Morocco is a North African country, featuring rugged mountains, coastlines, the Sahara desert, and a history of independence uncommon in the region. It is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The predominant religion is Islam with Arabic and Berber as its official languages, although French is also widely used reflecting its history as a French protectorate.
The country’s climate is Mediterranean with lush forests to its north combined with the more arid inland deserts to its south. It has a diverse and relatively large regional economy, relying primarily on tourism, agriculture, telecoms, IT, and textiles. The country has emphasized investment in transportation, ports, and industrial infrastructure with the focus of positioning itself as a center for business across Africa. With a population estimated at 33 million, Morocco’s major cities include Rabat (its capital), Casablanca, Fez, and Marrakesh.
In Morocco, indefinite-term contracts are agreements for employees whose work does not fall under conditions for fixed-term or specific work contracts and are considered permanent. They are concluded for jobs of a permanent nature. Indefinite term contracts may include a probationary period. Permanent employees are entitled to severance pay upon dismissal after working 6 months with the same employer.
According to Morocco's Labor Code, indefinite-term employment contracts don't need to be in writing. Fixed-term contracts must be drawn up in writing, clearly specifying their end date or project completion condition. If the employment contract is concluded in writing, it must be drawn up in two copies, signed by the employee and the employer, and validated by the competent authority.
A written contract must specify the notice period and probationary period. Employers are also required to provide a written statement to employees at the time of hiring that includes information on working time, weekly rests, wages, etc.
While the Labor Code of Morocco does not include any provisions on non-competition clauses applicable after termination of employment, the Court of Cassation has maintained that non-competition clauses can be included in employment contracts if they are justified by the requirement to protect the employer’s interest and are limited in terms of time, geographical area, and scope of activity. Proving a violation of the agreed-upon non-competition clause makes the employee liable to their employer for the damage caused to them as a result of unfair competition. Employers can compensate the employee during the period of restriction.
In Morocco, Labor Code allows private recruitment agencies to hire employees and make them temporarily available to third-party "users" who set their tasks and control performance. A temporary employment contract can be concluded for 3 months (renewable once) or 6 months (non-renewable).
Temporary employment contracts can only be used to replace an absent or suspended employee, resolve a need for additional staff caused by a temporary increase in the business's activity, provide seasonal labor, or complete tasks not customarily considered suitable for an employment contract of an indefinite period.
The user company must take all preventive and protective measures to protect its temporary employees' health and safety.
The length of the probationary period varies according to the type of contract and depends on the category of employees.
For contracts of an indefinite duration:
Executives – 3 months
Office workers – 1.5 months
Manual workers – 15 days
For fixed-term contracts:
1 day per workweek up to 2 weeks for contracts of less than 6 months
1 month for contracts of more than 6 months.
During the probationary period, any party can terminate the employment contract of their own free will without notice or compensation. However, if an employee has worked for a week, and unless the employee committed a serious mistake, the employer has to give a notice of 2 days for daily, weekly, or fortnightly wage earners and 8 days for monthly wage earners before terminating the employment contract.
The Labor Code of Morocco stipulates that the regular hours of work must not exceed 10 hours per day. When employees are needed during periods of unusual activity or intermittent work, the workday can temporarily be extended to 12 hours. There are 44 hours in a workweek (typically 2,288 hours per year) for non-agricultural activities. For agricultural activities, the regular number of hours worked annually is 2,496.
If work is stopped collectively or partly due to an accident or force majeure, daily working hours may be extended to make up for the lost work hours. However, before doing so, employees and trade union representatives (if applicable) must be consulted. It is prohibited to work for more than 30 days in a year to make up for lost hours. Extensions cannot exceed 1 hour per day.
In Morocco, the Labor Code guarantees employees a leave of 1.5 days for each month of service after 6 months of continuous employment with the same employer, unless more favorable terms are outlined in the contract. After five years of service, the number of days of paid leave increases by 1.5 days for each full employment period of five continuous or non-continuous years, up to a total of 30 days. Minor employees under the age of 18 years are entitled to 2 days of annual leave per month. Annual leave can be divided into parts or carried over two years by agreement between the employee and the employer.
Annual leave is paid at employees' rate of usual remuneration at least the day before the leave starts.
If the employment contract is terminated before the employee could enjoy their annual leave, they are eligible to receive compensation for the remaining leave regardless of the reasons that led to the termination of the employment contract.
In Morocco, sick leave is partially paid. The Labor Code does not provide for the accrual of sick leave. The first 3 days are unpaid. From day 4 onwards, the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) pays a daily benefit equal to two-thirds of the reference daily wage. Employee must have paid at least 54 days of CNSS contributions during the 6 months preceding the start of the sickness. Short-term sickness benefits are payable for up to 52 weeks. In cases of long-term illness, benefits may be extended subject to medical re-evaluation. If the employee is absent for more than 180 consecutive days during any 1-year period, the employer is entitled to treat the employee as having resigned.
An employee who cannot work because of illness must inform the employer and justify their absence within 48 hours. A medical certificate must be provided if the absence is longer than 4 days.
The Labor Code of Morocco grants pregnant employees 14 weeks of fully paid maternity leave. The leave is expected to begin 7 weeks before the delivery date, and the remaining 7 weeks are used after birth. Maternity leave can be extended to 8 weeks before and 14 weeks after delivery if medically necessary (a medical certificate must be presented). Employees must notify their employers at least 15 days before ending their maternity leave.
The CNSS pays the maternity benefit at 100% of the employee's average daily wage during the 6 months preceding the expected delivery date, subject to a ceiling of MAD 6,000 (Moroccan Dirhams) per month. The benefit is paid for the full 14 weeks of statutory maternity leave. To qualify, the employee must have made at least 54 days of CNSS contributions during the 10 months preceding the expected delivery date.
Employers have the right to suspend the employment contract during maternity leave, but are prohibited from terminating an employee's employment contract while she is on maternity leave.
A father is entitled to 3 days of leave for a child's birth once he accepts the child's paternity. Paternity leave is fully paid and can be continuous or discontinuous. It must be taken within 1 month of birth. The leave is paid by the employer, who is reimbursed by the National Social Security Fund.
After the first week of employment, a notice period is required to terminate the employment contract. If the employee is paid by the day/week/fortnight, only 2 days' notice is required. If the employee is paid monthly, then 8 days' notice is required. When the employee is dismissed after the probationary period's expiry without serious misconduct, the notice period must be at least 8 days.
Termination without notice or before the term of expiry leads to compensation from the responsible party.
Employees are entitled to a daily break of up to 2 hours per day, not exceeding 8 hours per week, during their notice period to search for another job.
A permanent employee who has worked for at least 6 months is entitled to receive severance pay upon their dismissal as follows:
96 hours of salary for the first five years of service
144 hours of salary for the seniority period between the sixth and tenth year
192 hours of salary from 11th to 15th year of service
240 hours of salary for the service period exceeding 15 years.
Severance pay is increased by 100% for a trade union representative dismissed during their tenure. Employees dismissed for disciplinary issues are not entitled to any severance pay.
