The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a Central African country in sub-Saharan Africa. While it is primarily a French-speaking country, there are more than 200 indigenous languages spoken throughout the nation. The country is considered one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of natural resources. The deposits of minerals located within the DRC’s borders are estimated by to be worth trillions of dollars. The country is also one of the world’s largest distributors of cobalt ore. The strategic location and abundant economic potential of the Democratic Republic of the Congo create opportunities for businesses considering expansion into the area.
Employment contracts should be written and contain the work hours, salary, benefits, annual leave, work conditions, details of both parties, as well as start date and end date if applicable. Employers can use daily worker employment contracts for casual labor, and these are capped at 22 days. They can also use fixed-term employment contracts, and these must include the start and end date, and cannot be longer than two years. If they extend beyond two years, it is considered an open-ended contract. Employers can use independent contracts for specific projects and this contract ends after the completion of the project.
The standard workweek is capped at 45 hours or eight hours per day. Overtime is capped at 12 hours a week or 144 hours annually, but for highly labor intensive work it rises to 130% of the basic wage for the first six hours, 160% for the following hours and double pay for work on weekends.
Sick leave is not required but some employers may grant paid sick leave.
Female employees receive 14 weeks of paid maternity leave with six weeks to be taken before the birth and a maximum of eight weeks after childbirth. Maternity leave is paid at around 66% of the employee’s basic salary.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has a minimum wage. Bonuses are not mandated by law.
Employees receive one day annual leave for every month of service if they are aged 18 or over, and one and a half days a month for those under 18 years old. After every five years of service, employees receive an extra day of annual leave.
Private health insurance is recommended.
The probation period is capped at six months. The notice period is 14 days for those who are so-called category one to category five workers for up to a year of service. This increases by seven days each year. These are ordinary laborers, skilled workers, semi-qualified workers, qualified workers and highly qualified workers, ranging from category one to category five. For managers, the notice period is three months and increases by 16 days with each year of service. For supervisors, the notice period is one month with an extra nine days per year of service.
We understand that local laws and regulations change and sourcing an accurate reference guide is not easy. Our data is researched and verified by our team of local international Employment Attorneys, HR and Benefit Professionals and Tax Accountants through our Atlas team and consultants, to ensure information up-to-date and accurate.
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