Algeria HR Information

Updated on: 2025/08/05 15:25 (UTC)

Overview

The Labor Code is the fundamental law for all employment relationships in Algeria.

Hiring

Employment Contracts

A formal employment contract is not required by law, but if an individual is compensated for work, an implied contract exists. A formal employment contract can be in oral or written form.

A fixed-term contract that is not concluded in writing or is not in compliance with the law will be considered an indefinite contract. A fixed-term contract must state the duration of employment and the reason for a fixed duration.

The Labor Code provides that contracts can be concluded for a fixed term in the following instances:

• temporary replacement of a worker,
• performance of casual tasks of a discontinuous nature, seasonal work or cases of a temporary increase in workload and
• performing work for a limited time that is temporary in nature.

Employment contracts must contain the following information:

• the location of work,
• summary of required duties,
• start date,
• end date (if fixed term),
• work hours,
• pay and benefits and
• length of probation.

Probationary periods generally cannot exceed six months but can be extended once by agreement of the employee and the employer for a period not exceeding half the initial term. During the probationary period, the employment relationship may be terminated at any time by either party without compensation or notice.

Restrictions on Hiring

The minimum legal age for employment in Algeria is 16 years unless the employee is participating in an apprenticeship. The law does not state a minimum age for an apprenticeship. Minor workers must have the permission of a legal guardian and are prohibited from engaging in dangerous, unhealthy or harmful work or in work that may jeopardize their morals. Women and workers under the age of 19 are prohibited from working from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Recordkeeping

Employers are required to record the date, nature and amount of each salary payment, including the amount of benefits. These records must be kept for a period of four years following the date taxes are withheld.

Background Checks

Employers are required to have employees take medical examinations conducted by the employer or by an external medical provider as requested by the employer.

Noncompetition Agreements

The labor code does not address noncompete agreements.

Reference Citations

Employment Contracts: Labor Code, 1990, No. 90-11, arts. 22, 26, 27-30 (French); Collective Agreement Framework, art. 19 (French)

Restrictions on Hiring: Labor Code, 1990, No. 90-11, art. 15 (French)

Background Checks: Labor Code, 1990, No. 90-11, art. 7 (French)

Immigration and Work Permits

In General

A temporary work visa and a work permit are required for a foreign national seeking employment in Algeria. A work permit is valid for up to two years and is renewable.

Visas and Work Permits

Foreign workers who wish to work in Algeria under a contract of less than three months need temporary work authorization. This authorization can be renewed only once in a year. A worker in Algeria for less than 15 days does not require work authorization, although a temporary work visa is always required and the foreign worker must justify his or her work in Algeria.

After receiving temporary work authorization and a work visa, the employee must obtain a work permit. A work permit is valid for up to two years and is renewable. French nationals can benefit from a special regime that involves a foreign worker declaration instead of a work permit.

Reference Citations

Visas and Work Permits: Law No. 08-11 of April 25, 2008 (Arabic)

Nondiscrimination

In General

Employers may not discriminate against employees on the basis of age, sex, social or marital status, family ties, political belief, or affiliation or nonaffiliation with a union. Men and women must receive equal pay for equal levels of qualification and performance.

Reference Citations

Nondiscrimination: Labor Code, 1990, No. 90-11, arts. 6, 17, 84 (French); Constitution of Algeria, 1989, art. 29

Employee Privacy

Employee Data

Algerian law does not address protections for employee privacy.

Employee Monitoring and Surveillance

Algerian law does not address employee monitoring and surveillance.

Reference Citations

Algeria does not have laws that address employee privacy.

Compensation

Hours of Work

The standard workweek is 40 hours, the standard workday eight hours. Employees are entitled to a full day of rest per week.

Minimum Wage

The minimum wage is set by federal decree after consultation between the government and trade unions and key employers. The current minimum wage is 20,000 dinars per month.

Overtime

Work done beyond 40 hours in a week is considered overtime and must be paid at a rate no less than 50 percent above the regular pay rate.

Overtime is only permitted in exceptional circumstances, and an employer may require an employee to work overtime only up to 20 percent above the legal maximum work time.

Wage Payment

Wages must be paid in monetary form.

Mandatory Bonuses

Algeria’s labor code does not address bonuses.

Reference Citations

Hours of Work: Labor Code, 1990, No. 90-11, arts. 22, 26, 27-30 (French)

Minimum Wage: Labor Code, 1990, No. 90-11, art. 87 (French)

Overtime: Labor Code, 1990, No. 90-11, arts. 31-32 (French)

Wage Payment: Labor Code, 1990, No. 90-11, arts.84-85 (French)

Benefits

Vacation

Employees accumulate paid leave at the rate of two and a half days per month of work. Up to 30 vacation days can be accrued. Employees cannot waive their vacation entitlement.

Holidays

Employees are entitled to nine national holidays (the dates of some vary year to year according to the lunar calendar):

• Jan. 1: New Year’s Day
• May 1: Labor Day
• July 5: Independence Day
• Aid-El-Fitr (date varies)
• Aid-El-Adha (date varies)
• Awwal Muharram (date varies)
• Ashura (date varies)
• Nov. 1: Feast of the Revolution
• El Mawlid en-Nabawi (date varies)

Maternity Leave

Pregnant employees are entitled to 14 consecutive weeks of maternity leave at full pay. At a minimum, the employee must take one week of leave before the birth. Benefits are paid by Algeria’s social security fund.

During pregnancy and for up to 18 months after, a working woman is entitled to one day of leave per month to obtain medical attention and to care for her child.

Paternity Leave

Male employees in Algeria are entitled to three days of paternity leave for the birth of a child.

Sick Leave

Employers must pay 50 percent of salary for the first 15 days of sick leave. The rate rises to 100 percent after the 16th day or in the case of hospitalization.

Other Leave

Marriage leave: Employers must give employees three days of paid leave in the event of their marriage.

Bereavement leave: Employers must give employees three days of leave to attend the funeral of a family member.

Pensions and Social Security

The normal retirement age in Algeria is 60 for men and 55 for women, and claimants must have worked 15 years to qualify for a full pension. Benefits are based on the number of years worked and the employee’s age.

Workers’ Compensation

All salaried employees are covered against accidents at work and on the way to and from work.

An employee who suffers an accident at work is entitled to reimbursement of the costs for hospital, medical and surgical care. Employees who are unable to work for a period of time due to an accident at work are entitled to be compensated for loss of income.

Reference Citations

Vacation: Labor Code, 1990, No. 90-11, arts. 39, 40, 49 (French)

Holidays: website of the Algerian Embassy in the United States

Maternity Leave: Law No. 83-11 on Social Insurance, 1983, arts. 28, 29, 54 (French)

Paternity Leave: Labor Code, 1990, No. 90-11, art. 54

Sick Leave: Law No. 83-11 on Social Insurance, art. 32

Other Leave: Law No. 83-11 on Social Insurance, art. 54

Labor Relations

In General

The labor code gives workers the right to organize unions and to collectively bargain, although only persons who are Algerian by birth or who have had Algerian nationality for at least 10 years are entitled to establish a union.

Right to Organize

In order to be considered representative for the purposes of collective bargaining, a union must at the beginning of the calendar year have members comprising at least 20 percent of the total number of employees within its scope of coverage and/or delegates constituting at least 20 percent of any workers’ committee established in an employer’s workplace.

Works Councils

The labor code does not address works councils.

Strikes and Lockouts

Strikes are permitted in the private sector but only after conciliation and mediation procedures have been exhausted and there are no other means of settlement. Strikes can be prohibited if they affect national defense and security or any public service or activity of vital interest for the community.

Succession Clauses

The labor code does not address succession clauses.

Reference Citations

Right to Organize: Labor Code, 1990, No. 90-11, art. 5 (French); Law No. 90-14, 1990, arts. 6, 35, 36, 38 (French); Constitution of Algeria, 1989, art. 43

Strikes and Lockouts: Labor Code, 1990, No. 90-11, art. 5 (French); Constitution of Algeria, 1989, art. 57

Safety, Health and Security

In General

Under the labor code, employees have the right to work in a safe and healthy environment. The labor code also obligates workers to take part in training offered by their employers aimed at improving hygiene and safety in the workplace.

Drug and Alcohol Use

Consuming alcohol or drugs in the workplace can lead to immediate dismissal.

Reference Citations

Workplace Safety and Health: Labor Code, 1990, No. 90-11, arts. 5, 7 (French); Constitution of Algeria, 1989, art. 55

Drug and Alcohol Use: Labor Code, 1990, No. 90-11, art. 73 (French)

Termination

Termination by Employer

Employers that wish to dismiss an employee for reasons other than downsizing for economic reasons must notify the employee via interview, registered mail or hand-delivered letter. The law does not specify the form of notification for dismissals based on economic grounds.

Apart from serious misconduct punishable under criminal law, the following actions committed in the course of work may lead to dismissal without notice:

• refusing, without just cause, to execute duties as assigned;
• disclosure of key information or documents pertaining to the company’s operations;
• participation in a collective and concerted work stoppage in violation of existing laws;
• intentionally causing damage to buildings, structures, machines and other items related to work and
• consuming alcohol or drugs in the workplace.

Employees who have not committed an act of serious misconduct are entitled to a notice period equivalent at minimum to the probationary period. After each year of service with the employer, the notice period is increased by five days up to a maximum of 30 days.

Upon issuance of last payment, employers are required to provide terminated employees with a work certificate indicating the date of recruitment, date of termination and positions held.

Plant Closings and Mass Layoffs

Employers can undertake mass layoffs for economic reasons. Before a downsizing, the employer is obliged to use all possible means to reduce the number of redundancies, including:

• a reduction in working hours,
• forced retirement as allowed by law and
• transfer of staff to other roles within or outside the company.

In the case of a mass dismissal, the employer must pay all workers who are entitled to unemployment insurance an amount equal to three months’ wages.

Payment on Termination

Employees are entitled to severance pay if they:

• are dismissed for reasons other than serious misconduct and
• have at least two years of service with the same employer.

The amount of severance pay cannot be less than 15 days’ wages per year of service.

Unemployment Insurance

The National Insurance Fund for unemployment provides compensation for workers registered with the requisite employment service and actively seeking work. Employers contribute 1.25 percent of employees’ salaries to the fund, while employees contribute 1.5 percent.

Reference Citations

Termination by Employer: Labor Code, No. 7/15, arts. 46-58 (French); Collective Agreement Framework, arts. 20-23, 25, 67 (French)

Plant Closings and Mass Layoffs: Labor Code, No. 7/15, arts. 69-70 (French); Decree No. 94-09, 1994, art. 22 (French)

Payment on Termination: Labor Code, No. 7/15, art. 67 (French)

Personal Taxes

Residency Requirements

An individual is regarded as domiciled in Algeria for tax purposes if:

• the individual owns a home in Algeria,
• the individual is a tenant in Algeria with a rental term longer than a year,
• the individual has his or her primary residence or main interests in Algeria or
• the individual is working in Algeria, whether paid or not.

Taxable Income

Residents of Algeria are taxed on all sources of income, domestic and international. Nonresidents are only taxed on their income from Algerian sources. Salaries, wages, pensions and benefits in kind are considered income and are taxable.

Allowable deductions include travel expenses and amounts withheld by the employer to pay pensions and mandatory social insurance contributions.

Tax Rates

The tax on total income is calculated on a progressive scale with rates ranging from zero to 35%. Bonuses paid by the employer on a nonmonthly basis are subject to a reduced rate of 10 percent.

The employee rate for social security contributions is 9 percent of the pre-tax salary. Employers must pay 25 percent of an employee’s gross salary to the social security fund.

Reference Citations

Residency Requirements: Code of Direct Taxes, Algeria (French)

Taxable Income: Code of Direct Taxes, Algeria (French)

Tax Rates: The Tax Code for 2016 (French)

Web References

Law and Regulation

Code of Direct Taxes, Algeria (French)

Collective Agreement Framework (French)

Constitution of Algeria

Labor Code (French)

Law No. 83-11 on Social Insurance