REPUBLIC OF ANGOLA

Angolan employment law offers strong protection to employees. Termination of a contract is subject to strict rules and an employee can be dismissed based only on either serious infringement by the employee or an objective and economic reason that is not the fault of the employer and renders it impossible for the employment relationship to continue. Thus, employment litigation is common, as employees enjoy a wide set of rights. In addition, a company’s HR department must fulfil many administrative and reporting duties; failure to do so may expose the company to fines.

The new General Labour Law (7/15) recently enacted, repealing the former General Labour Law (2/00). The new law came into force on September 2015 and sets out substantially different rules regarding aspects of the employment relationship.

The General Labour Law uses the concept of micro, small, medium and large companies to differentiate the legal rules applicable to various aspects of the employment relationship. The law states that micro, small and medium companies are subject to more flexible work rules and more efficient and cost-effective work standards. For example, micro, small and medium companies may enter into fixed-term employment contracts with a maximum duration of 10 years, unlike large companies, which can enter into contracts of up to five years only.

The new law is also designed to reduce certain labour costs (overtime premiums) and compensation in case of termination.

At present, the General Labour Law (7/15) is the main statute that governs aspects of the employment relationship. There is also other derivative legislation on various lateral aspects of the employment relationship.

The recruitment and hiring of foreign non-resident (expatriate) employees is subject to the following specific legislation:

Decree 5/95;

the Regulations on the Exercise of Professional Activities by Foreign Non-resident Employees (Decree 6/01);

the Visa Law (2/07); and

the Visa Law Regulations (Presidential Decree 108/11).

Collective labour law is governed by the following statutes:

the Trade Union Law (21-C/92);

the Law on the Right to Collective Bargaining (20-A/92); and

the Strike Law (23/91).

The General Labour Law (7/15) exclude from the scope of application the following categories of worker:

• Employees hired on a permanent basis by the diplomatic or consular representatives of other countries, or at the service of international organisations, who perform their activities within the scope of the Vienna Convention;
• Members of cooperatives and non-governmental organisations whose employment is regulated by the organisation’s articles of association or, if there are none, by the Commercial Law;
• Family employees;
• Occasional workers;
• Consultants and members of the administration or directorship bodies of companies or social organisations provided that they carry out only tasks that are inherent to such positions without any subordination pursuant to an employment contract; and
• Public servants or employees performing their professional activity within the public, central or local administration, in a public institution or in another government agency.
• Foreign non-resident (expatriate) employees are subject to specific statutes; however, the General Labour Law applies to them on a complementary basis.

The General Labour Law (7/15) defines an ‘employment contract’ as “a contract whereby an employee undertakes to make available his professional activity to an employer’s benefit, within its relevant organization and under its guidance and authority, in consideration for remuneration”. The definition of ‘employee’ is set out in Article 3.27 of the same law: “Any natural person, national or foreign resident, who freely undertakes to make his professional activity available to an employer, in consideration for remuneration, within the employer’s organization and under its authority and guidance.”

Under Article 1154 of the Civil Code, a ‘services agreement’ is the “agreement whereby one of the parties undertakes to make available the result of his/her intellectual or manual work, with or without pay”.

There is a distinction drawn between local and foreign workers. National and foreign resident employees (foreign citizens holding a residency permit) are subject to the same rules on recruitment, hiring and termination as set out by the General Labour Law (2/00). Foreign non-resident employees (foreign citizens holding a work visa) may be hired only on a fixed-term basis (ranging from three to 36 months) and are subject to recruitment and hiring requirements, plus specific immigration restrictions.

Background checks can be carried out under the following circumstances;

(a) Criminal records.

The employer may request the employee to present a copy of his or her up-to-date criminal record if the position requires the employee’s record to be pre-screened.

(b) Medical history.

Employers are required to request employees to present copies of their vaccination cards to confirm compliance with the national vaccination programme, yellow fever for instance.

The employer may submit employees to pre-employment medical examinations and regular medical examinations. The employer can define the medical and physical requirements for the performance of a job and the examinations needed to assess employees’ fitness. The employer may require employees to present information on their medical history to the medical professional carrying out the examinations and testing. The employer must have access to the medical certificate confirming the employee’s fitness for work, which must be available for audit by the General Inspectorate of Labour.

(c) Drug screening.

Drug screening is allowed in the context of pre-employment and regular medical examinations. Invasive testing (blood tests) are subject to particular requirements.

(d) Credit checks.

An employer can ask employees to declare their credit status during the recruitment process for positions which require a positive credit status. Credit checks with third-party authorities, banks and other credit institutions are not allowed, as this is considered to be privileged and confidential personal information.

(e) Immigration status.

An employer is required to confirm the nationality and immigration status of all employees.

(f) Social media.

An employer may look into employees’ social media use if the employees agree, in line with the Angolan data protection laws and the site rules.

(g) Other.

Other background checks and enquiries must be based on the need of the employer to confirm an employee’s suitability for the job. The employer must adhere to non-discriminatory principles and ensure that the employee’s personal information is processed under the applicable data protection laws.

The Minimum wage and Work hours

The national minimum wage is set according to industry sector. Presidential Decree 144/14 (June 9 2013) established the following values for the national minimum wage:

• commerce and mining – Kz22,504.50 (approximately $230);
• transport, services and manufacturing – Kz18,754 (approximately $190); and
• agriculture – Kz15,003 (approximately $160).

The maximum normal working hours are 44 hours a week and eight hours a day, Monday to half-day Saturday.

The daily work limits may also be extended:

Working hours exceeding these limits are deemed to be overtime.

Paid Holiday. Under the General Labour Law, employees are entitled to 22 days of paid holiday a year.

When an employee starts a new job, the holiday allowance for the first year of employment corresponds to two working days for each month of work, with a minimum of six working days. Under the new General Labour Law (7/15), the right to holiday in the year of starting work matures on January 1 of the following year and holiday can be taken only once the employee has worked for six months

Payroll and payment methods must be maintained by the Employer.  The Employer keeps a record of all payslips tax and social security payments on file.

Notice of Termination.  The Employer may not serve a notice period.  For a fixed term contract, the employer must serve two weeks written notice prior to contract expiration.

Employer of Record for Angola

Although an Employer of Record often works with a staffing agency, the two are separate business entities. Each has specific roles and responsibilities in their symbiotic relationship.

Purpose

An employer of record serves as an employer for tax purposes while an employee performs work for the client, such as a staffing firm or other business. An employer of record handles all personnel functions, including payroll processing and funding; tax deposits and filing; and employment contracts and paperwork. Maintaining a Certificate of Insurance, and Verification forms; unemployment insurance; and workers’ compensation are done. An employer of record also performs background checks and drug screenings; administers benefits; terminates employees; and may handle worker issues. Conversely, a staffing firm recruits employees and assigns them to businesses for worker absences, temporary skill shortages, seasonal work, or special projects. Their main focus is to match temporary, temp-to-hire, long-term, or permanent workers with clients in need.

Benefits

Using an employer of record allows the client company to free up time and cost-effectively outsource its necessary human resource functions, employee benefits, payroll, workers’ compensation, and compliance issues. The money saved by outsourcing these functions can be used to expand the business, provide steady income for the owner, or fill a variety of other purposes. Onboarding quality talent is done quickly by an employer of record so clients can quickly ramp up staff and staffing agencies can deliver top quality workers to their clients. Most staffing agency owners don’t have the HR training, payroll and accounting skills, compliance knowledge, or risk management, insurance, and employee benefits background to meet the demands of being an employer.

Responsibilities and Liabilities

The client company or staffing agency owner retains control over business operations and responsibility for workplace safety and compliance. The employer of record assumes responsibilities and liabilities for employment issues such as administration, payroll, taxes, benefits, and maintaining employee records. Because the employer of record assumes most of the responsibility for compliance and tax laws, the client or staffing services owner receives peace of mind, knowing their business is being taken care of by qualified professionals.

Whereas an employer of record and staffing agency often work together, they have diverse purposes in the workplace.

Employ Africa can you support the Payroll & Tax Compliance of all your expatriate and local Staff & Contractors in Angola. Payroll for locals is calculated and paid in Angolan kwanza.

Payroll for expatriate personnel is typically administered in United States Dollars (USD).

For all income derived from carrying out an assignment in Angola, income tax is payable to the Ministry of Finance at the prescribed rates for either resident or Non-resident Employees. Taxes are deducted from the Employee’s salary/wages at source and paid over to the Finance Ministry on a Monthly basis in line with the Angolan tax regulations.

At the end of each tax year, or at the termination of the Employment (Whichever is the earliest) a statement of earnings for the current tax year must be provided to the employee to include with their tax return in their home country.

2017/8 PAYE Rates

In Angola there are three income Groups:

Group A: Income earned by dependent employees.

Group B: Income earned by self-employed workers, company directors, as well as board members.

Group C: Income earned by individuals carrying out an industrial or commercial activity listed in the minimum profits table in force, presently foreseen in the Executive Decree No. 15/09, of 3 March.

Self-employed workers (Group B) are taxed at a flat rate of 15{8870c2225e05d1feea6df94638aa7ff56b3555cf8fa8f542e1293bebc40085d1} 

Individuals carrying out an industrial or commercial activity (Group C) are taxed at a flat rate of 30{8870c2225e05d1feea6df94638aa7ff56b3555cf8fa8f542e1293bebc40085d1} or 6.5{8870c2225e05d1feea6df94638aa7ff56b3555cf8fa8f542e1293bebc40085d1}.

For Group A there are progressive income tax rates as follows:

SSC – Social Security Contribution

Social security contributions amounts to 11{8870c2225e05d1feea6df94638aa7ff56b3555cf8fa8f542e1293bebc40085d1} of the employee’s salary. The employer is liable for 8{8870c2225e05d1feea6df94638aa7ff56b3555cf8fa8f542e1293bebc40085d1}, whilst employees are liable for 3{8870c2225e05d1feea6df94638aa7ff56b3555cf8fa8f542e1293bebc40085d1}.

Angolan employment law offers strong protection to employees. Termination of a contract is subject to strict rules and an employee can be dismissed based only on either serious infringement by the employee or an objective and economic reason that is not the fault of the employer and renders it impossible for the employment relationship to continue. Thus, employment litigation is common, as employees enjoy a wide set of rights.

In addition, a company’s HR department must fulfil many administrative and reporting duties; failure to do so may expose the company to fines.

The new General Labour Law (7/15) recently enacted, repealing the former General Labour Law (2/00). The new law came into force on September 2015 and sets out substantially different rules regarding aspects of the employment relationship.

The General Labour Law uses the concept of micro, small, medium and large companies to differentiate the legal rules applicable to various aspects of the employment relationship. The law states that micro, small and medium companies are subject to more flexible work rules and more efficient and cost-effective work standards. For example, micro, small and medium companies may enter into fixed-term employment contracts with a maximum duration of 10 years, unlike large companies, which can enter into contracts of up to five years only.

The new law is also designed to reduce certain labour costs (overtime premiums) and compensation in case of termination.

At present, the General Labour Law (7/15) is the main statute that governs aspects of the employment relationship. There is also other derivative legislation on various lateral aspects of the employment relationship.

The recruitment and hiring of foreign non-resident (expatriate) employees is subject to the following specific legislation:

Decree 5/95;

the Regulations on the Exercise of Professional Activities by Foreign Non-resident Employees (Decree 6/01);

the Visa Law (2/07); and the Visa Law Regulations (Presidential Decree 108/11).

Collective labour law is governed by the following statutes:

the Trade Union Law (21-C/92);

the Law on the Right to Collective Bargaining (20-A/92); and

the Strike Law (23/91).

The General Labour Law (7/15) exclude from the scope of application the following categories of worker:

• Employees hired on a permanent basis by the diplomatic or consular representatives of other countries, or at the service of international organisations, who perform their activities within the scope of the Vienna Convention;
• Members of cooperatives and non-governmental organisations whose employment is regulated by the organisation’s articles of association or, if there are none, by the Commercial Law;
• Family employees;
• Occasional workers;
• Consultants and members of the administration or directorship bodies of companies or social organisations provided that they carry out only tasks that are inherent to such positions without any subordination pursuant to an employment contract; and
• Public servants or employees performing their professional activity within the public, central or local administration, in a public institution or in another government agency.
• Foreign non-resident (expatriate) employees are subject to specific statutes; however, the General Labour Law applies to them on a complementary basis.

The General Labour Law (7/15) defines an ‘employment contract’ as “a contract whereby an employee undertakes to make available his professional activity to an employer’s benefit, within its relevant organization and under its guidance and authority, in consideration for remuneration”. The definition of ‘employee’ is set out in Article 3.27 of the same law: “Any natural person, national or foreign resident, who freely undertakes to make his professional activity available to an employer, in consideration for remuneration, within the employer’s organization and under its authority and guidance.”

Under Article 1154 of the Civil Code, a ‘services agreement’ is the “agreement whereby one of the parties undertakes to make available the result of his/her intellectual or manual work, with or without pay”.

There is a distinction drawn between local and foreign workers. National and foreign resident employees (foreign citizens holding a residency permit) are subject to the same rules on recruitment, hiring and termination as set out by the General Labour Law (2/00). Foreign non-resident employees (foreign citizens holding a work visa) may be hired only on a fixed-term basis (ranging from three to 36 months) and are subject to recruitment and hiring requirements, plus specific immigration restrictions.

Background checks can be carried out under the following circumstances;

(a) Criminal records.

The employer may request the employee to present a copy of his or her up-to-date criminal record if the position requires the employee’s record to be pre-screened.

(b) Medical history.

Employers are required to request employees to present copies of their vaccination cards to confirm compliance with the national vaccination programme, yellow fever for instance.

The employer may submit employees to pre-employment medical examinations and regular medical examinations. The employer can define the medical and physical requirements for the performance of a job and the examinations needed to assess employees’ fitness. The employer may require employees to present information on their medical history to the medical professional carrying out the examinations and testing. The employer must have access to the medical certificate confirming the employee’s fitness for work, which must be available for audit by the General Inspectorate of Labour.

(c) Drug screening.

Drug screening is allowed in the context of pre-employment and regular medical examinations. Invasive testing (blood tests) are subject to particular requirements.

(d) Credit checks.

An employer can ask employees to declare their credit status during the recruitment process for positions which require a positive credit status. Credit checks with third-party authorities, banks and other credit institutions are not allowed, as this is considered to be privileged and confidential personal information.

(e) Immigration status.

An employer is required to confirm the nationality and immigration status of all employees.

(f) Social media.

An employer may look into employees’ social media use if the employees agree, in line with the Angolan data protection laws and the site rules.

(g) Other.

Other background checks and enquiries must be based on the need of the employer to confirm an employee’s suitability for the job. The employer must adhere to non-discriminatory principles and ensure that the employee’s personal information is processed under the applicable data protection laws.

The Minimum wage and Work hours

The national minimum wage is set according to industry sector. Presidential Decree 144/14 (June 9 2013) established the following values for the national minimum wage:

• commerce and mining – Kz22,504.50 (approximately $230);
• transport, services and manufacturing – Kz18,754 (approximately $190); and
• agriculture – Kz15,003 (approximately $160).

The maximum normal working hours are 44 hours a week and eight hours a day, Monday to half-day Saturday.

The daily work limits may also be extended:

Working hours exceeding these limits are deemed to be overtime.

Paid Holiday. Under the General Labour Law, employees are entitled to 22 days of paid holiday a year.

When an employee starts a new job, the holiday allowance for the first year of employment corresponds to two working days for each month of work, with a minimum of six working days. Under the new General Labour Law (7/15), the right to holiday in the year of starting work matures on January 1 of the following year and holiday can be taken only once the employee has worked for six months

Payroll and payment methods must be maintained by the Employer.  The Employer keeps a record of all payslips tax and social security payments on file.

Notice of Termination.  The Employer may not serve a notice period.  For a fixed term contract, the employer must serve two weeks written notice prior to contract expiration.

Employer of Record for Angola Africa

Although an Employer of Record often works with a staffing agency, the two are separate business entities. Each has specific roles and responsibilities in their symbiotic relationship. We handle Employer of Record and Payroll in Africa.

Purpose

An employer of record serves as an employer for tax purposes while an employee performs work for the client, such as a staffing firm or other business. An employer of record handles all personnel functions, including payroll processing and funding; tax deposits and filing; and employment contracts and paperwork. Maintaining a Certificate of Insurance, and Verification forms; unemployment insurance; and workers’ compensation are done. An employer of record also performs background checks and drug screenings; administers benefits; terminates employees; and may handle worker issues. Conversely, a staffing firm recruits employees and assigns them to businesses for worker absences, temporary skill shortages, seasonal work, or special projects. Their main focus is to match temporary, temp-to-hire, long-term, or permanent workers with clients in need.

Benefits

Using an employer of record allows the client company to free up time and cost-effectively outsource its necessary human resource functions, employee benefits, payroll, workers’ compensation, and compliance issues. The money saved by outsourcing these functions can be used to expand the business, provide steady income for the owner, or fill a variety of other purposes. Onboarding quality talent is done quickly by an employer of record so clients can quickly ramp up staff and staffing agencies can deliver top quality workers to their clients. Most staffing agency owners don’t have the HR training, payroll and accounting skills, compliance knowledge, or risk management, insurance, and employee benefits background to meet the demands of being an employer.

Responsibilities and Liabilities

The client company or staffing agency owner retains control over business operations and responsibility for workplace safety and compliance. The employer of record assumes responsibilities and liabilities for employment issues such as administration, payroll, taxes, benefits, and maintaining employee records. Because the employer of record assumes most of the responsibility for compliance and tax laws, the client or staffing services owner receives peace of mind, knowing their business is being taken care of by qualified professionals.

Whereas an employer of record and staffing agency often work together, they have diverse purposes in the workplace.