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How Employer of Record (EoR) in Mauritius Works

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Employment Contracts in Mauritius

The following guiding principles are outlined in statutes that govern employment regulations in Mauritius:

The Act on Employment Relations
The Act of 2019 to Amend Employment Relations
Employee Rights Acts.

For the workforce of Mauritius, these regulations specify measures for workers’ rights and employee protections. Workers in Mauritius are shielded from discrimination based on age, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and gender expression. During the hiring process, some questions that may come up are about guaranteed paid time off, overtime rates, and the minimum wage.

Probation Period: There is no legal length of probation period in Mauritius. Generally, it may range from 1 month to 6 months which may be renewable once

Payroll Cycle: Employee payments are made in equal monthly instalments, payable in arrears, on or before the last working day of each calendar month.

The employer's bonus is determined in this way: employees may get 75% of the bonus no later than five clear working days before December 25 of that year, and the other 25% will be paid no later than the final working day of that year.

Working Hours in Mauritius

A regular workweek is 45 hours for all employees .This total work hours do not include the time set out for meals, tea breaks, and other breaks. The additional hours an employee may work is up to them and their employer. Workers are entitled to a minimum of one 24-hour rest day every week. If the job is five days a week, the worker must put in nine hours each of the five days, except on public holidays.

Employees working six days a week, excluding public holidays, must put in eight hours of work on any five days and five hours on the remaining day. With a few exceptions, no employer may require workers to labour at night for five nights. When an employee requests flextime, their employer may agree to give them more flexibility in their working hours if, for example, they cannot rearrange their workload or if their job is of a lower level. Employers cannot hire young people between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.

Observed National Holidays and Vacation

There are 15 public holidays in Mauritius. Seven of these are fixed holidays:

1st and 2nd January (New Year)
1st February (Abolition of Slavery)
Independence and Republic Day (National Day) – 12 March
1st May (Labour Day)
2nd November (Arrival of Indentured Labourers)
25th December (Christmas)

The remaining eight public holidays are religious festivals with dates that vary from year to year. These are:

Chinese Spring
Thaipusam Cavadee
Maha Shivaratree
Ugaadi
Eid-ul-Fitr
Ganesh Chaturthi
All Saints’ Day
Divali

Expats, Visas & Work Permits

For citizens from other countries who want to visit Mauritius, there are several kinds of visas available:

Permit for Work
Occupational License
The Exemption Certificate

For most employees, a work permit is required. They require a residence permit in addition to this document. Foreign nationals can live and work in Mauritius with an occupation permit, a combination of a work permit and a residency permit. Nevertheless, only those candidates who fit into these categories—sponsored professionals, investors, and independent contractors—are eligible for this permit.

To be granted a work permit in Mauritius, an applicant must be between the ages of twenty and sixty. Workers with specialized knowledge may be exempt from this requirement. Also, married foreigners to citizens of Mauritius receive an exemption from obtaining a work permit. Employees residing in Mauritius for three years must get a 'Permanent Residence Permit', valid for only ten years.

Applications for work permits from foreign corporations will only be approved if the foreign company is incorporated in Mauritius. You can still fulfil this condition even if your business has no entity in Mauritius with a Mauritius EoR service provider.

Paid Leave

Annual leave: After six months of continuous service, without any absences, an employee is eligible for 1 day of leave per month up to the 12th month of continuous service. Upon completion of 12 months of continuous service, an employee is eligible for 22 days of annual leave per year. When an employee has not taken or been granted all the leave to which he is entitled, he shall be paid a normal day’s wage in respect of each day’s leave still due to him at the end of the period of 12 consecutive months.
Sick leave: After six months of continuous service, without any absences, an employee is eligible for 1 day of sick leave per month up to the 12th month of continuous service. Upon completion of 12 months of continuous service, an employee is eligible for 15 days of sick leave per year. If an employee has not taken sick leave to which he is eligible upon completion of 12 consecutive months, any outstanding sick leave shall be accumulated to a maximum of 90 days (about 3 months).
Maternity leave: A female employee shall, on production of a medical certificate, be entitled to 14 weeks’ maternity leave on full pay to be taken:
1. Before confinement, provided that at least 7 weeks’ maternity leave shall be taken immediately following the confinement or;
2. After confinement When a female employee, who remains in continuous employment with the same employer for a period of 12 consecutive months gives birth to a child, she shall, on production of a medical certificate, be paid, within 7 days of her confinement, a maternity allowance of Rs3000.
Breastfeeding break: Where a female employee is nursing her ’unweaned’ child, she shall, for that purpose, be entitled daily for 6 months:
(a) 2 breaks of half-hour each or; (b) One break of one hour
Paternity leave: Where a spouse of a male employee, who is in continuous employment for a period of 12 consecutive months, gives birth to a child, the male employee shall be entitled to a paternity leave of 5 continuous working days. If the male employee has worked less than 12 months of continuous employment, the latter will be entitled to the same leave without pay.
Special Leave: When an employee remains in continuous employment with the same employer for a period of 12 consecutive months, the latter is entitled to:
1. Six (6) working days’ special leave on full pay on the celebration of his first civil or religious marriage
2. Three (3) working days’ special leave on full pay on the first civil or religious marriage of his son or daughter
3. Three (3) working days’ special leave on full pay on the death of his spouse, child, father, mother, brother or sister.

Statutory Deductions

Taxes: Income is taxed at 15% and employees are eligible to income exception threshold based on their family status.

Social Contributions:

CSG

Employer - 3% for a salary < 50,000 Rs/month and 6% for a salary > 50,000 Rs/month

Employee - 1.5% for a salary < 50,000 Rs/month and 3% for a salary > 50,000 Rs/month

NSF

Employer - 2.5 % of basic salary, capped at 608 Rs/month

Employee - 1% of basic salary, capped at 243 Rs/month

Levy

Employer - 1.5% of basic salary

Employee - Not applicable

Obligatory pension plan

Employer - 4.5% of monthly remuneration. No PRGF contribution is payable in respect of an employee who draws a monthly basic wage or salary of more than Rs. 200,000.

Employee - Not applicable

Health Insurance

A Mauritius employer of record (EoR) can help employers make provision of health insurance policy for employees. Employers are required to provide their employees with medical insurance coverage.

a. This policy provides compensation to employees in the event of death, permanent disability, loss of members, or temporary disability resulting from an accident.

b. It protects employers in the event of a work accident resulting in the death or injury of an employee or in the event of illness due to employment.

c. provides employees with coverage for medical expenses, including hospitalization, outpatient care, and prescription drugs.

Additional Compensation and Benefits

Public Holidays: An employee is eligible to twice the rate at which the work is remunerated when performed during the normal hours of a weekday. After normal working hours, they are eligible to receive 3 times the rate.
Normal working day: After normal working hours during a normal working day, an employee is eligible to one and a half (1.5) times at which the work is remunerated when performed during the normal hours.
Cyclone: If an employee is required to work on a day on which a cyclone warning class 3 or 4 is in force, the employee is entitled to an allowance equal to 3 times the basic rate per hour in respect of every hour of work performed and adequate free meals.
Meal allowance: Rs. 85.00 – Applicable once first 11 hour is completed.

Mauritius has a legal requirement for a 13-month bonus paid in December. Employees who had been employed continuously by the same company as of December 31st of that year are eligible to receive a bonus payment equal to one-twelfth of their annual salary.

Termination / Severance in Mauritius

Termination Process: If a reasonable cause is proven, such as dishonesty, negligence, fraud, or any other offences relating to the workplace, employee contracts may be cancelled. Otherwise, staff members must be notified beforehand if the choice is business-related.
Notice Period: Employees in Mauritius are entitled to a notice period of at least 30 days. Employment agreements may provide extended notice periods, which can be at least 30 days. Workers who have worked for a company for three years or more are entitled to three months’ notice in advance.
Severance Pay: The calculation of severance benefits is based on the duration of employment and the rationale for a dismissal. The severance payout will be equivalent to one-quarter of a month’s wages multiplied by the employee’s length of service if the termination is deemed justified due to the employee’s behaviour. In all other cases, severance pay for wrongful (or solely economic) terminations is equivalent to three months’ salary for each year the worker was employed by the company.

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