Tunisia PEO & Employer of Record

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

Traditional approach requires establishing a subsidiary in Tunisia.  Meanwhile, our solution affords you to set up the operations in Tunisia within days and provides you with money- and time-saving simultaneously.  WeHG would hire candidates on your behalf when 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.

Tunisia fast facts

Population, million: 11
Land area: 163,610 km²
Capital: Tunis
Local currency: Tunisian dinar (TND)

GDP per capita:$ 13,417
GDP in currency:$ 159.707 billion

Tunisia, country of North Africa. Tunisia’s accessible Mediterranean Sea coastline and strategic location have attracted conquerors and visitors throughout the ages, and its ready access to the Sahara has brought its people into contact with the inhabitants of the African interior.

Hiring, Negotiating and Doing Business in Tunisia

Necessity of written employment contract

In Tunisia, employment contracts can be oral or written, but it is best practice to put a strong, written contract in place, in Arabic, which spells out the terms of the employee’s compensation, benefits, and termination requirements. An offer letter and employment contract in Tunisia should always state the salary and any compensation amounts in Tunisian Dinar rather than a foreign currency.

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

Citizens of several countries, including the United States and member states of the European Union (EU), are free to visit Tunisia for up to 90 days without a visa. Foreign nationals who are not from visa-exempt countries will need to obtain a short-stay visa for temporary visits under 90 days, such as business trips and conferences.

Any foreign national who intends to remain in Tunisia for more than 90 days will need to apply for a long-stay visa and obtain a temporary residence permit upon arrival in Tunisia, including citizens of visa-exempt countries.

There are several types of Tunisian visas:

• Tunisia short-stay visa

The Tunisia short-stay visa is issued for any purpose which does not require you to stay in Tunisia for longer than 90 days. Additionally, you cannot take gainful employment with a Tunisia short-stay visa.

• Tunisia long-stay visa

The Tunisian Return Visa is issued to Tunisian permanent residence permit holders who want to leave Tunisian territory for longer than six months.

• Tunisia Exit Visa

If you are living in Tunisia with a temporary residence permit, you must obtain an Exit Visa before you leave the country. It is the Tunisian General Directorate of National Security who is in charge of issuing the exit visa.

• Tunisia Transit Visa

You need a Tunisia transit visa if you are a visa-required national and will enter Tunisian territory on your way to a third country. The Tunisian Transit Visa allows the holder to transit in Tunisia for a maximum of seven days.

Tunisia Employment Contract

Types of employment agreements

In Tunisia, the employment contract is principally governed by the employment law and the sectoral collective agreements. The contract may be of a determined or undetermined duration. It can take the form either of a full-time or a part-time contract. Each type of contract has got specific settings. The sectorial collective agreements provide further variations. They base some legal arrangements depending on the employee’s classification such as: senior executive, managerial agent, or officer.

Tunisia working hours

A work week is 5 days and should not exceed 48 hours.

Overtime

A workday should not exceed 10 hours per day or 60 hours per week.

Vacation leave in Tunisia

Employees receive one vacation day per month. After one year of work, they will accumulate 12 vacation days.

Tunisia Maternity Leave

Female employees receive 3o days of leave. In order to receive 66.7% of their daily earnings, the employee must have contributed to social insurance for at least 80 days in the four quarters leading up to the birth.

Tunisia Severance Laws

• Termination Process

For an employer to terminate an employer, they must present a significant and just cause. Before the dismissal, the employee has the right to appeal their case before a discipline council.

• Notice Period

One month’s notice period should be given in writing.

• Severance Pay

Employees are entitled to severance pay unless they have been terminated for misconduct. Payment is calculated as one day’s pay for each month of employment. The maximum amount of severance is three months’ pay.

• Probation Period

Depending on the type of employment probation period ranges from 6 to 9 months.

Tunisia Tax

The Tunisian social security system is financed by contributions from both employers (16.57%, reduced to 0.5% for wholly industrial exporting companies) and employees (9.18%) based on salaries. Employers collect and pay the social security contributions from each wage-earner.

For individuals carrying out independent activities, they may opt freely for one social regime among the regimes made available by the social authorities.

Health Insurance Benefits in Tunisia

For an employee to receive sickness benefit, they must have at least 50 days of covered employment in the last two quarters or 80 days in the last fourth quarters before sickness began.  The insured employee receives 66.7% of their daily average earnings for 180 days after a five-day waiting period. For up to 180 days a year for each next year, they receive 50%.

Additional Benefits in Tunisia

Tunisia does not have one national minimum wage. Instead, Tunisia compensation laws vary based on sector. For example, the minimum wage is 340 Tunisian dinars a month for a 48-hour workweek and 290 dinars a month for a 40-hour workweek for employees in the industrial sector. Agricultural workers make 9–14 dinars a day but also receive transportation and family allowances.

Once you create your Tunisia benefits management plan, you need to disperse the benefits to employees. Instead of simply giving out the statutory minimums, you can make a positive impression with employees by providing additional benefits not required by law. Try giving out performance-based bonuses or providing a private health insurance plan. In a predominantly Muslim nation, you should also look at giving employees paid time off to complete the Hajj at least once in their lifetime.

General market practice benefits/additional allowances

The Tunisian legislation grants:

• freedom of investment in most sectors
• freedom of repatriation of profits and capital gains
• simplified administrative procedures
• ease of import and export
• protection of intellectual property
• protection of foreign investors.

Multiple incentives and benefits

Tunisia is a valuable destination for foreign investment thanks to the multitude of incentives and benefits it offers.

 Foreign companies can benefit from multiple tax and financial incentives including:

• 10% reduced Tax rate on profits from exports,
• total exemption on reinvested profits and income,
• coverage of employers’ contribution to social security schemes and of infrastructure expenses in regional  development areas,
• deductions from the tax base of income or profits from investments in regional development areas for the majority of sectors:
• Total deduction for the first 5 or 10 years of activity respectively in the 1st and 2nd group zones,
• For the priority areas, in addition to the total deduction during the first 10 years, a   deduction up to a limit of 50% of such income or profits for the following 10 years.
• investment grant for industrial projects in regional development areas and for projects in tourism and agriculture
• investment subsidies for environmental protection, technology and R&D promotion, and regional or agricultural development
• coverage of vocational training expenses up to 50% of the initial training cost.

An investment premium up to 15% of the investment cost for promising activities with high integration rate granted to investment operations carried out under the investment incentives code.

Tunisia Holidays

There’re 11 official Public Holidays in Tunisia:

• New Year’s Day
• Revolution and Youth Day
• Independence Day
• Martyrs’ Day
• Labour Day
• Eid al-Fitr
• Republic Day
• Eid al-Adha
• Muharram
• Evacuation Day
• The Prophet’s Birthday

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.