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About Employment Law [download pdf version here]
1. EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS
1.1 - Do employment contracts have to be in writing?
1.2 - Can employment contracts be for a fixed term?
2. WORKING HOURS
2.1 - Are there any limits on working hours in Mozambique?
2.2 - What about overtime?
2.3 - Are employees entitled to extra pay for overtime?
2.4 - Can employees whose work involves very little physical or mental exertion have longer working hours?
1. Employment contracts
1.1 - Do employment contracts have to be in writing?
Yes, they must be in writing and be signed by the employer and the employee.
1.2 - Can employment contracts be for a fixed term?
 Current Labour Law:
Employment contracts can be for a fixed term (“contrato por tempo determinado”) or they may be permanent/for an indefinite term (“contrato por tempo indeterminado”).
Permanent contracts are the rule, and fixed term contracts are the exception. Fixed term contracts are only allowed for specific work that is not long lasting (like a project that an organization plans to implement over a certain period of time), or for seasonal work, or when an employer needs to replace an employee who is temporarily unavailable. Fixed term contracts can be for up to 2 years, and may be renewed once only.
Proposed new labour law:
Under the proposed new law, fixed term contracts may be entered into for 2-year terms, with 2 renewals, in the following cases:
- To replace employees who are temporarily unable to perform their duties;
- To meet exceptional or unusual increases in production, and for seasonal work;
- For duties not aimed at meeting the employer’s permanent needs;
- For the performance of a works contract, a project or other specific, temporary activity, such as civil construction works and public works; and for the provision of services incidental to these, such as subcontracting;
- For non-permanent activities.
Exception: small businesses (with up to 10 employees), and medium businesses (11 to 100 employees), will be free to enter into fixed term contracts in their first 10 years of operation, subject to the 2-year rule and limit of 2 renewals.
2.1 Are there any limits on working hours in Mozambique?
Yes, under both the current labour law and the proposed new one, normal working hours cannot exceed 48 hours per week, 8 hours per day.
Normal working hours may be extended to 9 hours per day, provided the employee is given an extra half day of rest per week, over and above the normal weekly rest period. The normal weekly rest period that employees are entitled to is one day (24 consecutive hours) per week.
2.2 What about overtime?
The current labour law and the proposed new one both deal with “exceptional work” and “overtime”.
Exceptional work is work performed on a rest day or public holiday. An employee who performs 5 hours or more of exceptional work on a rest day or public holiday is entitled to a compensatory full day of rest on one of the following 3 days, in addition to extra pay. If the period of exceptional work is less than 5 hours, the employee is entitled to a compensatory half day of rest.
Overtime is work performed over and above the normal daily working hours. Overtime may only be performed when employers face workload increases that do not justify the admission of new employees.
The rule under the current law is that no more than 2 hours of overtime may be performed per day, up to a maximum of 100 hours per year.
Under the proposed new law, the limit on overtime is 70 hours per quarter. No employee can perform overtime in 2 consecutive quarters, nor can they perform more than 8 hours of overtime per week.
2.3 Are employees entitled to extra pay for overtime?
Yes. The rules are:
Exceptional work is paid at the twice the normal salary rate (double time).
Overtime performed up to 8:00 pm is paid at one and half times the normal salary rate (time and a half), while overtime performed between 8:00 pm and the start of the next working day is paid at double time.
2.4 Can employees whose work involves very little physical or mental exertion have longer working hours?
Yes, both the current and the proposed new labour law provide that the limits on normal working hours may be extended for employees whose duties are highly intermittent or consist of the mere presence of the employee.
The statutory provisions do not provide clear guidelines on how to apply this rule, nor do they specify a maximum limit by which working hours can be increased in these cases. On our interpretation, if an employer wishes to extend working hours on the basis of the mere presence/intermittent duties principle, the following considerations will apply:
Whether the employee's work actually involves no more than "mere
presence" is going to be a question of fact in each case/job.
The increased working hours must not cause any economic disadvantage to
the employee, or any unfavorable changes in working conditions. Given Mozambique's lean towards protecting the employee, the provision is likely to be interpreted in favor of the employee.
Normal mandatory rest periods and intervals apply. These are: the normal working day should be broken up by an interval of between half an hour and 2
hours, after a maximum of 5 consecutive hours of work. Where the working hours are longer than normal, one should assume that employees must be given these intervals after every 5 consecutive hours of work.
In normal cases (i.e., other than those where work consists of mere presence or highly intermittent duties) when employees’ working hours are extended from 8 to 9 hours per day, employees are entitled to an extra half-day of weekly rest. There is no similar provision applicable specifically to the mere presence/intermittent duties cases. However, employers should bear in mind that they may still be required to award extra rest time if the long working hours would otherwise create unfavorable working conditions or economic disadvantage to the employee.
Employees have a general right to health and safety at work, and to
protection of their physical and mental integrity.
Since labour department approval is required for working-hours schedules, employers should seek approval before applying extended working hours to their employees, on whatever basis.
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