Chad Employment Law

Employees are entitled to 24 working days of annual leave after 1 year of service. Paid annual leave is provided at the rate of 2 working days per month of actual work. One month of actual work is the period equivalent to 04 weeks or 24 days of work. 

For the calculation of the duration of the leave, the previously paid leaves, the absences from work due to accident or occupational disease, the rest periods of women in childbirth provided, and absence due to sick leave of up to a limit of 6 months, are considered as periods of effective work. 

The duration of the leave may be increased by means of a collective agreement, in particular for young people under the age of 18, mothers, and employees who have acquired certain seniority in the organization.

• • • Young workers under the age of 18: 2 working days per month
    • Employed mothers: 1 additional day off per year and per child
    • Employees with dependent under 14 years of age and registered with the Civil Registry;

Employees with more than 10 years of seniority shall be provided with extra days of annual leave as follows –

• • • • 2 days after 10 years of service;
      • 4 days after 20 years of service;
      • 6 days after 25 years of service.

These days of annual leave cannot be accumulated.

The duration of annual leave for employees employed outside their place of employment is increased by travel time from the place of employment to the place of employment outside the place of work and vice versa.

The leave must actually be taken within the following 12 months from the date of accrual.

Splitting of Leave  – Based on an agreement between employer and employee, the annual leave may be split up provided that the employee takes at least 14 consecutive days, including weekly rest days or public holidays.

Vacation Pay – The employer must pay the employee, throughout the duration of the leave, a daily, weekly, or monthly allowance at least equal to the daily, weekly, or monthly average of the wages, salary accessories, allowances, bonuses, and various commissions acquired. by the employee during the 12 months preceding the day of departure on leave.

The following are excluded from the calculation of the annual leave allowance:

• • • • • Allowances representing expenses or professional risks;
        • Bonuses inherent in the nature of the work;
        • Benefits in kind, except food.

The leave allowance must be paid in full before the departure of the employee for annual leave.

Employees shall be granted exceptional leave on the occasion of family events that directly affect the employee’s household. Such leave shall not be deducted from the duration of annual leave. Special leave granted in addition to public holidays may, on the contrary, be deducted from annual leave unless it has been recovered in any form whatsoever.

Termination of Employment – When the employment contract ends before the employee has actually been able to take the leave, an allowance calculated on the basis of the leave acquired on the day the employment contract ends must be paid to the employee.

Apart from this case, any agreement providing for the granting of a compensatory indemnity instead of the leave is null and void. Labor Code, 1996 (Law no. 038/PR/96), Art. 212-223, Art 57 of the General Collective Agreement, 2002.

Employees shall be entitled to sick leave in the event of a non-occupational illness duly certified by a doctor which results in the employee being unable to perform their duties.

To obtain sick leave, the employee must send the employer a request supported by a medical certificate from a licensed physician. The period of leave cannot exceed a duration of 6 months and can only be renewed once.

In the event of a work accident or occupational disease duly recorded, the duration of 6 months of leave provided above shall be extended until the employee recovers from the injury or heals from the illness.

Pay – An employee on sick leave shall retain their compensation for the following periods according to their seniority:

• • • If the employee has less than 12 consecutive months of service: – the full salary for a period 1 month;
    • If the employee has more than 12 consecutive months of service – the employee shall be granted full pay for 3 months and half of the salary for 3 months following this period.
    • If the employee has more than 5 years’ seniority, the employee shall be entitled to full pay for 6months.

The advantages in terms of sick leave pay also apply to employees who have suffered an accident at work or an illness professionally. At the end of sick leave, the employee’s situation is examined:

• • • • If an employee is physically fit to return to the original employment, the employee is reinstated in the original employment;
      • If the employee is physically impaired, the employee may be reclassified to another job compatible with their new physical abilities, they shall be entitled to the salary and benefits of such new employment.
      • If the employee is found physically unfit for any use by an accredited doctor, they shall be considered dismissed incapacity.

The employer is entitled to allow an employee whose performance is reduced as a result of an accident or infirmity of a medically recognized nature to be paid less than the minimum wage of the occupational category. An employer who intends to avail themselves of this right should inform the person concerned in writing, either at the time of the undertaking or upon finding that he is unable to agree explicitly on the terms of their remuneration. Labor Code, 1996 (Law no. 038/PR/96) Art 117; Art 27-29 of the General Collective Agreement, 2002.

Employees shall be entitled to 14 consecutive weeks of paid maternity leave of which 6 weeks shall be prenatal and 8 weeks shall be postnatal leave. The duration of pre-natal and post-natal maternity leave can be extended by 3 weeks in case of medically certified illness.

When the delivery takes place after the expected date, the employee may not return to work until after the 8 weeks following the delivery.

Pay – The Social Insurance System pays maternity benefits for 6 weeks before and 8 weeks after the expected date of childbirth. The benefit may be extended for up to 3 weeks if there are complications arising from pregnancy or childbirth.

Breastfeeding Break – A female employee is entitled to a rest break for breastfeeding after childbirth. These breaks are provided for 15 months after the child is born and the total duration of such breaks must not exceed 1 hour per day. These breaks are paid and considered working time. Labor Code, 1996 (Law no. 038/PR/96) Art 107-114; Art 33 of the General Collective Agreement, 2002.

Employees shall be granted leave for various family events justified by the presentation of civil status documents or certificates issued by the qualified administrative authorities. These leaves are paid and are not deducted from the annual leave within the limit of 10 days per year. 

1. • Employee’s wedding: 2 days
   • Marriage of one of the employee’s children, a brother or a sister: 1 day
   • Death of the spouse or of a descendant in the direct line: 4 days
   • Childbirth of the employee’s spouse: 1 day

In the event of death and childbirth, the employee must inform their employer of the reasons for the absence at the latest within 48 hours of the cessation of work otherwise the days of absence will not be paid.

In all other cases, the employee must make the request 48 hours in advance. Art 60(a) of the General Collective Agreement, 2002.

Unpaid leave for personal reasons may be granted to the employee subject to operational requirements at the workplace. In the event of breach or expiry of the contract, before the employee has acquired the right to the enjoyment of the leave, they shall receive, in place of the leave, an indemnity calculated on the basic salary. Art 60(b) – 61 of the General Collective Agreement, 2002.

Employees shall be granted a leave to facilitate the participation in the Statutory Meetings of their trade unions, on presentation of written notice, at least 8 days before the scheduled meeting.

However, in the case of force majeure and by agreement of the parties, this notice may not be taken into consideration.

The contracting parties shall ensure that these absences do not cause any inconvenience to the normal course of work. These absences will be paid according to the company’s schedule and they will not be deducted from the annual leave and cannot be recovered either. The working time lost will be paid by the employer as working time.

Employees called upon to participate in regulatory joint consultative bodies or having to sit as assessors in the labor court must communicate to the employer the summons appointing them as soon as possible after its receipt. These periods of absence will also be paid. They will not be deducted from annual leave and they cannot be recovered. Art 10 of the General Collective Agreement, 2002.

Employees who are elected representatives shall be entitled to 15 hours per month of paid time off for the performance of their duties. Art 11 of the General Collective Agreement, 2002.

The employment contract of an employee placed in preventive detention is suspended for a period of 6 months from the day of detention. If at the end of this period, no final judicial decision has been taken, the employer may terminate the contract.

When the employee is sentenced to imprisonment, the employee is considered to have breached their employment contract without the requirement of any compensation. When no sentence of imprisonment is pronounced, the employee finds their job or an equivalent job subject to the loss of confidence justified and assessed by the courts.

The employment contract is suspended during the detention of the employer when this event leads to the temporary closure of the company. For the duration of the suspension, the employees can, without this being considered a breach of contract, hire themselves temporarily in another non-competing company. If the duration of suspension is more than 15 days the employment contract may be terminated.

When the employer is sentenced to imprisonment, the employees may consider that their contract is terminated on the initiative and by the fault of the employer. This option is also available to employees who have broken their contract after the beginning of the detentions. Labor Code, 1996 (Law no. 038/PR/96) Art 129-132.

The employee’s employment contract is suspended for the duration of the employee’s military service, as well as during the compulsory periods of mobilization or during military training.

In the month following the release, the employee must report to the company. Employees who do not appear within the month following the release are considered to have left the company without the need to be paid any compensation. Labor Code, 1996 (Law no. 038/PR/96) Art 126-128.