As of March 2024, the estimated population of Sierra Leone is 8,791,092 people.
The currency in Sierra Leone is the Sierra Leonean Leone (SLE). The currency symbol is Le.
There are no labor laws that apply to permanent employees alone in Sierra Leone. The Labor Commissioner must vet every employment or service contract, including for permanent hires. The employer must also submit any documents regarding its policies, such as handbooks and other materials relating to the employment relationship, for them to have a legally binding effect. Approved contracts and policy documents will be provided with a 3-year attestation. After 3 years, the contract and documents must be resubmitted for attestation.
Employers in Sierra Leone must submit employment contracts to the Labor Commissioner for vetting before executing them with an employee. The contract must be made into 3 copies for the employer, employee, and Labor Commissioner. Therefore, an employment contract written under the Employment Act must be in writing. Several terms must be included in the employment contract, including place of work, compensation, leave policies, and more.
The Employment Act defines temporary and casual employees as workers who are engaged in irregular seasonal or intermittent work for a period of up to 6 months. This employment relationship can be remunerated by calculating a daily wage. If a casual or temporary employee works for the same employer for more than 6 months, the employment contract will be converted to a permanent one where the employer has a vacancy. Temporary employees are entitled to rent, transportation, medical, relocation, risk, and any other statutory allowances. Temporary employment relationships are regulated by the Employment Act in matters of minimum wage, hours of work, night work, period of rest, holiday pay, and sick leave.
In Sierra Leone, probationary periods of up to 6 months are allowed. An employee’s probation can only be done on 1 occasion unless the employee is transferred or promoted to a position with substantially different work than before. During the probationary period, either party can terminate the employment contract with 7 days' notice or with 7 days' worth of wages in lieu of notice.
Sierra Leone's labor law stipulates that working hours cannot exceed 8 per day or 40 per week. A full-time employee may agree to work additional hours, but these stipulated hours may not amount to more than 10 hours per day. The weekly limit, including additional hours, is 48 hours per week. Employers cannot force an employee to work more than 5 consecutive days without at least 1 day of rest. Any hours over 40 worked in any given week must be compensated as overtime (see Overtime Pay for more details).
2026
2027
In Sierra Leone, employees become entitled to annual leave after completing 1 year of continuous service with the same employer. Continuous service is measured from the first day of work until termination. The Act does not specify how many days of annual leave an employee is entitled to. However, if the employee attempts to take annual leave and is prevented by the employer, the employee is entitled to an allowance equal to 150% of a month's basic wage.
In Sierra Leone, employees are entitled to sick leave when they notify their employers and produce an incapacity for work certificate that is signed by a medical professional. Employers may require that the medical professional be appointed by them, but in such a case, the employer will bear the cost of the medical and transportation fees.
Sierra Leone requires employers to give at least 14 weeks of maternity leave to their pregnant employers with full remuneration. For this entitlement, pregnant employees must provide their employers with a certificate from a medical practitioner that specifies the anticipated delivery date. Employees must give their employer 7 days' notice before taking maternity leave entitlements. If illness arises from the pregnancy that makes returning to work inadvisable, the employee is entitled to up to 20 weeks of leave that commences from the period of confinement or miscarriage. The medical practitioner will determine the actual duration required for the employee to return to work. During the period of maternity leave, employees' normal benefits and entitlements including her contractual rights and the accumulation of pension rights as well as her legitimate expectations to advancement and seniority, shall continue uninterrupted in the same manner. Employee shall have right to return to the job which she held immediately prior to her maternity leave and on terms and conditions not less favorable than those which would have applied had she not been absent unless the job has ceased to exist because of economic, technological or organizational reasons, or she is incapable of continuing to perform that job.
Male employees in Sierra Leone are entitled to 2 weeks of paid paternity leave per year upon the birth of their children. The employee must give 1 week's notice before taking paternity leave. Paternity leave is granted no more than once per year.
If an employee is hired under an indefinite employment contract, it can be terminated at any time by either party with 1 month's notice or 1 month's basic wage in lieu of notice. If the employee is a disabled worker, the notice period is increased to 2 months. The notice must be given in writing unless the employee is illiterate. In such cases, the notice must be conveyed to the employee in a manner that can be understood. The notice period cannot include time taken for annual leave. If the employee terminates the employment without notice, the employee is not entitled to payment in lieu of notice.
The Employment Act of Sierra Leone grants severance benefits to employees when their employment contracts are terminated for reasons other than disciplinary measures for gross misconduct, when the employee has worked for at least 1 year for the same employer. Severance benefits are due upon retirement, death, or termination on grounds other than serious misconduct. Severance benefits must be paid within 1 month of termination, or the employer will be fined at least 24 months of the national minimum wage. If the employer cannot afford to pay the entire amount of severance benefits, the employer must establish a payment plan with the Labor Commissioner within 1 month of termination.
In Sierra Leone, the compulsory social insurance scheme, implemented by the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT), provides retirement pensions to insured employees. The retirement age for employees is 60 years with at least 180 months of contributions. The monthly pension amount is calculated as 30% of the employee's average monthly salary in the best 60 months, plus 2% for every additional year of contributions beyond 180 months. The maximum payable pension is 80% of the average monthly salary of the employee, and the minimum is 30%. Retired employees are also paid a lump sum equal to 12 months of the employee's pension as a retirement gratuity. Employees who have reached the age of 60 years but have not paid sufficient contributions to the fund to qualify for a pension are eligible for a retirement grant equal to 1.5% of their average monthly earnings for every 12 months of paid contributions.
The National Social Security and Insurance Trust of Sierra Leone provides benefits to the widow/widower and dependent children of a deceased insured person. The beneficiary must have received (or been entitled to receive) an old-age or disability pension at the time of death or have contributed for a minimum of 60 months to the fund, out of which 12 months’ contributions had been paid in the last 36 months before death. A widow or widower is entitled to 40% of the benefits until death, cohabitation, or remarriage. Dependent children are entitled to 60% of the benefits until the age of 18 years, or until 23 years of age if they are enrolled in full-time education. In addition to the pension, a lump-sum amount equal to 12 months' pension is also paid to eligible survivors. In case of death caused by an occupational injury or occupational disease, employers must pay a lump sum of 42 months of the deceased employee's earnings to survivors.
The National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT) in Sierra Leone provides disability pensions to insured employees under 60 years of age who are permanently, totally incapable of further employment and have paid contributions for at least 60 months, of which 12 months' contributions are made during the 36 months preceding the commencement of the disability. The disability pension is calculated as the number of months the employee paid contributions, plus the difference between the employee's age and the retirement age (60), divided by 2. After reaching the age of 60 years, a disability pension is converted to an old-age pension. If an employee has made less than 60 months of contributions before becoming disabled, a lump-sum grant is paid equal to 1.5% of their average monthly earnings for every 12 months of paid contributions. In the case of disability due to a work injury or occupational disease, employers are responsible for paying benefits to the affected employee and covering medical treatment, hospitalization, and transportation. A daily allowance is paid in cases of temporary disability for a maximum of 96 months. In case of permanent disability, a lump-sum amount is granted, depending on the degree of disability.
According to the tax code of Sierra Leone, income tax is imposed on all resident individuals who have chargeable income for the year. The tax year runs from January 1 through December 31. The following persons are treated as residents: Individuals who have a residence in Sierra Leone and are present in the country at any time of the year. Individuals who are present in Sierra Leone for more than 182 days in any 12 month period that begins or ends during the assessment year. Officials of the Government of Sierra Leone posted overseas during the assessment year. Residents are taxed on their income from sources within and outside Sierra Leone, and non-residents are taxed on their income only from sources within the country.
The following categories of visas are available in Sierra Leone:
Nationals of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) do not require visas to enter the country. However, citizens of all other countries do.
It is mandatory for anyone coming to Sierra Leone for employment to have a resident employment permit. It is the employer's responsibility to regularize their employees' residential status. Where a resident employment permit has been issued for employment, it is usually restricted to a specific job, with a specific employer, and in some cases to a specific location. Resident permits are normally issued for a period of one year and renewed annually. A resident permit is issued upon request by an employer. This request can come from either a national or international organization or a business entity doing business in Sierra Leone. The employer must first write to the Immigration Department using an authorized letterhead with the organization or business's full details requesting a resident permit on behalf of their employee.
