Angola: Temporary Employment Contract

Presidential Decree 51/25, of 19 February 2025, enacted the new legal regime for:

1. Temporary employment contracts; and
2. The activity of temporary employment companies.

Below is a summary of the new regime:

• Definitions:
  1. “Temporary Employment Contract” – The contract between a temporary employment company and an employee whereby the employee undertakes to provide temporary work to a third party in exchange for remuneration from the temporary employment company;
  2. “Contract for Provision of Temporary Work” – The contract between a temporary employment company and another company (the “user”) whereby the former undertakes to provide one or more temporary employees to the latter;
  3. “Temporary Employment Company” – Company engaged in the temporary provision of employees to other companies;
  4. “User Company” – Company that uses the work of an employee provided by a temporary employment company, and who will work under its direction.

A) TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT REGIME

• • Temporary Employment Contract – A temporary employment contact is required to be in writing and contain the following minimum clauses:
    1. Identification of the parties;
    2. Job description and professional classification;
    3. Remuneration;
    4. Duration;
    5. Work place
    6. Work schedule;
    7. Date of signing.
  • Justification – A company may only use temporary employees (to be provided by a temporary employment company) in the following cases:
    1. To fill in the position of an employee who is temporarily absent;
    2. To respond to a temporary and/exceptional work demand;
    3. To perform occasional work which is outside the normal activity of the company;
    4. Seasonal work;
    5. Other situations where the temporary nature of the work does not warrant the hiring of permanent staff;
    6. To perform urgent tasks;
    7. To protect against risks to the facilities, equipment or employees;
    8. Start of business or new activities of uncertain duration, restructuring, business expansion, etc;
    9. In case the employee has been unemployed for over 1 year;
    10. Construction or similar works;
    11. Training;
    12. Retired employee.
  • Duration – The contract duration cannot exceed the terms set forth in the General Labor Law (between a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 60 months depending on the justification case above).
    If the employee is hired outside one of the justifications set forth above, or if the maximum duration of the contract is exceeded, the employee becomes a permanent member of staff of the user company. This is also applicable in case the temporary employment company is found to not have a license to carry out its activity (more below).
  • Contract for Provision of Temporary Work – The contract for provision of temporary work is required to be in writing and contain the following minimum clauses:
    1. Identification of the parties (including license number of the temporary employment company and social security numbers);
    2. Justification for temporary employment (per above cases);
    3. Job description;
    4. Work place;
    5. Work schedule;
    6. Fee to be paid by the user company to the temporary employment company;
    7. Commencement date;
    8. Contract duration;
    9. Date of contract signing.

In addition, the temporary employment company must provide to the user company a copy of the respective work accident and occupational disease insurance.

• • Employee replacement – Unless agreed otherwise, termination of the temporary employment contract will not cause termination of the contract for provision of temporary work. In this case, the temporary employment company must provide a substitute employee to the user company. This obligation also applies in case the employee is found not to be fit for the job in the first 15 days of employment or if the employee is suspended following for disciplinary reasons.
  • Work rules – The temporary employee is subject to the direction of the user company and to its applicable rules and policies in terms of work schedule, work location, HSE, use of equipment and facilities, etc..
  • Disciplinary action – The temporary employment company (not the user company) is responsible for exercising disciplinary action against the employee.
  • No charge to employee – The temporary employment company cannot charge any fee or payment to employee for provision of any services or training.
  • HSE – The temporary employee enjoys the same conditions applicable to the user company employees as regards HSE.

B) TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT COMPANIES

• • License – Temporary employment companies must obtain a license from the Ministry of Labor (Maptss) through its National Institute of Employment and Professional Training (Instituto Nacional de Emprego e Formação Profissional – INEFOP). In order to obtain a license, the company must:
    1. Have good reputation;
    2. Possess technical and organizational capacity;
    3. Be in good standing with the tax and social security office.

Requisite (ii) is confirmed by an inspection carried out by the General Labor Inspectorate (Inspecção Geral do Trabalho).

The license has a duration of 24 months, renewable.

• • Reporting – The companies must submit to the employment center where they are based (i) a 6-monthly activity report in the format attached to PD 51/25, and (ii) a full list of the employees provided, including details on contract duration, workplace, salary, professional classification, etc..
  • Training – The companies must spend no less than 5% of their annual turnover in professional training of their temporary employees.

In all matters not specifically covered by PD 51/25, temporary employment contracts are subject to the General Labor Law.