Nigeria HR Information

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

Overview

The primary source of employment law in Nigeria is the Labor Act. While the law generally covers terms and conditions of employment, it applies only to lower cadre workers, i.e. manual laborers or clerical workers, and is not applicable to administrative, executive, technical or professional functions. Other important employment laws include the Trade Union Act, the Employees Compensation Act, the Factories Act, the Pensions Act and the Trade Disputes Act.

Hiring

Employment Contracts

The Labor Act mandates that an employer provide the employee with a written contract specifying the particulars of employment not later than three months after the beginning of the employee’s period of employment with the employer.

The contract must specify:

• the name of the employer or group of employers;
• the name and address of the worker and the place and date of his or her engagement;
• the nature of the employment;
• the date the contract expires if the contract is for a fixed term;
• the appropriate period of notice to be given by a party wishing to terminate the contract;
• the wage rate, its method of calculation and time and manner of payment;
• any terms and conditions relating to hours of work, holidays and holiday pay or incapacity for work due to sickness or injury, including any provisions for sick pay and
• any special conditions of the contract.

An employment contract may include a probationary period, which may be extended.

Every worker who enters into a contract must undergo a medical examination at the employer’s expense. The government may exempt employers of agricultural workers, domestic workers and others from this requirement.

Except in the case of an apprenticeship contract, no person under the age of 16 is deemed capable of entering into an employment contract.

Restrictions on Hiring

The Labor Act sets the minimum working age at 12 and restricts allowable work for persons under the age of 18 and for women.

Children under the age of 12 may not be employed except by a family member in light agricultural, horticultural or domestic work.

A young person under the age of 14 may be employed only for a daily wage on a day-to-day basis and must return each night to his or her parents’ or guardian’s residence, except for a young person employed in domestic service.

With parental consent, a child may become an apprentice at age 12. At age 16, young people may enter into an apprenticeship contract themselves.

No young person under the age of 16 may work underground, on machines, on a public holiday or in any employment that may injure his or her health or that is dangerous or immoral. No young person under the age of 16 may be required to work for more than four consecutive hours or more than eight working hours in any one day, except for a young person employed in domestic service.

No young person under the age of 15 may work in industry (unless the work is part of the young person’s educational program) or on a vessel except for vessels run by family members or schools.

Young people over the age of 16 may work at night in industries or activities that by their nature are conducted continuously—including the manufacturing of iron, steel, glass, paper and raw sugar—but may not work overtime during the night in emergencies.

Women may not be employed in mines or other underground work with the following exceptions:

• women holding management positions who do not perform manual labor,
• women employed in health and welfare services,
• women who in the course of their studies spend a period of training in underground parts of a mine and
• women who occasionally may have to enter the underground parts of a mine for the purposes of a non-manual occupation.

Under the Labor Act, women may not work night shifts with the exception of nurses and women holding responsible management positions who do not perform manual labor. The Ministry of Labor may exempt women covered by a collective agreement that permits night work if adequate provisions exist for their transportation and protection.

Recordkeeping

Employers must keep records which show each worker’s:

• name and address,
• place of origin,
• date of birth,
• name and address of next of kin,
• date and location of start of work with the employer,
• National Provident Fund number and
• date of cessation of employment.

The records must be kept for three years after the time to which they refer.

Background Checks

There are no laws that specifically govern background checks of prospective employees during the hiring process.

Noncompetition agreements

Nigerian courts will generally enforce a noncompete agreement if it is:

• reasonably necessary to protect the interest of the person in whose favor it is made,
• not unreasonable in regard to the person being restrained and
• not injurious to the public.

Reference Citations

Employment Contracts: Labor Act, 1990, Chapter 198, § 7

Restrictions on Hiring: Labor Act, 1990, Chapter 198, § 59

Recordkeeping: Labor Act, 1990, Chapter 198, § 75

Immigration and Work Permits

In General

A Nigerian employer may hire expatriate workers if the required personnel are not available in Nigeria.

Visas and Work Permits

An employer may hire expatriate workers in Nigeria once it has obtained a permit known as the Expatriate Quota. Companies seeking to obtain the permit must complete an application with the interior ministry and supply the following:

• a list of positions to be occupied by the expatriates including proposed annual salaries, job descriptions and qualifications;
• evidence that the required personnel are not likely to be available in Nigeria;
• permits from relevant government ministries for operation of the project; and
• evidence of work at hand, duration of such work and value of contracts if involved in contracting work.

The permit is valid for up to two years and is subject to renewal.

Once the employer has obtained an Expatriate Quota permit, it must apply for a “Subject to Regularization” (STR) work visa on behalf of each prospective expatriate employee it plans to hire.

Upon receiving the STR visa, which is valid for 90 days, the prospective employee is able to travel to Nigeria. The final step the employer must take is to regularize the stay of the individual, which involves applying for a Combined Expatriate Residence Permit and Aliens Card.

Once the CERPAC is granted, a multiple-entry visa will be issued granting the prospective employee entry to and exit from the country.

Under the Immigration Amendment Act, employers must “show evidence of immigration responsibility or any other security on behalf of an expatriate employee before a resident permit is granted.” This assigns responsibility to employers for making sure their expatriate employees are in full compliance with the laws. While “any other security” is not clearly defined in the act, legal experts in Nigeria have interpreted it to mean that the government may require employers to pay a guarantee to sponsor some work or resident permits.

Nigerians must be employed as understudies for expatriate workers in order to learn the skills needed to eventually replace the foreign workers.

Effective Jan. 1, 2020, foreign nationals residing in Nigeria for over 90 days must appear at a Nigerian Immigration Service center to register their biometrics.

Penalties

Following are the penalties employers and employees face if they are convicted of violating immigration rules:

• Employers that fail to renew their foreign worker quota may be fined 3 million naira.
• Employers that do not employ Nigerian nationals as understudies for foreign employees may be fined 3 million naira for each month of noncompliance.
• Foreign employees who fail to regularize their stay within three months or renew their work permit after expiration face up three years in prison or a fine of 500,000 naira or both.

Reference Citations

Visa and Work Permits: Constitution of Nigeria, 1999, § 17

Penalties: Immigration Amendment Act, 2015

Nondiscrimination

In General

Nigerians are protected by law from employment discrimination.

Types of Discrimination

The Nigerian Constitution requires that “all citizens, without discrimination on any group whatsoever, have the opportunity for securing adequate means of livelihood as well as adequate opportunity to secure suitable employment” and that employees receive “equal pay for equal work without discrimination on account of sex or on any other ground whatsoever.”

There are no specific laws that prohibit employment discrimination against persons with physical or mental disabilities, however, or that prohibit sexual harassment in employment.

Reference Citations

Nondiscrimination: Constitution of Nigeria 1999, § 42

Employee Privacy

Employee Data

When processing personal information, employers must ensure that the data is processed lawfully and fairly; collected and recorded for specific, explicit and legitimate purposes; accurate and kept up to date; relevant, complete and not excessive in relation to the purposes for which the data is collected or subsequently processed; and kept in a form that permits identification of the employee for no longer than is necessary.

Prior to collecting personal data from employees, employers must receive employees’ consent and inform them of:

• the categories of data that will be collected;
• the purpose of the data collection;
• the identity of the individuals who will be processing the data;
• the identity of any third parties that might be involved; and
• the means available to the employee to access, correct, and delete the data.

Employees must be given the right to:

• update or modify the data,
• erase or block data that has been processed illegally, and
• object to the processing of their data if they have legitimate grounds.

Employers cannot transfer employee data outside of Nigeria unless the destination provides an adequate level of protection of personal data.

Employee Monitoring and Surveillance

Nigerian law does not address electronic surveillance and monitoring in the workplace. However, private citizens have a right to privacy under the constitution; therefore employers must ensure that surveillance of employees is limited to the scope of employment and does not encroach on employees’ personal privacy.

Reference Citations

Employee Data: Data Protection Guidelines, 2017

Compensation

Hours of Work

Normal hours of work are set by mutual agreement or by collective bargaining within the organization or industry concerned.

The Labor Act prohibits children under 16 from working more than four consecutive hours or more than eight hours in one day.

An employee is generally allowed one or more rest periods, totaling one hour, during a workday of six hours or more.

Time off for a meal at the worksite or in the immediate vicinity may be substituted for the rest period if unforeseen circumstances and the nature of the work make an exception necessary.

Additional short rest breaks may be provided if “by reason of its connection with a mechanical process or as a result of other circumstances, the work involves continuous strain or is particularly trying in other ways,” according to the Labor Act.

A worker is entitled to one rest day of 24 consecutive hours per week. Compensatory time off within the following 14 days or the payment of overtime wages may be substituted if circumstances do not permit a rest day in a particular week.

Minimum Wage

Employers with 50 or more employees must pay each employee at least 30,000 naira per month.

Overtime

Overtime means any hours worked in excess of regular work hours as defined by the employment contract or a collective bargaining agreement. The Labor Act does not address wage rates for overtime.

Wage Payment

Wages must be paid at least monthly.

Mandatory Bonuses

The labor code does not address bonuses.

Reference Citations

Hours of Work: Labor Act, 1990, Chapter 198, § 13

Minimum Wage: Labor Act, 1990, Chapter 198, § 14

Overtime: Labor Act, 1990, Chapter 198, § 13

Wage Payment: Labor Act, 1990, Chapter 198, § 40

Benefits

Vacation

Employees are entitled to annual leave of at least six working days at full pay after 12 months of continuous service.

A worker under 16 years of age, including an apprentice, is entitled to at least 12 working days of annual leave at full pay.

The employee and the employer may agree to defer accrued annual leave for up to 24 months, but an employer may not pay wages in lieu of annual leave.

Holidays

There are 11 national public holidays in Nigeria, three of which are Muslim holidays that do not have fixed dates on the Western calendar.

The holidays with fixed dates are:

• Jan. 1: New Year’s Day
• Good Friday and Easter Monday
• May 1: Workers’ Day
• May 29: Democracy Day
• Oct. 1: Nigerian National Day
• Dec. 25: Christmas
• Dec. 26: Boxing Day

The Ministry of Internal Affairs declares the dates for the observance of the following Muslim holidays that have no fixed dates:

• Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan
• Eid al-Adha, the commemoration of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son
• Eid-el-Malud, the celebration of the birthday of the Prophet

Employees who work on a public holiday are entitled to 200 percent of their regular pay. Public holidays that fall on a weekend are not moved to another date.

Maternity Leave

A pregnant employee is entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave starting six weeks before her due date. If she has worked for the employer for six months or more before the beginning of her maternity leave, the employer is required to pay her at the rate of 50 percent of her regular wages during maternity leave.

The employee is not permitted to work during the six weeks immediately after giving birth to her child. After returning to work, the employee is allowed 30 minutes twice a day to nurse or feed her child.

An employer may not dismiss an employee during her maternity leave.

Paternity Leave

There is no statutory provision for paternity leave.

Sick Leave

An employee is entitled to 12 days of paid sick leave per year, subject to certification by a health care provider.

Other Leave

An employee has the right to take compassionate leave for specific family events such as the death of a family member. The length of the absence will depend on the specific situation. The employer is required to continue the worker’s salary entirely or in part during that period.

Pensions and Social Security

There is no standard retirement age, the age determined by the individual worker’s terms and conditions of employment, although if an employee retires before age 50, there will be a six-month waiting period to receive benefits.

For employers with 15 or more workers, the total social security pension contribution is 18 percent (10 percent for employers and 8 percent for employees) of the employee’s total “monthly emoluments”—total earnings defined in the employee’s contract of employment—and “shall not be less than a total sum of basic salary, housing allowance and transport allowance.”

An employer may elect to take full responsibility for the pension contribution, in which case the total contribution rate will be 20 percent of the employee’s monthly emolument.

Workers’ Compensation

Employers in Nigeria must make a minimum payment of 1 percent of monthly payroll into the Employees’ Compensation Fund.

An employee or the employee’s survivor is eligible to claim compensation from the fund in cases of death, injury, disease, disability, mental stress and hearing impediments arising in the course of employment. In addition to compensation, the fund offers vocational, rehabilitation and counseling services to injured employees.

Reference Citations

Vacation: Labor Act, 1990, Chapter 198, § 18

Holidays: Public Holidays Act, 1979, Chapter 378

Maternity Leave: Labor Act, 1990, Chapter 198, § 54

Sick Leave: Labor Act, 1990, Chapter 198, § 16

Pension and Social Security: Pension Reform Act, 2014

Workers’ Compensation: Employees’ Compensation Act, 2010, § 33

Labor Relations

In General

The constitution guarantees the right of workers to form and belong to trade unions.

Right to Organize

The Nigerian constitution guarantees the rights of free assembly and association and the rights of workers to form or belong to trade unions.

At least 50 workers in one enterprise are needed to form a union. Workers who are deemed “essential”—such as government employees in the police, customs, immigration, prisons, federal mint, Central Bank and armed forces—may not join unions.

Trade union federations must be registered with the government. Each federation consists of 12 or more trade unions.

Dispute Resolution

Nigeria’s Trade Disputes Act requires the following sequence of dispute resolution mechanisms in resolving disputes between employers and trade unions:

• The parties should first attempt to resolve the dispute through any method of dispute resolution contained in their agreement.
• If no agreement is reached, within seven days of the failure to resolve the dispute or the date the dispute arose, the parties will meet with a mutually agreed upon mediator.
• If within seven days of appointing a mediator the dispute is not resolved, the dispute is to be reported to the Minister of Labor within three days of the end of the seven days.
• The minister may appoint a conciliator to inquire into the dispute and by negotiations with the parties attempt to bring about a settlement.
• If the conciliator is unable to reach a settlement, he or she will write a report to the minister who may then submit the dispute to arbitration.

Strikes and Lockouts

Workers under collective bargaining agreements must comply with certain requirements before striking, including mandatory mediation and referral of disputes to the government. Unions must give 15 days’ notice of a strike.

Nigerian law places financial restrictions on strikes and lockouts. Workers are not entitled to wages they would have earned for the period during which the worker embarked on a strike. Conversely, employers must pay full wages to their workers for the period in which they engage in a lockout.

Strikes are prohibited in essential services, broadly defined by the 1990 Trade Disputes Act as banking, postal services, sound broadcasting, ports, harbors, docks or airports, transportation, road cleaning and waste disposal.

Reference Citations

Right to Organize: Labor Act, 1990, Chapter 198, § 9; Trade Unions Act, 1973, Chapter T14, § 3

Dispute Resolution: Trade Disputes Act, 1976

Strikes and Lockouts: Trade Disputes Act, 1976, §§ 41-44

Safety, Health and Security

In General

While there are no specific provisions in the Labor Act on workplace conditions, the Nigerian Constitution guarantees the right to safe employment.

Workplace Safety and Health

The Nigerian Constitution provides that the “state shall direct its policy towards ensuring that … the health, safety and welfare of all persons in employment are safeguarded and not endangered or abused.” There are no specific provisions in the Labor Act on workplace conditions.

The Labor Act provides that a government labor officer may inspect any workplace, facility or employee food or water supply. The officer may:

• examine and make copies of any documents kept in accordance with the Labor Act,
• make any examination and inquiry as necessary to ascertain whether the provisions of the law are being complied with and
• interrogate, either alone or in the presence of another person as the officer thinks fit, any person in the workplace.

No person can be forced to answer any question tending to self-incrimination, however. The officer may order remedial action or file an action in court.

Reference Citations

Workplace Safety and Health: Constitution of Nigeria, 1999, § 17

Termination

Termination by Employer

Under the Labor Act, either party to an employment contract may terminate the agreement on the expiration of proper notice:

• one day following less than three months of service,
• one week following three months to two years of service,
• two weeks following two to five years of service and
• one month following more than five years of service.

Wages, exclusive of overtime and other allowances, may be paid in lieu of notice.

Employers are prohibited from dismissing an employee during maternity leave or for trade union activities or membership. Otherwise, employers may terminate a worker’s employment for any reason provided the termination meets the notice requirements and other terms of the employment contract. Employers have the right to dismiss an employee summarily without notice for any of the following reasons:

• disobedience of a lawful order,
• insubordination,
• stealing,
• fraud,
• corruption and
• negligence.

Plant Closings and Mass Layoffs

In most cases, the conditions under which employees may be laid off are found in collective bargaining agreements.

The Labor Act does provide that an employer must inform the trade union or other workers’ representatives of the reasons for and the extent of an anticipated mass layoff. An employer must use the principle of “last in, first out” in the discharge of a particular category of worker, subject to all factors of relative merit, including skill, ability and reliability.

Employers are required to make their best effort to negotiate severance payments with discharged workers.

Payment on Termination

While the Labor Act does not provide for severance pay, upon termination an employee must be paid wages for hours worked as well as unused accrued annual leave.

Unemployment Insurance

There is no unemployment insurance system in Nigeria.

Reference Citations

Termination by Employer: Labor Act, 1990, Chapter 198, § 11

Plant Closings and Mass Layoffs: Labor Act, 1990, Chapter 198, § 20

Payment on Termination: Labor Act, 1990, Chapter 198, § 11

Personal Taxes

Residency Requirements

Individuals are deemed to be residents of Nigeria if they are present in the country for at least 183 days (continuous or not) in any 12-month period. Notwithstanding this, an expatriate would be deemed to be a tax resident and liable for employee taxes if listed on the employer’s expatriate work permit quota and holding a resident permit.

Taxable Income

Residents of Nigeria are taxed on their worldwide income. Nonresidents are taxed only on Nigerian-source income.

Any salary, wages, fees, allowances or other gains or profits from employment (including bonuses, premiums, benefits or other perquisites allowed) given or granted to an employee are taxable.

The following exemptions apply:

• reimbursement of expenses incurred by the employee in the performance of job duties and from which the employee is not expected to make any profit,
• medical or dental expenses incurred by the employee,
• retirement gratuities and compensation for loss of office,
• sums paid for the maintenance or education of a child and
• contribution to any pension, provident or other retirement benefits fund.

Employees are also entitled to the Consolidated Relief Allowance. The CRA is the higher of 1 percent of gross income or 200,000 Nigerian naira plus an additional 20 percent of gross income.

Tax Rates

Income tax is applied in Nigeria using a progressive scale with rates ranging from 7 percent to 24 percent depending on annual income:

• up to 300,000 naira: 7 percent
• 300,001 to 600,000 naira: 11 percent
• 600,001 to 1,100,000 naira: 15 percent
• 1,100,001 to 1,600,000 naira: 19 percent
• 1,600,001 to 3,200,000 naira: 21 percent
• above 3,200,000 naira: 24 percent

For employers with 15 or more workers, the total social security pension contribution is 18 percent (10 percent for employers and 8 percent for employees) of the employee’s total “monthly emoluments”—total earnings defined in the employee’s contract of employment.

Reference Citations

Residency Requirements: Personal Income Tax Act, 1993, § 10

Taxable Income: Personal Income Tax Act, 1993, § 3

Web References

Law and Regulation

Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999

Employees’ Compensation Act, 2010

Labor Act of Nigeria

Pension Reform Act, 2004

Government Websites and Publications

National Pension Commission