Senegal is a country in west Africa bordered by Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Gambia. The country includes a wide mix of ethnic and linguistic communities, with the largest including the Wolof, Fula, and Serer people, with the Wolof and French languages acting as bridge/common languages.

Senegal has strong international and relations with neighboring economies, and its competitive production costs and skilled workforce are helping to grow its economy.

The minimum wage for employees in Senegal is XOF 209.10 per hour, and a standard workweek is 40 hours. Any work exceeding the standard workweek is considered overtime and is regulated by contracts/collective agreements at a maximum of 100 hours per year. The overtime pay ranges between 110%-200% depending on when it is worked.

Parental Leave

Pregnant employees are generally entitled to 14 weeks of paid maternity leave, 8 of those weeks must be taken after the birth of the child. Fathers can receive 1 day of paid paternity leave for the birth of their child.

Sick Leave

Employees who have worked at a company for at least 6 months are entitled to 5 days of paid sick leave each year.

Paid Leave

There are 14 national holidays in Senegal, and employees are entitled to at least 24 days of paid time off each year.

Process

Employers can terminate an employment contract for reasons related to business, personal, or worker misconduct. Terminations require notice and a written explanation. If the reason for termination misconduct, the employer needs to give a warning and the employee gets a chance to explain their actions.

Notice Period

The notice period required for terminations in Senegal depends on the type of job. For just cause terminations, executives need to be given 3 months of notice, while white-collar and blue-collar workers only need 1 month of notice.

Severance Pay

Severance payments are determined by the length of time the employee has worked at the company, and is a percentage of 25% to 40% based on the average salary, length of employment, and any collective bargaining agreements in place.

While not explicitly mandatory, in Senegal a 13th month salary is customary and generally paid out at the end of the year, around the holidays.