Employee benefitsin Burkina Faso

Universal health insurance began its first care phase on 1 February 2026 for eligible public agents and their dependants in Kadiogo and Guiriko. That phase covers 70% of covered care costs, including consultations, examinations, medicines and hospitalisation, after three months of contributions. The contracted provider network expanded through an August 2026 agreement with the occupational health service. A worker must have valid insurance rights and use participating providers; private-sector teams should establish their own current enrolment and care access.

The occupational-risk branch of the National Social Security Fund is funded by an employer contribution of 1.5% of assessable remuneration. Work injuries and occupational diseases use this social-insurance protection; their absence periods are distinct from ordinary sickness absence.

Wave, a financial-technology employer, provides health insurance for employees and their dependants in a permanent Ouagadougou office role. Its wider employee policy describes a subsidised healthcare plan. The policy’s covered services, employee contribution and dependant eligibility are set by the employer’s plan.

The National Social Security Fund administers pension, family and maternity, and occupational-risk insurance. Employers contribute 16% of assessable remuneration: 8.5% for pensions, 6% for family benefits and 1.5% for occupational risks. Workers contribute 5.5% for pensions. The monthly contribution base includes remuneration and benefits in kind, excludes expense reimbursements and family benefits, and is capped at XOF 800,000; it cannot fall below the applicable minimum wage. Health-insurance funding is separate.

During notice, the employee receives two working days per week at full salary to seek another job. A dismissed worker who must start a new job immediately can leave early after informing the employer, without paying compensation for the remaining notice.

Annual leave increases by two working days after 20 years with the same employer, four after 25 years and six after 30 years, whether service was continuous or not. Female employees or apprentices under 22 receive two additional leave days for each dependent child. Additional leave also increases the leave payment.

Paid annual leave accrues at 2.5 calendar days per month of effective service, normally 30 calendar days over a full service year. The right to take leave normally begins after 12 months. Work-injury absence, occupational disease and maternity leave, and certified sickness within the Code’s limits, preserve accrual. More favourable collective or individual terms can apply.

Certified non-occupational sickness or injury suspends the employment contract for up to one year, extendable until replacement. Employer sick pay is capped across the calendar year. With less than one year’s service it is one month at full salary and one at half salary; from one to five years, one full and three half; from six to ten, two full and three half; from eleven to fifteen, three full and three half; above fifteen, four full and four half. These are pay stages, rather than separate entitlements for each illness.

Exceptional permissions granted for family events directly affecting the employee’s household do not reduce annual leave, within a limit of ten working days per year. The applicable collective agreement or specific rule determines the event’s payment and individual duration; the annual non-deduction limit does not itself grant ten days for every event.

Up to 15 working days of unpaid absence can support an official training course, activity for a recognised public-interest association, or international sporting or cultural representation for Burkina Faso. The competent ministry or authorised body requests the absence. The Code limits the relevant annual suspension occasions to three.

Workers attending statutory meetings of their union or affiliated regional or international organisations receive up to 20 paid working days per year without reducing annual leave. They must present a written named invitation at least one week before the meeting.

Wave, a financial-technology employer hiring in Burkina Faso, uses a flexible vacation policy across its team. Most employees take 21–30 days off, excluding statutory holidays. Individual local terms govern the employee’s leave; this company-wide usage range does not define a guaranteed extra allowance above statutory leave.

Maternity leave lasts 14 weeks and begins between eight and four weeks before expected birth. Leave after actual birth is normally no more than ten weeks except for an early birth; a medically certified pregnancy or childbirth illness can extend leave by three weeks. Employment is protected during maternity leave, and the mother cannot work during the first six weeks after birth. Social insurance pays the salary portion subject to contribution and covered childbirth and medical costs; the employer pays the salary portion outside the contribution base, while benefits in kind continue.

For 14 months after returning to work, a mother receives paid breastfeeding breaks totalling up to 1.5 hours per working day. The breaks count as working time.

An employee can request six months of unpaid leave to care for a child, renewable once, by applying at least one month before departure. For a child’s serious illness, the initial period can be one year and renewable once; the one-month notice requirement does not apply in that case. This care leave is distinct from maternity leave.

Wave, a financial-technology employer with Burkina Faso positions, supports working parents through its parental-leave policies. The individual arrangement sets eligibility, duration, payment and application terms.

Before leave begins, the employer pays a leave allowance at least equal to the employee’s average salary and relevant remuneration elements over the preceding 12 months. Accrued leave is compensated when a contract ends before leave can be taken. A daily worker engaged for no more than one day receives leave compensation of one twelfth of that day’s remuneration, separately shown on the payslip.

Employers must protect workers’ health and safety through risk prevention, suitable work equipment, information and training, and occupational-health arrangements. Pregnancy-related reassignment from harmful work preserves pay. These obligations are distinct from an optional private medical-insurance policy.

A worker moved away from their usual residence to perform an employment contract is entitled to employer-provided housing when unable to obtain decent housing for themselves and their family by their own means. Regulations determine allocation and reimbursement conditions; this is a conditional relocation duty rather than a universal housing allowance.

Wave’s permanent Ouagadougou office role includes food at no charge to the employee. This is a scoped workplace benefit rather than a national food allowance.

Wave’s permanent Ouagadougou accounting role includes airtime reimbursement. The employer’s policy sets reimbursement limits and claim procedures.

Employee protections follow paid work under another person’s direction and authority. A genuine independent business negotiates its own service terms; using a contractor title does not remove employment rights when the actual relationship is employment. Public servants, magistrates, military personnel and workers governed by special legislation follow separate systems.

An employment contract can be written or oral, with its existence provable by any means. Probation must be written. Fixed-term contracts must be written; foreign-worker contracts and certain contracts requiring relocation need official approval. Put the actual role, pay, hours and applicable collective terms in the agreement.

A fixed-term contract identifies its end date or specified purpose and must be written. At its scheduled expiry, the worker receives an end-of-contract payment calculated on the same basis as dismissal compensation under the applicable collective agreement. Early termination is restricted to written agreement, force majeure or gross misconduct.

Wages must be paid in legal tender. Payment intervals cannot exceed 15 days for hourly or daily-paid workers and one month for monthly-paid workers; short daily engagements are settled at the end of the day. Employers provide the required wage statement and retain payroll records. Equal work, qualifications and output require equal pay without discrimination.

The general guaranteed minimum wage was raised to XOF 45,000 per month in 2023. This wage floor is distinct from higher occupational or collective-agreement minimums and from agricultural wage arrangements.

The ordinary legal workweek is 40 hours. Agriculture uses 2,400 hours per year with weekly arrangements set by regulation. Weekly rest is at least 24 hours and normally falls on Sunday, subject to authorised exceptions. Extra hours above the legal weekly duration require a wage premium under the applicable collective agreement or regulation.

Written probation lasts eight days for hourly or daily workers, one month for other employees, or three months for managers, supervisors, technicians and equivalent staff. It can be renewed once for the same duration. Employees receive at least the minimum salary for their occupational category.

Employers must establish a legitimate reason for dismissal and notify it in writing. An abusive dismissal can lead to reinstatement or damages if reinstatement is refused. Court-assessed damages are distinct from notice pay and dismissal compensation. A multi-worker economic dismissal requires consultation with employee representatives and a search for measures that preserve employment.

Indefinite employment normally requires written notice giving the reason for termination: eight days for hourly or daily-paid workers, one month for other employees, and three months for managers, supervisors, technicians and equivalent staff. The initiating party pays compensation for unserved notice unless a legal exception applies. Gross misconduct can permit termination without notice, subject to judicial assessment.

The universal health-insurance regime finances covered care through the National Universal Health Insurance Fund. For salaried workers, the contribution is 5% of gross monthly remuneration excluding expense reimbursements, split equally between employer and worker at 2.5% each. Registration and a valid entitlement are required; contribution liability does not itself prove that a particular worker already has access through the phased rollout.

The employer bears specified travel costs for a relocated worker, their spouse and dependent children normally living with them, including qualifying outward journeys, leave travel and return journeys. Contract-end circumstances and minimum family-stay provisions affect entitlement. For occasional business travel away from the normal workplace, the applicable collective agreement or individual contract sets the allowance.

Foreign-worker employment contracts require official approval through the competent labour services. The employer must submit the request within 30 days after work begins; approval is deemed granted if no decision is given within 15 days after receipt. Omitting the approval process can invalidate the contract and trigger compensation and repatriation obligations.