monthly, and keep contribution records against the reporting duty.

Check the 40-kilometre rule before relocating a workplace, and confirm current tax bands with the Gambia Revenue Authority.