Employee benefitsin Cameroon

Employers must provide medical and health services for workers. Depending on establishment size, work and local facilities, this can be an internal service, a shared service or an agreement with a public or private hospital. Workers receive a medical examination before employment and ongoing medical supervision. Employers must also arrange necessary transfer when available facilities cannot treat a sick or injured person. Medical care obligations for a worker’s housed spouse and children have specific statutory conditions.

Employers can arrange medical cover through group health insurance or a medical-service arrangement. The selected contract defines treatment, hospitals, reimbursement limits, employee contributions and whether a spouse or children can join. Employer insurance is separate from statutory occupational medical duties and from the pension, family and injury branches of social insurance.

An employee dismissed from an indefinite contract after at least two consecutive years with the employer is entitled to severance unless the dismissal is for serious misconduct. Severance is additional to pay in lieu of notice and depends on service. More favourable collective agreements, contracts or special rules can improve the amount.

Some employers provide accident-related death and disability benefits through group personal accident or group life insurance. The policy defines qualifying accidental injury, insured benefits and exclusions. This additional cover is separate from statutory compensation for an occupational accident.

A small number of employers provide additional death benefits through group life or funeral insurance. Life cover pays the policy benefit to eligible beneficiaries when an insured employee dies; funeral cover supports funeral costs. The employer’s policy specifies covered employees, funding, insured amounts and beneficiary rules.

Standalone employer-sponsored short-term disability insurance is a limited practice. A selected policy can replace part of income during a qualifying period of disability; payment depends on the policy’s definition of disability, waiting period and insured earnings.

A limited number of employers add a defined contribution retirement plan to statutory social insurance. In this arrangement, employer and any employee contributions build retirement savings; the eventual benefit depends on accumulated contributions and investment outcomes. Contribution levels and eligibility are set by the employer’s plan.

Paid annual leave accrues at 1.5 working days per month of actual service, equivalent to 18 working days for twelve months. The right to take leave arises after one year. Employees under 18 accrue 2.5 working days per month. The annual entitlement increases by two working days for every completed five years with the employer. Mothers receive two extra working days for each officially registered child under six living at home, or one day if accrued leave does not exceed six days.

Certified sickness of up to six months, maternity leave and occupational injury absences count towards leave accrual. If leave longer than twelve working days is split by agreement, one portion must provide at least twelve continuous working days. The employer pays the leave allowance before departure. More favourable collective agreements and contracts take precedence.

A medically certified illness suspends the employment contract for up to six months; protection extends until the worker is replaced. The certificate must come from a practitioner approved by the employer or a State-recognized hospital. Employer compensation is linked to the employee’s notice entitlement: if absence reaches or exceeds the notice period, compensation equals pay in lieu of notice; for a shorter absence, it equals the remuneration for that absence. Similar compensation limits apply to fixed-term employees. This protects a longer illness without promising six months of full salary.

Employees receive up to ten days of paid special leave per year for family events directly concerning their home. This leave is separate from annual leave. The event, notice requirements and applicable implementing rules or collective agreement determine the individual entitlement.

Pregnant employees receive fourteen weeks of maternity leave starting four weeks before the expected birth. Certified illness arising from pregnancy or childbirth can extend leave by six weeks. An early birth does not reduce the total fourteen weeks; a late birth extends prenatal absence without reducing postnatal leave. Dismissal is prohibited during maternity leave.

The National Social Insurance Fund, Cameroon’s social security institution, pays a daily allowance equal to wages actually received when the contract was suspended, and benefits in kind continue. Social-insurance eligibility and claim registration must be satisfied separately from the right to take leave.

For fifteen months after birth, a mother is entitled to nursing breaks totalling up to one hour per working day. During that period she may terminate employment without notice under the special protection for mothers.

Skilltec advertises performance bonuses tied to an employee’s impact on trainees. The employer sets the performance measures and award terms. A performance bonus rewards outcomes and is separate from a mandatory additional month of salary.

An employee or apprentice can request leave to attend qualifying workers’ education or trade-union training at an approved institution. The parties agree the duration, which cannot exceed eighteen working days. The leave is unpaid and separate from annual leave, but counts as service for annual leave, family allowances and seniority.

Where the employer requires a worker to move away from the normal residence for the job, the employer must provide suitable accommodation for the worker’s family circumstances or pay the required housing allowance. Employer-caused relocation also creates travel and luggage-transport obligations for the worker, spouse and minor children normally living with the worker. These are conditional relocation protections rather than a universal cash housing benefit.

Skilltec, a technical education employer in Limbe, advertises reasonable flexible working hours that respect employees’ commitments outside workshops and classrooms. Scheduling remains linked to teaching and workshop duties. This is one employer’s practice; it does not establish a national right to work from home.

Skilltec offers paid professional training, mentorship and support towards relevant certifications for its employees. These benefits help staff keep technical and professional skills current. The employer determines the approved courses, certification costs and time available for development.

Employee protections apply where a person provides paid services under another person’s direction and control. The legal form or label chosen by the parties does not decide the relationship. A genuine independent contractor runs an independent activity; an agreement calling someone a contractor cannot remove employment rights where the working relationship meets the legal definition.

A fixed-term contract generally cannot exceed two years and can be renewed once, with specific exceptions for temporary, occasional and seasonal work. Fixed terms exceeding three months, and contracts requiring relocation from the worker’s normal residence, must be written; a copy goes to the local Labour Inspector. Employment can otherwise be proved by any means. Terms should clearly identify the parties, role, start date, duration, remuneration and termination arrangements. A contract performed in Cameroon is generally governed by Cameroonian labour law.

Wages are payable in legal tender and at intervals no longer than one month, except occupations with a legally recognized different payment custom. Monthly wages must be paid within eight days after the end of the month concerned. A worker may request half of basic monthly pay after fifteen days, with the balance at the next payment. Wages and allowances are settled when employment ends, subject to authorized retention of disputed sums.

The monthly guaranteed minimum wage is XAF 60,000 for sectors other than agriculture and related activities, and XAF 45,000 for agriculture and related activities. These are statutory floors; higher applicable collective-agreement or contractual pay still applies. State employees governed by the Labour Code have a separate monthly floor of XAF 43,969 under the February 2024 decree.

The ordinary statutory limit is 40 hours a week in non-agricultural establishments. Agriculture and allied activities use a 2,400-hour annual basis subject to a 48-hour weekly maximum. Work between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. is night work. Workers must have at least 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest, normally on Sunday; paying an allowance cannot replace that rest.

Probation must be agreed in writing and last only as long as necessary to assess the job and working conditions. Including renewal, it cannot exceed six months for ordinary employees or eight months for managerial staff. The applicable occupational category can impose a shorter initial period. Unless otherwise agreed, probation can end without notice or compensation. Continued employment beyond probation establishes a final contract from the start of the trial period.

Termination of an indefinite contract requires written notice stating the reason. The notice period depends on occupational category and service; it cannot be offset against annual leave. During notice, the worker receives one fully paid day each week to seek another job, taken together or in hourly portions. Ending employment without serving required notice generally creates compensation equal to the remuneration, bonuses and allowances for the unserved period. Serious misconduct can permit immediate termination, subject to the competent court’s assessment. Fixed-term contracts can end early only for gross misconduct, force majeure or written mutual consent.

The housing-development fund tax is 1.5% for employers and 1% for employees. Employers also pay 1% to the National Employment Fund, which supports employment promotion. The statutory base includes relevant pay and benefits in kind; exemptions apply to specified employers and earnings. The housing levy finances housing development, rather than creating a matching housing allowance for each worker.

Annual employment income tax uses marginal bands of 10% on taxable income up to XAF 2 million, 15% from XAF 2,000,001 to 3 million, 25% from XAF 3,000,001 to 5 million and 35% above XAF 5 million. A municipal surcharge of 10% of the tax increases those marginal rates to 11%, 16.5%, 27.5% and 38.5%. These bands apply to net taxable income after permitted deductions, rather than directly to gross salary.

Salary, bonuses and taxable benefits in kind enter the calculation; professional-expense and statutory deductions can change the base. The fiscal year runs from January to December, and the employer withholds payroll tax. An employee’s actual take-home pay also depends on other applicable deductions.

Qualifying exceptional income, including relevant end-of-career allowances and retirement bonuses, receives special income-tax calculation treatment. From January 2026, the flat allowance used for eligible exceptional income increased from 25% to 35%. Eligibility depends on the nature or size of the payment and the statutory calculation, so a retirement or termination label alone does not make every receipt automatically 35% tax-free.

An employment contract for a foreign national must be endorsed by the Minister responsible for Labour before the worker starts. The employer applies for endorsement; refusal makes the contract void, and the Code provides deemed endorsement if no decision is announced within two months of the application. Entry visas and residence permission are separate requirements and must fit the intended work.