Morocco PEO & Employer of Record

WeHG provides an International PEO and global Employer of Record service in Morocco to companies attempting to enter the Moroccan market or hire local/expat employees in this region.

Common approach requires establishing a subsidiary in Morocco.  However, our solution allows you to start the operations in Morocco within days ergo keep your time and money.  WeHG would hire candidates on your behalf while you maintain full operational control of their work. So legally they would be our employees, on our local payroll, 100% compliant but will work on your behalf.

Morocco fast facts

Population, million: 37
Land area: 710,850 km²
Capital: Rabat
Local currency: Moroccan dirham (MAD)

GDP per capita:$ 9,339
GDP in currency:$ 332.358

Morocco, mountainous country of western North Africa that lies directly across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain.

The traditional domain of indigenous peoples now collectively known as Berbers (self-name Imazighen; singular, Amazigh), Morocco has been subject to extensive migration and has long been the location of urban communities that were originally settled by peoples from outside the region. Controlled by Carthage from an early date, the region was later the westernmost province of the Roman Empire. Following the Arab conquest of the late 7th century CE, the broader area of North Africa came to be known as the Maghrib (Arabic: “the West”), and the majority of its people accepted Islam.

Hiring, Negotiating and Doing Business in Morocco

Necessity of written employment contract

It is legally required to put a written employment contract in place in Morocco, in the local language, which spells out the terms of the employee’s compensation, benefits, and termination requirements. An offer letter and employment contract in Morocco should always state the salary and any compensation amounts in Moroccan diram rather than a foreign currency.

Different forms of engagement: employment, contracting, work with private entrepreneur

Any employer wishing to employ a foreign worker must obtain authorisation from the employment authorities. This authorisation takes the form of a visa based on the employment contract.

The visa date is the date on which the employment contract comes into effect.

Entrepreneurs commonly deemed the Moroccan market to be small and difficult to access, with almost 50 percent of surveyed entrepreneurs finding the market size and demand unfavorable for doing business. Experts and entrepreneurs agree that the public market is virtually inaccessible, with opportunities reserved for larger, more established, and often international companies. Moroccan entrepreneurs who are seeking funding and attempting to procure public projects are often plagued by a perceived lack of maturity.

Morocco Employment Contract

Types of employment agreements

The employment contract form is rather rigid. Three types of contracts coexist:

1.Employment contract for an indefinite duration

2. Employment contract for a fixed duration

• the replacement of an employee by another in the case of suspension of the employment contract of the latter,
• except where the suspension is the result of a state to strike
• the temporary increase in activity of the company
• if it’s a seasonal job.
• In the agricultural sector, fixed-term contracts are for six months with the option of renewal for a total duration of two years, after
• which the contract becomes indefinite. In other sectors, fixed-term contracts have a maximum duration of one year and can only be
• renewed once. Again, after the two years the contract becomes indefinite.

3. Employment contract to carry out a specific job.

Morocco working hours

The standard work week in Morocco is 48 hours a week, or eight hours a day, Mondays to Fridays. The majority of the businesses, offices and establishments start work from 9 AM to 5 PM. Despite Morocco being a Muslim country, it does not follow the standard workweek of several Muslim nations in the Middle East, which starts on Sunday and ends on Thursday.

Overtime

Hours worked annually from 2289th hour are also considered overtime. The overtime hours are paid in one installment at the same time when wages become due.

Overtime during rest day gives rise to a salary increase of 50% over the regular rate if they are carried out between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m and 100% over the regular rate if they are carried out between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. This is in addition to compensatory rest.

Vacation leave in Morocco

Employees are entitled to paid annual leave after six months of continuous service with the same employer at the rate of 1.5 days’ leave for each month of service. Employees under 18 years of age are entitled to two days’ leave for each month of service.

During the calculation of the duration of paid annual leave, the following shall be considered:

• one month of work corresponds to 26 days of actual work;
• each period of continuous or discontinuous work of 191 hours corresponds to 1 month of work.

The entitlement is increased by one and a half calendar days for every five years of employment completed by the employee subject to a maximum of 30 calendar days.

“Actual working days” means days other than weekly rest days, paid public holidays, and public holidays in the establishment.

If the employee and the employer agree, annual leave may be split up or accumulated over two consecutive years. A partial month’s work is counted as a full month for purposes of calculating leave owed. However, the splitting of the paid annual leave cannot have the effect of reducing the duration of the employee’s annual leave to a period of less than twelve working days including two weekly days of rest. Compensatory rest days may be added to the duration of paid annual leave. The annual leave schedule must be communicated to any employee entitled to leave at least 30 days before that employee’s leave begins and must be displayed in the workplace in a location frequented by employees.

Employees are encouraged to use all of their annual leave within the given entitlement period; unused annual leave may be carried forward to the following entitlement period only.

Employees are allowed personal leave for:

• An employee’s marriage: 4 days’ leave, including 2 days’ paid leave;
• The marriage of an employee’s child or stepchild: 2 days’ leave;
• The death of an employee’s spouse, child, grandchild, parent or stepchild: 3 days leave, including 1 day paid leave;
• The death of an employee’s sibling or a sibling or parent of the employee’s spouse: 2 days leave;
• Circumcision of a child: 2 days leave; and
• A spouse or dependent child’s surgery: 2 days leave.
• The employee benefits from 1 unpaid leave of absence to take an exam, carry out a national sports course, or participate in an official international or national competition.

Morocco Maternity Leave

An employee who is pregnant is entitled to a maternity leave of 14 weeks attested by a medical certificate unless more favorable stipulations are provided in the employment contract, the collective labor agreement, or the internal regulations. Pregnant Employees cannot be employed during the period of 7 consecutive weeks following childbirth.

The employee has the right to suspend the employment contract for a period which begins seven weeks before the presumed date of childbirth and ends seven weeks after the date thereof. 

If a pathological condition, certified by a medical certificate as resulting from pregnancy or childbirth, makes it necessary to extend the period of suspension of the contract, the maternity leave is increased by the duration of this pathological condition. Such a period should not exceed 8 weeks before the expected date of delivery and 14 weeks after the date of delivery.

The employee has the right to take an additional period not to exceed 90 days beginning after the 14 weeks of Maternity leave have passed.  In order to bring up her child, the employed mother may, in agreement with her employer, benefit from an unpaid leave of one year.

When the childbirth takes place before the expected date, the period of suspension of the employment contract may be extended until the employee has exhausted the 14 weeks of suspension of the contract to which she is entitled.

Working fathers are entitled to 3 days’ paid leave for the birth of a child. These three days need not be continuous but must be taken within one month after the date of birth. In the event that the birth takes place during an employee’s rest period, as a result of paid annual leave, sickness, or accident of any kind, this period is extended by the duration of three days.

Morocco Severance Laws

Probationary periods are allowed and may be renewed once, for indefinite term contracts their initial durations are:

• 3 months for executives
• 1 1/2 months for white collar workers
• 15 days for blue collar workers

Fixed term contracts may have probationary periods of up to one day per week of the contract, with a cap of 2 weeks for contracts of less than six months and a cap of one month for contracts of longer than six months.

Employment contracts may be terminated at the end of any month as follows:

• less than one year of service: one month’s notice
• two to nine years of service: two months’ notice
• 9+ years of service: three months’ notice

On termination, employees are generally eligible for a severance payment based on their length of service and hours of pay.

Morocco Tax

Employers and employees contribute to social security. The amount ranges and can be up to 6.29% of wages for employees and up to 20.1% for the employer contribution. Some contributions are capped, but not all.

Social Security Contributions Paid By Employers: Family allocation: 6.40%

Social allocation: 8.60% (with a computation base capped at MAD 6,000)

Professional tax: 1.60%

Mandatory medical care: 4.11%.

Social Security Contributions Paid By Employees:

• Old age (3.69%)
• Sickness (0.33%)
• Healthcare (2.26%)
• Unemployment (0.19%)

totalling 6.74% of gross earnings.

Health Insurance Benefits in Morocco

Any employee who cannot work because of illness or an accident must inform the employer within 48 hours. If the absence extends more than 4 days, the employee must notify the employer of the probable duration of the absence and provide a medical certificate justifying it. The employer may require that the employee be examined by a doctor of the employer’s choice at the employer’s expense.

If an absence due to illness or accident other than an occupational disease or accident extends over 180 consecutive days or if an employee becomes unfit to continue work, the employee can be considered to have resigned.

Sick leave benefits are paid by the National Social Security Fund. To qualify, an employee must have paid into the social security system for at least 54 days over the six months before the illness, although if the absence is because of a non-­occupational accident, this requirement is waived. 

Additional Benefits in Morocco

Common employee benefits in Morocco include:

• Company pensions
• Additional vacation
• Child care allowance
• Transportation allowance
• Supplemental insurance
• Fitness allowance
• Training

General market practice benefits/additional allowances

The Kingdom of Morocco offers many advantages to foreign investors and entrepreneurs. A popular tourist destination, Morocco is home to magnificent landscapes, warm weather and beautifully preserved architecture and culture. Morocco’s strong tourist industry and flourishing economy is attracting an increasing number of companies doing business in Morocco. Below are some of the key benefits of doing business in Morocco.

PROACTIVE BUSINESS CLIMATE

With the help of international organisations such as the IMF and the World Bank, Morocco has worked hard to develop its economy over the last few years. The country is now open to the international market and is a major trade partner for France and Spain. Morocco’s GDP steadily rose by almost 4.5% every year since 2000 which is a better result than most European countries. Telecommunications and other IT infrastructures are developing fast and the network in major cities is composed of almost 100% fibre optics links, giving Morocco a modern and innovative edge.

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION

Morocco shares borders with Algeria, the Western Sahara and the Northern Atlantic Ocean. Morocco’s north coast is on the Mediterranean Sea, a short distance from Spain and France making it easier to access Europe. With approximately 1,835 kilometres (CIA Factbook) of coastline, Morocco is a great location for transnational merchandise fleet. Morocco counts 24 ports which manage for 98% of the country’s external trade.

INCREASINGLY EDUCATED WORKFORCES

King Mohammed VI and his government have made education one of their priorities and deployed strategies to modernise and enhance the quality of education since 2005. Morocco counts several high ranked universities which have developed key partnerships with Canada and European schools. These improvements in the education field create new business opportunities for foreign investors as there is now a more skilled workforce they can rely on when setting up business operations or outsourcing activities to Morocco.

STABLE GOVERNMENT

Since the country achieved its independence from France in 1954, Morocco has experienced a long period of peace and stability. Successive administrations since have focused on developing the economy and the welfare of Morocco and its citizens. This stability is reassuring for foreign investors as there is less risk of their investments being jeopardised by a military coup, riots or political uproar.

These benefits of doing business in Morocco as well as many others mean that global organisations can take advantage of this fast developing and ideally located country. Harnessing the benefits, however, requires an understanding of the cultural differences and their impact on the professional environment in Morocco. Communicaid’s cross cultural training programmes such as Living and Working in Morocco or Doing Business in Morocco can help you to adapt quickly to Moroccan business and social culture and allow you to take advantage of the benefits of doing business in Morocco.

Morocco Holidays

There are 13 national public holidays in Morocco, four of which are Muslim holidays that do not have fixed dates. The employee is eligible for paid holiday rest if he is employed immediately before the holiday or during the thirteen days of the month preceding the holiday. The holidays are:

• Jan. 1: New Year’s Day
• Jan. 11: Anniversary of the Manifesto of Independence
• May 1: Labor Day
• July 30: Throne Day
• Aug. 14: Oued Ed-­Dahab Day
• Aug. 20: Revolution of the King and People Day
• Aug. 21: Birthday of King Mohammed VI (Feast of Youth)
• Nov. 6: Feast of the Green March
• Nov. 18: Independence Day
• Date Varies: Islamic New Year
• Date Varies: Birthday of the Prophet
• Date Varies: Eid al ­Fitr (the end of Ramadan)
• Date Varies: Eid al ­Adha (Feast of Abraham’s Sacrifice)

Why Choose WeHireGlobally

WeHG takes care of all the onboarding hurdles, payroll, compensation and benefits, tax filing, and termination of employment. Our Employer of Record solution allows you to manage your overseas teams efficiently while minimizing cost and risk.