With a population of over 10 million people, Benin remains an underdeveloped country that depends on cotton as its main export. Cotton alone accounts for 40% of the country’s GDP making agriculture the leading economic sector followed by industry and service sectors. The country relies mainly on Nigeria as its primary trading partner. Although Benin has gone through substantial economic growth, it is ranked as one of the poorest nations despite being the largest cotton producer in the world. Benin has also seen political stability since the end of its Marxist-Leninist regime in 1989. Having won the 2016 elections, Patrice Talon, a multi-millionaire in the cotton industry, adopted different strategies to make cotton production thrive. His government focused on 45 projects aimed at improving the general living conditions of citizens. Cultural practices in Benin vary depending on the tribe. For example, each tribe has different attire worn during special occasions like weddings, funerals, and other local festivals.
In Benin, employment contracts are presumed to be for an indefinite duration unless concluded otherwise. Verbal and implicit conclusions of indefinite term contracts are permissible by law. If an employment contract is ambiguous regarding its duration, the courts will interpret the contract in a manner most favorable to the employee (e.g., an indefinite contract in lieu of a fixed-term contract). The employment contract for an indefinite period may only be terminated on the grounds provided by the Labor Code. An employer who attempts to use successive fixed-term contracts or any other contractual devices to evade this requirement will ultimately fail, as the Court will examine the reality of the relationship rather than the terms of the contract.
According to the laws of Benin, the following types of employment contracts must be written:
Apprenticeship contracts
Fixed-term contracts exceeding 1 month
Contracts for work to be done outside of the employee’s residence
Contracts with immigrant workers
Contracts including a stipulated trial period
These contracts are renewable indefinitely; however, if the contract is renewed for a fourth time, the employer may not terminate the employee without paying an indemnity. Further, after the fourth renewal, if the employer chooses not to renew the contract further, the employee will be entitled to notice and severance pay.
Employers may hire workers for a specified period of time or for a specified task. Once the stipulated time has elapsed or the task is completed, the employment contract automatically concludes.
Seasonal, temporary, and casual workers are engaged under a fixed-term contract of no more than 6 months, which may be renewed. When casual employees are hired for 1 month or more, the employment contract must be in writing. The general rules on renewing a fixed-term contract do not apply to the following workers:
those engaged for a short assignment of no more than 1 day;
seasonal workers engaged for an agricultural, commercial, industrial, or artisanal season;
workers engaged in handling work inside a port or airport; and
workers engaged to temporarily replace an employee whose contract is legally suspended.
When a temporary worker has worked for more than 6 months, and the contract has not been renewed, the worker automatically becomes an employee on an indefinite-term contract.
Employment contracts for a definite or indefinite duration may stipulate a trial period (or probationary period). The purpose of the trial period is to observe whether an employee is suited to the work for which they were hired. If an employer wishes to subject an employee to a trial period, it must be made in writing in the employment contract. The employee must be paid according to the contract during the trial period, which may only last as long as necessary to determine the employee's suitability for the work. During the trial period, either the employer or the employee may terminate without notice or indemnity at any time.
When the employment contract is indefinite, the trial period may not exceed 15 days for employees who are paid on an hourly or daily basis. For employees who are paid monthly, the trial period may not exceed 1 month, and for employees at the managerial or director level, it may not exceed 3 months.
The maximum working time is 40 hours per week, with the exception of agriculture, where the legal limit is 2,400 hours per year. Workers employed for only part of the year may not work more than 50 hours per week.
All workers are entitled to 24 working days of paid annual leave, at the rate of 2 days per month, upon completion of 1 year's service. Annual leave increases with the length of service, at the following rate:
By 2 working days after 20 years of continuous service in the same company
By 4 working days after 25 years of service
By 6 working days after 30 years of service
The cumulative duration of leave may not exceed 30 working days for 12 months of work. The leave has to be taken in the following 12 months.
Young employees under the age of 18 are entitled to 30 days, and those under 21 years are entitled to 24 days of paid annual leave, irrespective of the length of service.
Employees in Benin are entitled to paid sick leave, depending on the length of service:
Under 1 year of service – 1 month leave with 100% salary
1 to 5 years of service – 3 months leave with 100% salary and 3 months with 50% of salary
More than 5 years of service – 6 months' leave with 100% salary
Female employees are entitled to 14 weeks of maternity leave with full pay 6 weeks before and 8 weeks after childbirth. It can be extended by 4 weeks in the case of a duly diagnosed illness resulting either from pregnancy or from birth.
All employed women and spouses of employed men are entitled to prenatal allowance and childbirth allowance paid by the National Social Security Fund of Benin.
Employers cannot dismiss pregnant employees, except for gross misconduct and under circumstances in which it is impossible to maintain the contract. Any dismissal in violation of this rule will lead to damages worth 12 months' salary to be paid to the employee.
Paternity leave is not clearly provided under the Benin Labor Code, but the Collective Labor Agreement provides for 3 paid leave days for birth at home, which can be taken as paternity leave by fathers. Employees must notify their employer in advance for taking this leave.
The Labor Code of Benin states that if a contract of employment is being terminated, notice must be given as follows by the party who initiates it:
15 days for employees paid by the hour
1 month for other employees and workers
3 months for supervisors and managers
Termination of the contract may occur without notice in the event of gross negligence, depending on how serious the offense is.
During notice, both parties are responsible for all obligations incumbent on them. Employees benefit from 2 days off per week to look for a new job. In case of dismissal without notice, the responsible party must pay the other party an indemnity, the amount of which corresponds to the remuneration and benefits of any kind which benefited the worker during the notice period, which was not effectively respected. Should the employee find new employment before the end of the notice period, the employer and employee may agree to terminate the employment without penalty to either party, provided that the termination occurs before the end of the notice period. If the employee does not utilize the 2 days per week for their job search, the employer must pay a supplement to compensate the employee for those unused leave days.
The Labor Code expressly provides that employees under a fixed-term contract that lasted 6 months or more are entitled to an indemnity paid by the employer upon the expiration of the contract when the contract is not renewed or replaced by an indefinite work contract.
The General Collective Agreement of 2020 provides that severance pay for individual dismissals is paid at the following rate: 30% of the overall average monthly salary for each year of the first 5 years; 35% from the sixth to the tenth year inclusive; 40% per year beyond the tenth year.
For collective dismissals, the rate of severance pay is 35%, 40%, and 45%, respectively, for tenure, as above.
Employees dismissed due to gross misconduct are not entitled to receive severance benefits.
