A guide to employment law in Angola

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Angola is a major oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa and is the second-largest oil and diamond producer. The country has endless investment and employment opportunities for energy professionals. Oil and gas mining industries have greatly propelled Angola's economy since the 27-year-long civil war came to an end in 2002.

International business is always challenging due to the differences in every country's employment laws and regulations, which fall under international labour law. Public employment regulation authorities have the mandate of enforcing the administrative and reporting functions as defined by national labour laws.

There are various employment considerations when expanding your operations into Angola. This post will take you through the employment law in Angola to ensure that your SME runs smoothly.

Regulations and regulatory bodies

Angola has established regulations that govern every aspect of the terms and conditions of employment.

These regulations include

contracts
business protection
protection against discrimination
employee privacy
remuneration
employee dismissal
statutory employment protection rights

The general labour law

The Angolan General Labor Law (7/15) of 2015 divides employers or companies into the following categories

micro
small
medium
large

Every company level is subject to specific employment laws. For instance, micro, small and medium firms enjoy flexible regulations and more cost-effective work standards.

Employee categories

Angolan labour law divides employees into two categories:

National and foreign residents
Foreign non-residents or expatriates

These employees face strict immigration, recruitment and hiring procedures, and they can only be hired on a fixed-term basis of between 3–36 months.

The Angolanisation Principle

Angolan workers suffered immensely during the 1975 – 2002 civil war. Therefore, the representation and inclusion of locals in employment is a key factor in Angola's employment laws.

The Angolanisation Principle is the most relevant regulation in Angola's employment regulations.

The principle demands that any company with more than 5 employees has to employ at least 70% Angolan citizens and 30% foreign non-residents. Thus, the Angolanisation Principle is usually referred to as the 70/30 rule.

The principle has added various benefits to Angolan workers. It promoted and enhanced local employment and skill development. For instance, SMEs that utilised the training and technical assistance programmes put in place by Centro de Apoio Empresarial (CAE) had higher chances of expanding into large-scale corporations.

Additionally, the principle encouraged national industrial participation.

Contracts in Angolan employment law

The law adequately protects the Angolan employee. Employment contracts can include

group
construction-work
apprenticeship
aboard merchant ship or aircraft, at-home
rural
civilian-military contracts

The General Labour Law stipulates the terms and conditions of making and terminating a contract.

Recruitment in Angola

Advertising and recruitment procedures must be non-discriminatory.

It is advisable to explicitly stipulate all the terms and conditions of employment, such as contract, salary or wages, work schedule, the nature of the work, qualifications and certifications.

Hire the right talent in Angola with Airswift

The employee-hiring procedure is a major factor for your international expansion strategy.

You would be at a great advantage to know the country's employment laws in the country before expanding. As a foreign company, you will need to comply with Angola's employment requirements for local and foreign employees.

Here at Airswift, our teams have expert local knowledge of Angola and are up to date with employment laws across the world.

If you need help finding talent to work on your projects in Angola, or would like support with mobilising your business to Angola, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We look forward to working with you.