Niger PEO & Employer of Record

WeHG provides an International PEO and global Employer of Record service in Niger to companies willing to enter the Nigerien market or hire local/expat employees in this country.

Traditional approach requires establishing a subsidiary in Niger.  Regardless of how this approach works usually, our decision helps you to start the operations in Niger in few days hence save time and money.  WeHG would hire candidates on your behalf when you keep 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.

Niger fast facts

Population, million: 23
Land area: 1,267,000 km²
Capital: Niamey
Local currency: West African CFA franc (XOF)

GDP per capita:$ 1,213
GDP in currency:$ 23.475 billion

Niger, officially Republic of Niger, French République du Niger, landlocked western African country. It is bounded on the northwest by Algeria, on the northeast by Libya, on the east by Chad, on the south by Nigeria and Benin, and on the west by Burkina Faso and Mali. The capital is Niamey. The country takes its name from the Niger River, which flows through the southwestern part of its territory. The name Niger derives in turn from the phrase gher n-gheren, meaning “river among rivers,” in the Tamashek language.

Hiring, Negotiating and Doing Business in Niger

Necessity of written employment contract

The employment contract may be oral or in writing and it may be concluded for an indefinite period or for a fixed-term period. However, when an employment contract is verbal, it is considered to be concluded for an indefinite duration. For contracts of fixed-term, the contract must be in writing.

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

There is no express statutory distinction between different categories of workers in Nigeria. The Employees Compensation Act and the Labour Act use the words “employee” and “workers”, respectively, to cover any person who is employed. However, apprentices, domestic servants and young persons are classified as special workers under the Labour Act. Young persons and women employees cannot be engaged in night work, subject to certain exceptions stated in the Labour Act. Under the Companies and Allied Matters Act, employees who own shares are referred to as employee shareholders.

An independent contractor is a person who is engaged by an employer to carry out a specific type of work. An independent contractor is not under the control of the employer and performs their job as a professional. By contrast, an employee is engaged to provide services under the control of the employer.

An employee who is misclassified as an independent contractor loses all the rights and privileges of an employee. However, a person who actually performs their job as an employee under the control of an employer will be regarded as an employee under the law, and not as an independent contractor.

Niger Employment Contract

Types of employment agreements

Types of employment agreements

• Indefinite contracts
• Fixed-term contracts

Nigerien Labour Law prohibits hiring fixed term contract workers for tasks of permanent nature. An employment contract may be concluded for an indefinite period or for a fixed term. The fixed term contract is a contract that ends on the completion of a term set by the parties when it is concluded. The Labour Code does not provided reasons for which a fixed term contract worker may be hired however, it clearly prohibits hiring of fixed term contract workers on positions connected with the normal and permanent activity of the enterprise. If such a contract is concluded, it is deemed to be concluded for indefinite period. Fixed term contracts can also be concluded for unspecified periods and these are permitted in the case of replacement of a temporarily absent worker, for the length of a season, for an occasional increase in workload or for work, which does not form part of the customary activities of the enterprise.

Niger working hours

Normal working hours are 40 hours per week (according to labor code). Normal working hours may exceed the statutory hours limit for some professions as determined in a decree to issue regulations pursuant to the Labour Code. Working hours for farmworkers are 2400 hours per year.

Overtime

Workers may be required to work beyond normal working hours. Every hour worked above the legal hours limit is considered overtime work. If a worker works beyond the stipulated working hours, i.e., 40 hours a week, he is entitled to an overtime pay according to the following schedule.

• 110% of normal hourly rate for the first eight overtime hours;
• 135% of normal hourly rate beyond 48th hour in a week

Vacation leave in Niger

The Labour Law provides for annual leave to all workers on completion of one year of service. A worker is entitled to 30 calendar days of paid annual leave at the rate of two and a half calendar days per month.

Annual leave increases with the length of service at the following rate:

• 2 additional days after 20 years of service
• 4 additional days after 25 years of service
• 6 additional days after 30 years of service

There is no provision in the law, which requires an employer to provide compensatory rest day to a worker who performs work on a weekly rest day or public holiday.

Workers may be required to work on weekly rest days and public holidays. There is a premium pay for working on Weekly Rest Day and Public Holiday. Hours worked on weekly rest day are considered overtime work and are paid accordingly. If work is performed during the daytime on a weekly rest day (Sunday) and/or a public holiday, compensation is 150% of the normal hourly wage rate and in the case of night work; compensation is 200% of the normal hourly wage rate.

Niger Maternity Leave

Female employees are entitled to 98 days (fourteen weeks) of maternity leave, including eight weeks of postnatal leave. The maternity leave can be extended by three additional weeks in case of sickness, resulting from pregnancy or confinement, duly certified by the medical physician.

Maternity leave can also be shortened. An employer is authorized to ask female worker, with her consent, to rejoin in six weeks after confinement.

There is no provision in the Labour Code on paid or unpaid paternity leave however in accordance with the Inter-Professional Collective Agreement a worker is entitled to one day of paternity leave on the child birth provided that the worker has completed 6 months of service.

Niger Severance Laws

• Notice period

Either party can terminate the employment contract by serving a notice or paying in lieu of notice. Minimum length of notice depends on the professional category of workers and is determined under the Collective Agreement. Notice period for different categories of workers is as follows:

• 8 days for non-monthly (hourly, daily or weekly) wage workers;
• 01 month for monthly paid workers;
• 1 month for supervisors and technicians;
• 3 months for executives, engineers and equivalent; and
• 3 months for senior executives

Termination of a worker is prohibited on the grounds of marital status; pregnancy; maternity leave; filing a complaint against the employer; temporary work injury or illness; race; colour; sex; religion; political opinion; social origin; nationality/national origin; age; trade union membership and activities; disabilities; and HIV status. A pregnant worker may terminate her employment contract without giving notice at any time during her pregnancy.

• Severance Pay

There is no provision for Severance Pay in the Labour Code. In accordance with the Inter-Professional Collective Agreement, a worker with at least one year of service is entitled to severance pay if he/she has not committed a serious misconduct. Severance pay is not payable when a worker is dismissed for gross misconduct.

In the case of individual dismissals, the rate of severance pay is as follows:

• 20% of average monthly salary for the first 5 years of service (6 days salary for one year of service and 1 month salary after 5 years of service)
• 30% of overall average monthly salary for each completed year from the 6th to the 10th year
• inclusive (9 days for each year of service and 45 days for 5 years);
• 35% of the overall average monthly salary per year beyond 10th year.

For a worker with 5 year of service, the severance pay would be equal 1 month salary. For 10 years of service, it would two and a half months (75 days) salary and for 14 years of service, it would be 4 months and 7 days of severance pay.

Niger Tax

The National Social Security Fund provides pensions, family allowances, sickness and maternity benefits, and workers’ compensation for employees in the private sector. These programs are financed by a 1.6% contribution from employees, and 2.4% contribution of payroll from employers. Retirement is set at ages 58–60. Civil servants participate in a national provident fund and also receive family allowances from the national government budget. These programs apply only to the minority of citizens who are formally employed, and subsistence farmers are excluded.

Health Insurance Benefits in Niger

Labour Code provides for the paid sick leave. The maximum duration of sick leave is 6 months. The monthly income during sick leave depends on length of employment with an employer:

• 1 year or less: full income for a period equal to the notice period; half income for the following month.
• 2-5 years: full income for a period equal to the notice period (minimum 1 month); half income for the
• following 3 months.
• more than 5 years: full income for a period equal to the notice period (minimum 2 months); half income for the following 4 months.

Medical benefits, including medical and surgical care, hospitalization, medicine, appliances, transportation, and rehabilitation are available for insured workers.

Employment of a worker is secure during the period of sick leave, i.e., six months. This absence is limited to six months, but can be extended until a replacement worker is hired.

Additional Benefits in Niger

In the private sector, it is common to reward employees through either contractual or discretionary bonuses. These bonuses can take any of the following forms:

• Performance bonus.
• Overtime bonus.
• Christmas bonus.
• 13th month bonus.
• Sales bonus.
• Leave allowances.
• Study allowances.

Persons who work in the public sector are not entitled to bonuses, but only to benefits either for hard work or long-term commitment to public service.

General market practice benefits/additional allowances

• Agriculture

In the field of agriculture, with 15 million ha of cultivable land, including 270.000 ha of irrigable land in the areas of Irhazer, the Niger River valley and the Komadougou-Yobe valley, outside the subsistence agriculture, Niger has a significant production of beans, onions, rice, tiger nuts, sesame, groundnuts, garlic, pepper, gum arabic, cotton etc.

• Livestock

Even if, the livestock sector contributes in a large extend to the subsistence economy, livestock and livestock related products are increasingly exported to neighbouring countries especially Nigeria and represent more than 20% of Niger’s export incomes. The livestock sector is thus a growth area with significant potential for valorisation and export of meat, dairy products, leather and other.

• Industry and handicraft

Industry and handicraft activities in Niger are mostly related to the transformation and valorisation of agro-pastoral products represent a major assets of the country’s economic development in terms growth and generation of jobs. The concerned products are i.e. ground nuts, cowpea, onion, hides and skins, meat, milk, fruit, water, cotton. Many initiatives carried out at institutional level by Government aims at promoting the sector. In recent years a series of small and medium size industries have been created.

• Mining

The mineral resources of Niger are significant: uranium (more than 300,000 tons), coal (90 million tons), iron (more than 9 billion tons), gold (more than 30 tons), phosphate (more than 1 billion tons), salt (25 million tons), limestone, gypsum etc.

Most of these resources are exploited in a certain extended. Thus, the country is the world’s fourth largest producer of uranium. But, the potentialities to develop and diversify the exploitation of Niger’s natural resources are considerable.

• Energy

Niger is the 5th sunniest country in the world. Hydropower sites on the Niger River basin could represent up to 280 MW. Thus, Niger possess invaluable potential in renewable energy. Furthermore, Niger has significant mineral coal (90 million tons), crude oil (1.18 billion barrels oil in place) and natural gas (18.6 billion m3).

• Transport and Infrastructure

In the context of the size of the territory and its geographical landlocked position, the Government of Niger has established an ambitious transport policy. This requires significant investments where several of the major projects are discussed with Niger’s international partners as well as with private operators. Among the projects can be mentioned: investments in the development of road infrastructure across the country, the rehabilitation of the airport in Niamey as well as in Zinder, Maradi and Agadez, the railway loop (Port Cotonou-Niamey­Ouagadougou-Abidjan), as well as a dry port in Dosso.

• Tourism

Niger has important cultural, fauna, archaeological and magnificent tourist resources. Never the less, during the last 10 to 20 years, the security issues have harmed significantly the tourism industry in Sahel. At the same time, the sector has benefited from an increase the so-called “business tourism” related to business or official missions as well as to the participation in conferences etc. This activity represents about 70% of the sectors turnover and has led to new private investments in hotels especially in Niamey.  With the positive development of the stability in Niger combined with the growing demand for hotels and restaurants at business standard, in coming years, the sector represents significant private sector investment opportunities.

Niger Holidays

Workers are entitled to paid holidays during Festival (public and religious) holidays. These include memorial holidays and religious holidays (Buddhist origin). Public holidays are usually 13 in number including:

• New Year’s Day (January 01)
• Monday after Easter,
• National Concord Day (April 24)
• Labour Day (May 01)
• Anniversary of the Proclamation of Independence (August 03)
• Ramadan/Aid el Fitr, Feast of Sacrifice (Aid-el-Kebir/Tabaski) Maouloud (Prophet Muhammad PBUH birthday)
• National Holiday (December 18)
• Christmas (25 December)

The public holidays determined under the Inter-Professional Collective agreement are Ascension Day, Pentecost, Assumption Day (August 15) and All Saints’ day (November 01).

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.