Hiring in Angola: the work visa, the contract and a salary worked through, step by step

Move someone who is already in Angola

A non-resident's contract is registered at the employment centre, and so is every renewal and addendum. When a contract ends, early or on time, the employment centre and the Migration and Foreigners Service are told in writing. Work under a new contract is registered in the same way.

A foreign national on a temporary stay visa that allows paid work also has their contract registered.

Angolan citizens and foreign nationals resident in Angola count as national staff. Their move turns on the notice they give when they resign: 30 days in writing.

Check the role is open to a non-resident

Non-resident foreign staff make up no more than 30% of a workforce. The other 70% are Angolan citizens or foreign nationals resident in Angola.

A non-resident is hired for a technical or scientific professional qualification, which the employer proves. They are paid as anyone doing the same work, or work of equal value, is paid, and placed on the same job grading.

A non-resident's contract is always a fixed term. It can be renewed twice at most, within the limits the General Labour Law sets for fixed terms.

Set the contract up right

A contract of employment can take the form the two sides choose, unless the law requires writing. A fixed-term contract is valid only in writing. A contract states the parties, the job and its grade, the place of work, the weekly hours, the pay and when it is paid, any extra payments, and when it starts. A fixed-term contract also states the reason for the term and when it ends, or it is treated as open-ended.

A contract is open-ended as a rule. A fixed term is allowed only for a reason the law lists, such as replacing an absent employee, a temporary rise in work, seasonal work or launching a new activity. For each of those reasons, the law caps it at 6, 12, 36 or 60 months, depending on the reason. A fixed term that runs past its cap becomes open-ended. Notice not to renew is 30 days.

On an open-ended contract, the first 60 days are a trial period, unless the two sides agree in writing to shorten it or drop it. They can extend it in writing to 120 days, or 180 for management roles. On a fixed term, a trial period of up to 30 days applies only where it is agreed in writing. During it, either side can end the contract without notice, compensation or a reason, and the agreed pay is paid.

Pay is in kwanzas, in cash, by cheque, by deposit or by transfer, by the last working day of each pay period. Each payment comes with a receipt showing the amounts paid, every deduction and the net pay. Each year also brings a holiday bonus and a Christmas bonus, each at least 50% of the base salary.

The normal week is up to 44 hours and the day up to eight. The break for a meal and rest lasts 45 to 90 minutes. Weekly rest is a full day of at least 24 hours, normally a Sunday, and nobody works more than six days in a row. Overtime is capped at two hours a day, 40 a month and 200 a year. It is paid at the hourly rate plus 50% for the first 30 hours in a month, and plus 75% after that. Work on the weekly rest day is paid at plus 75%, and earns a paid day off on the next working day. Night work carries 20% more than base pay.

Know the employee test before you engage a contractor

Angola's General Labour Law treats as a contract of employment any agreement by which a person puts their work at another's disposal, within that other's organisation and under their direction and authority, for pay.

An employment relationship is created only by a contract. A contract is presumed to exist between anyone who works for another and the one who receives the work.

The rules for non-resident foreign workers apply whether the work is described as service provision, technical assistance or anything else. A role that needs a work visa goes through employer of record.

Work out what a salary costs you and what the employee takes home

Take an employee on a base salary of AOA 1,000,000 a month, with no allowances.

The INSS takes 3% of gross pay from the employee and 8% from you.

Income tax is worked out after the employee's INSS comes off, on AOA 970,000 here. That falls in the band above AOA 500,000, which carries a fixed AOA 87,250 and 20% of the AOA 470,000 above the band's start, AOA 94,000. The tax is AOA 181,250 in all. The top rate is 25%. Meal and transport allowances of up to AOA 30,000 each a month are not taxed.

Each year also brings a holiday bonus and a Christmas bonus, each at least 50% of the base salary, AOA 500,000 each here. No INSS is paid on the holiday bonus.

INSS contributions are paid by the 10th of the next month. Late payment carries interest of 1% a month.

Know the leave your people are entitled to

End employment on the law's terms

An employee who resigns without just cause gives 30 days' notice in writing, or pays the salary for any notice not given.

A disciplinary dismissal needs just cause: a serious disciplinary offence, or objective reasons that make the relationship impossible to keep. The process starts within 22 working days of the employer learning of the offence, with a written notice of an interview that sets out the facts. The interview is held between five days and ten working days after that notice, and the employee can bring a person they trust and witnesses. The decision is taken no sooner than three working days and no later than 30 days after the interview, and is given in writing.

A dismissal for economic, technological or structural reasons gives each employee 30 days' notice, stating the reason, the date and the compensation. Where it affects up to five employees, the reasons are first set out in writing to the General Labour Inspectorate. Where it affects more than five at once, it is a collective dismissal, with 60 days' notice. Compensation is a month's base salary for each year of seniority up to five, and 50% of it for each year after. Part of a year of three months or more counts as a year.

A claim against a dismissal is brought within 120 days. Where a court finds a dismissal unlawful, it can order reinstatement, damages, and the wages lost since the dismissal, up to six months. Where the dismissal was disciplinary, and reinstatement cannot happen or the employee does not want it, the court can order compensation instead. It is a month's base salary for each year of seniority, and at least three months' pay.

During pregnancy, and for 12 months after the birth, a woman has special protection against a dismissal for objective causes.

Everything owed is paid within three days of the contract ending, and a certificate of work is given, whatever the reason it ended. On the dismissal of a non-resident, the housing in the contract is kept until the Migration and Foreigners Service is told, and the ticket home is provided.

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