Hiring in Burkina Faso: the work permit, the contract and what comes off pay, step by step

Move someone who is already in Burkina Faso

Every foreign worker's contract carries the labour inspectorate's visa. A move to a new employer means a new contract, with its own visa.

A Burkinabè employee works out the notice their current contract sets. A new employer who hires someone it knows is still bound by another contract shares the liability for any damage an abusive break of it causes.

Check the role is open to a non-national

Before employing a foreign national who holds no permanent residence permit, an employer obtains the public employment service's prior authorisation. A decree sets the conditions for hiring non-nationals. A treaty on free movement or reciprocity can lift the authorisation and the work permit.

Hiring can also be limited or barred in some areas by regulation, for economic or social reasons or for public health.

Set the contract up right

A contract can be written or oral. A contract performed in Burkina Faso follows the Code, wherever it was signed. So does one made under another country's law, once its performance in Burkina Faso runs past three months.

A trial is agreed in writing, or the contract is open-ended. It lasts eight days for staff paid by the hour or the day, a month for other staff, and three months for managers, supervisors and technicians. It can be renewed once, for the same length. The worker is paid at least the minimum for the job's category. Either side can end it at any time without notice, and leave earned is still paid.

A fixed-term contract, its renewal and its extension are in writing, or the contract is open-ended. It runs for up to two years, unless its term is imprecise. With the same worker, there can be no more than three fixed-term contracts and no more than two renewals. Seasonal work, day work, replacements and a passing rise in activity are outside these limits. At its term, the worker is owed an end-of-contract indemnity, worked out like the dismissal indemnity of the collective agreement.

Pay is in legal tender, by cash, cheque or transfer. Monthly pay is paid within eight days of the month's end. The SMIG is XOF 45,000 a month outside agriculture. In agriculture it is XOF 239.69 an hour, or XOF 1,917.52 for a day of eight hours.

The legal week is 40 hours. Hours above it are overtime and paid at a higher rate, which regulations set. The weekly rest is at least 24 hours in a row, in principle on Sunday.

Know the employee test before you engage a contractor

Burkina Faso's Labour Code treats as a worker anyone who puts their professional activity under the direction and authority of another person for pay. Neither side's legal status counts in deciding it. The Code also covers apprentices and interns.

A role that needs a work permit goes through employer of record.

Know what comes off pay each month

Social security contributions go to the national social security fund, the CNSS. During maternity leave, the fund pays the part of her salary on which contributions are paid.

Universal health insurance is funded by a contribution shared between employee and employer. You pay over the whole of it, the employee's share deducted at each pay. Its benefits have been paid since 1 February 2026.

The salary tax, the IUTS, is withheld each month on pay and benefits in kind. Before the tax, pension contributions come off, up to 8% of basic salary, and a flat allowance of 25% of basic salary, 20% in the upper categories. Some housing, duty and transport allowances are exempt within limits. Nothing is due on the first XOF 30,000. The rates then run 12.1% up to XOF 50,000, 13.9% up to XOF 80,000, 15.7% up to XOF 120,000, 18.4% up to XOF 170,000 and 21.7% up to XOF 250,000, and 25% above that. The tax is then reduced for family charges: by 8% for one, 10% for two, 12% for three and 14% for four. A dependent child or a spouse counts as a charge. The tax withheld is paid over within ten days of the next month.

You also pay the TPA, at 3% of all pay, benefits in kind included, by the 10th of the next month.

Know the leave your people are entitled to

End employment on the law's terms

Either side can end an open-ended contract, on notice given in writing with the reason. Notice is eight days for staff paid by the hour or the day, a month for other staff, and three months for managers, supervisors and technicians. During notice, the employee has two working days a week on full pay to look for work. A dismissed employee who must start a new job at once can leave early without paying for the rest. The side that gives no notice pays the pay for it. Gross misconduct ends the contract without notice.

A dismissal needs a legitimate reason, which the employer proves if it is challenged. A dismissed employee is owed the dismissal indemnity of the collective agreement or the regulations, unless dismissed for gross misconduct.

For an abusive dismissal, a court can order reinstatement. Where reinstatement is refused, a court can award damages of up to 24 months' pay. An employee dismissed for a valid reason but without the written notice or its reason is owed three months' pay. A claim for any of these is brought within five years.

An economic dismissal starts with the staff and union delegates, in talks of up to 30 days on keeping the jobs. Where some must still go, the employer sends them the list and its criteria. They have eight working days to reply, and the labour inspector then has eight. When the business recovers, those dismissed keep priority for rehiring for two years.

A fixed-term contract ends early only by written agreement or for gross misconduct. An end to the contract before the employee goes on leave is notified 15 days before the departure. A work certificate is owed at the end of every contract.

See what changed this year, and what is next