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Last updated on: April 5th, 2024
Labor Requirements
The Labour Law in Tunisia is regulated mainly by the Labour Code of 1966 (amended as of 2017). The Labour Code governs the terms and conditions of employment such as working hours, holidays and rest periods, wages, overtime, employment relationships. The employment relationship is also governed by an array of Ministerial orders and Decrees.
Hours & Pay Regulations
Normal Working Hours
The normal working hours shall not exceed 48 hours per week, exclusive of overtime. Alternatively, a different working hour restriction could be implemented over any period longer than a week but not exceeding one year.
The standard workweek of 48 hours can be shortened to 40 hours through negotiation or agreement, either weekly or over a different time frame of up to one year if mutually decided.
To make up for the loss of time resulting from the interruption of work or the nature of the work, the working hours may be increased for certain companies or certain categories of employees to a maximum of 64 hours per week by order of the ministry.
The employer shall not extend the daily working hours more than 10 hours per day (inclusive overtime) for any employee in certain exceptional circumstances for the performance of urgent work in the event of accidents, necessary repairs or rescue, or extraordinary increase in workload.
Employees shall be provided with equivalent hours of rest throughout the year to compensate for the additional hours worked.
[If an employee works additional hours, they can get compensated by reducing their work time by at least one hour. If this compensation isn’t utilized within the current year, it can be carried over and used in the first three months of the following year, before the company issues any new leaves.]
Recovery of Lost Working Hours – The hours lost due to a collective work stoppage in a facility can be made up within six months after the interruption. The hours recovered during this period will be compensated at the regular rate. However, even during the recovery of lost working hours, the total weekly hours worked, including overtime, cannot exceed 60 hours. Labour Code of 1966 (Amended as of 2017), § 79 – 83.
Work Schedule – Employees must adhere to a schedule detailing the distribution of their working hours for each day, and possibly for each week or month. This timetable specifies the start and end times of work.
Any changes to this distribution of working hours require prior adjustment of the established schedule before implementation. This schedule, dated and signed by the company’s head or by an authorized delegate, must be prominently displayed in all applicable workplaces in legible characters. For employees working outside the company premises, it should be displayed at the location where the employee is assigned at that time.
Additionally, a copy of the schedule and any modifications must be sent in advance to the labor inspectorate.
Part-Time Employee – Part-time work is considered work that is performed according to working hours that do not exceed 70% of the normal working hours. The part-time employment contract must be in writing and must specifically stipulate the professional status of the employee, the duration of work, and the method of distributing it over the week, month, or year. Part-time employees are entitled to similar rights and obligations as compared to full-time employees.
The salary of a part-time employee and the allowances to which they are entitled such as paid annual leave, paid public holidays, maternity leave, and dismissal, are proportional to the duration of the work done by them.
Any hours worked by the part-time employee beyond the normal working time fixed by the employment contract are considered overtime. The overtime work requires the agreement of both employer and part-time employee, provided that the number of hours does not exceed one-third of the duration of work fixed by the employment contract and that the total of this duration and overtime does not exceed normal working time applicable to full-time employees in the same company. Labour Code of 1966 (Amended as of 2017), § 85-94(4-6).
Recording Requirements – An employer shall maintain a register consisting of names and addresses along with the duration of the vacation period, the amount of compensation paid for annual leave, etc.
The register must be signed by the employee and made available to the labor inspectors. Labour Code of 1966 (Amended as of 2017), § 130
Overtime
Any work which is performed beyond the regular weekly hours (48 hours) is considered overtime. In the event of recovery of work or overtime work the maximum weekly working hours including overtime shall not exceed 60 hours per week.
In case of exceptional emergencies or due to the extraordinary nature of the work an employee can be required to work overtime, but the total working hours shall in no case exceed 10 hours per day including overtime.
Pay – An employee who performs overtime work is entitled to an increased rate of wages in the below manner:
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- 75% at the regular rate for full-time working employees over a 48-hour workweek;
- For full-time employees working with an arrangement of fewer than 48 hours work week – 25% at a regular rate increase for the hours worked up to 48 hours and a 50% increase for subsequent hours.
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The hours lost as a result of collective work stoppage in a facility can be recovered within 6 months following the interruption of work. The hours thus recovered are paid at a regular rate. Even when recovering the lost working hours, the total hours of work cannot exceed 60 hours per week.
Compensatory Rest Period – The extension of such working hours shall be compensated with equal amounts of rest. The amount of rest shall be taken by reduction of daily work hours by 1-hour minimum. If such rest is not provided in the applicable year, it can be postponed to the first quarter of the following year. Labour Code of 1966 (Amended as of 2017), § 83 – 92.
Breaks
The working day of an employee shall be interrupted by one or more unpaid breaks, the duration of which shall not be less than 1 hour. The working hours of an employee shall be arranged in such a manner that an employee does not work beyond 6 consecutive hours of work without an unpaid break of at least 30 minutes. If an employee’s daily working hours do not exceed 7 hours, an employee may be allowed to work without taking breaks. Labour Code of 1966 (Amended as of 2017), § 89.
Daily Rest – An employee is entitled to not less than 10 hours of uninterrupted daily rest from work.
If work is organized by successive shifts or teams, the work of each team must be continuous in a manner that each employee gets a daily uninterrupted rest of at least 10 hours between each shift. Labour Code of 1966 (Amended as of 2017), § 89.
Weekly Rest – An employee is entitled to a weekly rest of at least 24 consecutive hours each week. This rest break is generally provided on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. The weekly rest can also be granted on any other day of the week if there is an agreement between the employer and the employee.
The Governor may help to fix a weekly rest period at the request of trade union organizations or employee representatives on the following grounds:
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- the suggestion can be for the same day of the week across the entire region or just specific areas,
- they can choose a day off that isn’t Friday, Saturday, or Sunday,
- decide on a rest period from noon one day until noon the next,
- alternatively, they can have half a day off on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday with another half-day off on a rotating basis each week,
- the rest days can also rotate among all or some of the employees.
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In situations where the forced rest periods are taken due to bad weather, the period of forced rest period will be deducted from the weekly rest days provided to employees.
Outdoor industries that only work at certain times of the year or 4 Industries of perishable materials can suspend weekly rest 15 times a year but the employee must enjoy at least 2 days off per month.
Compensatory Rest Period – An employee is entitled to a compensatory rest period of equal duration for loss of rest period in a case where the employee has been employed for delivery of urgent work. Labour Code of 1966 (Amended as of 2017), § 95 – 98.
Public Holidays
Employees are entitled to the following 6 public holidays:
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- Revolution and Youth Festival – January 14
- Independence Day – March 20
- Labour Day – May 1
- Republic Day – July 25
- The day of Eid el Fitr (end of Ramadan)
- The day of Eid el Adha (Festival of the Sacrifice).
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The hours lost as a result of a public holiday or day off can be recovered within 6 months following the interruption of work. The hours thus recovered are paid at a regular rate. Even when recovering the lost working hours, the total hours of work cannot exceed 60 hours per week.
Pay – An employee who works on a public holiday is entitled to a premium of 200% of the regular hourly wage rate. Labour Code of 1966 (Amended as of 2017), § 101 107 – 109 and 445.
Annual Leave
Duration of Annual Leave – An employee who has completed at least 1 month of employment with the same employer is entitled to annual leave at the rate of 1 day per month with the total duration of leave not exceeding 15 calendar days, which includes 12 working days. The starting date of the period taken into consideration for the assessment of the right to leave is set at January 1 for each year. Leave with pay not exceeding 6 working days must be continuous.
Entitlement of Annual Leave – The leave of more than 6 working days can be divided by the employer, with the approval of the employee. If the leave is accompanied by the closure of the establishment, the split may be carried out by the employer or employee’s representative.
Splitting of Annual Leave – In the case of splitting, a fraction must be at least 6 working days, including between 2 days of weekly rest. The other fractions cannot be less than a whole day.
Timing of Annual Leave – Annual leave is granted during the period from June 1 to October 31 of each year. It may be granted during another period of the year by collective or individual agreements or by the employer when the need for the work so requires and after consulting the company advisory committee or the delegates of the personnel.
Additional Annual Leave – The duration of annual leave is increased by 1 day of extra leave for every 5 years of continuous employment with the same employer to a maximum of 18 days of annual leave. To determine the duration of annual leave, periods equivalent to 26 working days are considered an effective working month.
Calculation of Annual Leave – For the determination of the duration of the annual leave, the periods equivalent to 26 working days are considered as a month of effective work. The period of maternity leave and the periods during which the performance of the employment contract is suspended due to an industrial accident during an uninterrupted period not exceeding one year are accommodated to a period of effective work the periods of paid leave.
Annual Leave Pay – An employee is entitled to average daily wages, which he/she would have received for normal working days along with other benefits for the duration of his/her annual leave. Any benefit to be paid in kind shall be assessed in cash, and such sum shall be paid to the employee along with the daily allowance.
Annual Leave Payout due to Closer of Business – If the establishment or part of it is closed for a period longer than that of the annual leave, the employer is required to pay the employees a remuneration that may not be less than the daily paid leave allowance for each of the working days of closure exceeding the said annual leave.
The employer may grant annual leave to all or some of the employees for the past year or the current year.
Termination of Employment – An employee whose employment terminates after having 6 continuous months of service with the same employer, before he/she could use annual leave, an employer shall in such situations pay compensation for the unused leaves. This compensation is not required to be paid when the termination is due to gross negligence of the employee.
The duration of leave for employees under 18 years of age cannot exceed 30 calendar days (24 working days) at the rate of 2 working days per month. The duration of annual leave for employees aged 18- 20 years cannot exceed 21 calendar days (18 working days) at the rate of one and a half working days per month.
The duration of annual leave is increased by 1 day of extra leave for every 5 years of continuous employment with the same employer to a maximum of 18 working days of annual leave.
To determine the duration of annual leave, periods equivalent to 26 working days are considered an effective working month.
The starting date of the period taken into consideration for the assessment of the right to leave is set at January 1 for each year. Leave with pay not exceeding 6 working days must be continuous.
The leave of more than 6 working days can be divided by the employer, with the approval of the employee. If the leave is accompanied by the closure of the establishment, the split may be carried out by the employer or employee’s representative.
When arranging work schedules, there must be a minimum of six consecutive workdays between two days of rest. Additionally, any other schedule changes must ensure that each period is at least one full day.
Annual Leave Coinciding with Public Holiday and Other Leaves – In case, the annual leave is interrupted by public holidays and/or an employee’s sickness or accident, such an interruption shall not be considered part of the annual leave.
For the purpose of annual leave, working days are days normally devoted to work in the establishment even if as a result of off-season or inclement weather the days are not worked temporarily, in whole or in part, except for days which are weekly rest days and public holidays.
The periods during which the performance of the employment contract has been suspended without the contract having been terminated, in particular, due to illness, industrial accident, or unemployment, are assimilated to periods of actual work.
The periods of paid leave, the period of maternity leave, and the periods during which the execution of the employment contract is suspended due to an accident at work are considered periods of effective work. during an uninterrupted period not exceeding 1 year. The periods during which the execution of the employment contract has been suspended without the contract having been terminated, in particular, because of illness, work accidents, or unemployment, are counted as periods of actual work. Labour Code of 1966 (Amended as of 2017), § 112 – 129.
Special Leave
Duration of Leave – The legislation does not specify the number of sick days an employee can receive, however, employees receive payments while on sick leave from Social Security.
Sick Leave Pay- Sickness benefit is paid after a five-day waiting period for up to 180 days a year. Two-thirds (66.7%) of the insured employee’s average daily wage is paid for the first 3 years, 50% for up to 180 days a year for each subsequent year. Benefits are paid every 2 weeks. The average daily wage used to calculate benefits is the highest quarter of earnings in the last four quarters before the incapacity began. In case of hospitalization, government-recognized long-term illnesses, or incapacity that is the result of a non-work-related accident, there is no waiting period or time duration limit.
Medical Certificate- Employees must inform their employer within 48 hours of the illness and provide a medical certificate.
Duration of Maternity Leave – A female employee is entitled to 30 calendar days of paid maternity leave on the birth of a child.
In case of illness or complications arising due to pregnancy and confinement, an employee is entitled to an additional 15 calendar days’ leave.
Pay benefits – Paid maternity leave is provided to the employee with at least 80 days of contribution during the 4 calendar quarters preceding that in which confinement occurs. Employees are paid two-thirds (66.7%) of the average daily wage as a maternity leave benefit during the period of maternity leave (30 days) and any extension thereof on medical grounds by Social Security.
Notice Requirement – The employee must inform their employer with a medical certificate within 12 weeks of the expected date of delivery of the child.
Breastfeeding break – A female employee is entitled to 2 paid nursing breaks, each of 30-minute duration to breastfeed their child until the child is 12 months old. One break is fixed during the morning work, and the other during the afternoon. They can be taken by mothers at the hours fixed by agreement between them and the employers. The breast-feeding breaks are in addition to the normal breaks an employee receives during the working day and it is counted in the working hours of such an employee. Labour Code of 1966 (Amended as of 2017), § 64.
Duration of Paternity Leave – The spouse is entitled to 1 working day of paid leave for the birth of the child. This leave can be taken within 7 days from the date of birth of the child.
Pay Benefits – The employer shall make the payment to the employee immediately after the expiration of his leave. The employer can further be reimbursed by Social Security upon production of relevant documents.
Notice Requirement – There is currently no legal requirement for employees to provide notice to their employers before taking paternity leave. Labour Code of 1966 (Amended as of 2017), § 122.
Labour Code of 1966 (Amended as of 2017), § 122.
An employee who has had to leave their job because they have been called up for military service in any capacity has the right to resume their job or a job in the same professional category with the same employer. Labour Code of 1966 (Amended as of 2017), § 8.
