Employment contracts in Mauritius may be for either a permanent or fixed term and may be either verbal or in writing. If the agreement to work is for more than a month, it must be in writing. Employment contracts can be in French or Creole and must be made within 14 days after a month of work. A fixed-term contract can be used for certain types of work, such as for a specified piece of work, replacement of another worker, temporary, seasonal or short-term work that provides training to the workforce for a specific contract. The contract must contain specific information about the position. A fixed-term contract is deemed to be a permanent contract when there is a break not exceeding 28 days between two fixed-term contracts.

The National minimum monthly wage, payable to full-time employees, is 15,000 MUR.

The standard workweek in Mauritius is 45 hours per week, 9 hours per day for five days in a week, or eight hours per day for six days in a week.

Overtime

All work exceeding the standard working hours a week is to be paid as overtime. Overtime is paid at 150% of the regular hourly salary rate. Should an employee be required to work for more than 2 hours after having completed the normal day’s work on any day of the week, the employer must provide an adequate free meal or be paid a meal allowance of 85.00 MAU.

Remote Work

The Government of Mauritius passed the Workers’ Rights (Working from Home “WFH”) Regulations imposing that the employer may require an employee to work from home by providing a notice of 48 hours. An employee may equally make a request to work from home, and the employer has the discretion to whether approve or deny the request.

The employer and the employee should enter into a work from home agreement in compliance with the WFH Regulations.

A remote employee is entitled to compensation for applicable work-related expenses such as electricity, water, telecommunication, disturbance allowance for work performed during working hours, etc.

A remote employee is required to inform the employer of the proposed remote work premises. With authorization of the remote employee and prior notice, the employer may have access to the remote work premises in order to install, maintain or retrieve any working tools and equipment, deliver or collect working materials, conduct a suitable risk assessment to identify any risk to the health and safety of the remote worker where appropriate.

An employee is entitled to 15 working days 100% paid sickness absence per year (covered by the employer), following the completion of 12 months of service.
All employees must alert the employer on the first day of sickness and provide a medical certificate by the fourth day (at the latest).

In 2022, a new provision regarding leave to take care of a sick child has been introduced, whereby an employee earning a monthly basic salary equal to or less than MUR 50,000 is allowed to take up to 10 days’ paid leave during every period of 12 consecutive months to be calculated at the chosen option against annual, sick, or vacation leaves.

Maternity Leave

Female employees are entitled to 12 weeks of paid maternity leave in Mauritius, (following completion of one year of service) with the requirement to take six weeks before the due date and six weeks after the birth.

Maternity confirmation certificates must be provided before any maternity leave can commence.

Paternity Leave

In Mauritius a father is entitled to five days paid paternity in one calendar year.

Parental Leave

There are no provisions in the law regarding parental leave.

Employees are generally entitled to a minimum of 20 working days of paid annual leave once one year of service has been completed plus an additional 2 days leave per year.

Prior to that once an employee has been employed for 6 months, the employee is entitled to one day leave per month for the remaining six months of the year, i.e., 6 days paid annual leave.

6 days paid leave for an employee’s first marriage

3 days paid leave for the marriage of an employee’s child

3 days paid leave for bereavement of a direct relative

Should an employee be requested to work on a public holiday or a rest day, the overtime should be paid at 200% of the regular salary hourly rate for the first 8 hours, thereafter at 300%.

Each year the government may decide near the holiday period if a public holiday falling on a weekend will be moved to a weekday or will be lost.

Certain religious holidays are determined by the lunar cycle and will be confirmed nearer the date of the holiday.

Date Day Holiday

1 Jan 2024 - Monday - New Year’s Day

2 Jan 2024 - Tuesday - New Year’s Day  Holiday

25 Jan 2024 - Thursday - Thaipoosam Cavadee

1 Feb 2024 - Thursday - Abolition of Slavery

10 Feb 2024 - Saturday - Chinese Spring Festival

8 Mar 2024 - Friday - Maha Shivaratree

12 Mar 2024 - Tuesday - National Day

9 Apr 2024 - Tuesday - Ougadi

11 Apr 2024 - Thursday - Eid al-Fitr

1 May 2024 - Wednesday - Labour Day

15 Aug 2024 - Thursday - Assumption of Mary

8 Sep 2024 - Sunday - Ganesh Chaturthi

31 Oct 2024 - Thursday - Divali

2 Nov 2024 - Saturday - Arrival of Indentured Labourers

25 Dec 2024 - Wednesday - Christmas Day

The healthcare system in Mauritius is a mix of public and private healthcare. Private health insurance is common.

Employers can terminate a fix term contract by giving the following reasons – business, personal, or employees misconduct. It requires notice and a written explanation for the termination (as required by the Workers’ Rights Act (WRA)).

In addition, the employer must pay the employee an end-of-year bonus equivalent to 1/12 of his yearly earnings on the last working day when:

(a) the contract of determinate duration ends before the 31 December of any year

(b)the contract is terminated in the course of the year for any reason

(c) the employee resigns in the year after having been in continuous employment for at least 8 months

It is common to use a mutual term agreement to end the employment relationship. The terms of this agreement vary case by case.

Notice Period

The statutory notice period has stipulated in the Workers’ Rights Act (WRA) that an employer must give a minimum of 30 days notice prior to dismissal, although longer notice periods are often stipulated in the employment contract.

Severance Pay

In general, employees are entitled to severance pay based on length of service and reason for termination. In accordance with the Workers’ Rights Act (WRA) where the employer terminates an employee’s employment without justification, the worker may claim severance allowance against the employer if they have completed continuous employment for at least 12 months.

Severance allowance is calculated based on three months’ remuneration per year of service in that employment.

Probation Period

The standard probation period in Mauritius ranges from one to three months.

Employer Payroll Contributions

3.00% - Contribution Sociale Generalisee (CSG) (An employee, other than a public sector employee, earning a basic wage or salary not exceeding MUR 50,000 in a month.

6.00% - Contribution Sociale Generalisee (CSG) An employee other than a public sector employee earning a basic wage or salary exceeding MUR 50,000 in a month.

2.50% - National Savings Fund (NSF) -threshold MUR 24,315

6.00% - National Pension Fund

1.00% - Training Levy

12.50%-15.50% Total Employment Cost

Employee Payroll Contributions

1.50% - Contribution Sociale Generalisee (CSG) (An employee, other than a public sector employee, earning a basic wage or salary not exceeding MUR 50,000 in a month.

3.00% - Contribution Sociale Generalisee (CSG) An employee other than a public sector employee earning a basic wage or salary exceeding MUR 50,000 in a month.

n/a - Contribution Sociale Generalisee (CSG) Public sector employee earning a basic wage or salary not exceeding MUR 50,000 in a month.

n/a - Contribution Sociale Generalisee (CSG) Public sector employee earning a basic wage or salary exceeding MUR 50,000 in a month.

n/a - Contribution Sociale Generalisee (CSG) An employee who is in the domestic service earning a basic wage or salary not exceeding MUR 3,000 in aggregate in a month from one or more employers.

1.00% - National Savings Fund (NSF) – threshold MUR 24,315

3.00% - National Pension Fund

5.50% – 7.00% - Total Employee Cost

Employee Income Tax

10.00% - Up to 700,000 MUR

12.00% - Between 700,001 MUR and 975,000 MUR

15.00% - 975,0001 MUR and above, plus solidarity levy (If applicable: being a direct monthly income allowance of 1,000 MUR provided to those earning a gross income of up to 50,000 MUR)

Income exemption thresholds:

An individual with no dependent - 325,000 MUR

An individual with one dependent - 435,000 MUR

An individual with two dependents - 515,000 MUR

An individual with three dependents - 600,000 MUR

An individual with four dependents - 680,000 MUR

The typical payroll cycle in Mauritius is a monthly basis.

13th Salary

There is a statutory requirement to provide a 13th salary. The employer shall pay the employee, either an end-of-year bonus equivalent to 1/12 of the annual earnings figure or a gratuity in accordance with the End of Year Gratuity Act 2001, (whichever is the higher), as long as the employee has been in continuous employment for the whole or part of the year and is still in employment as of 31 December of that year.

75% of this expected bonus is payable no later than 5 working days before 25 December and the balance no later than the last working day of the year.

A foreign employee requires a work permit to start working in Mauritius but must also obtain a residence permit. An occupation is a package of both residence and work permit, allowing people to work and live in Mauritius. Obtaining an occupation permit in Mauritius is only possible when being a sponsored professional, self-employed worker, or an investor. Alternatively, a regular work permit that comes with a separate residence permit can be applied for.

However, the Minister of Finance has announced immigration measures in the 2022 budget aimed at making the country’s immigration system more investor friendly. The announced measures include, the introduction of work and residence permit eligibility rights and benefits for residential property owners and shareholders of companies in Mauritius; assisting businesses to recruit foreign national graduates of local tertiary institutions under the Young Professional Occupation Permit; enabling entrepreneurs and students completing their studies to apply for a Premium Visa, which allows work for companies outside Mauritius while in Mauritius; and expediting the issuance of work permits. These measures are likely to pass and be implemented into law over the next 12 months.

The standard rate of VAT in Mauritius is 15%.