Employee benefitsin Seychelles

Citizens have a constitutional right to free primary healthcare in state institutions. This public protection is independent of employment status and also covers self-employed citizens. Private medical services operate separately.

For members of the compulsory Seychelles Pension Fund, employees contribute 5% of gross monthly salary and employers contribute another 5%. Employers remit both shares by the 21st of the following month. A retirement pension requires the last 10 years of continuous contributions before retirement or 20 years with breaks from 1979; members below the qualifying contribution period receive accumulated contributions plus interest as a lump sum.

Members can add voluntary savings to their compulsory Seychelles Pension Fund contributions. An employee can instruct the employer to deduct and remit a fixed amount, then increase, reduce or stop it. Savings earn compounded annual interest and mature at 55, with lump-sum or instalment repayment. Changing employer requires a new instruction.

Employees other than casual and part-time workers receive 24 days of paid annual leave per year, or 2 days per month for shorter employment. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays are excluded. Employers and workers arrange leave together; at least 14 consecutive days must be taken annually unless accumulation is agreed. Unused leave can accumulate; cash conversion requires agreement.

Workers receive 21 days of paid sick leave within 12 months.

Workers have 4 days of paid compassionate leave in 12 months.

Maternity leave lasts 16 weeks with pay, including at least 12 weeks after childbirth. The employee should coordinate the expected birth date and leave arrangements with the employer.

Eligible fathers receive 10 days of paternity leave once a year. The father must be named on the child’s birth certificate.

From 1 April 2025, the hourly minimum wage is SCR 40.95 for non-casual workers and SCR 47.19 for casual workers. Monthly pay depends on paid hours, so an hourly floor should not be treated as a fixed monthly salary for every schedule.

The legal weekly maximum is 60 hours for workers other than watchmen and 72 hours for watchmen. These are ceilings; the employment contract determines the normal schedule.

Shift workers receive 1.5 times hourly pay for overtime on a weekday or Sunday and 3 times hourly pay for overtime on a public holiday.

Probation normally cannot exceed 6 months; a longer period needs authorization from the competent employment officer.

Employers using the statutory negotiation procedure must notify the Chief Executive of the employment authority at least 42 days before intended dismissal notice, unless the authority shortens the period. The competent employment officer must determine the application within 14 days after registration. The employer must then wait 21 days after the determination before giving dismissal notice. The determination can be appealed to the Minister, who must give a ruling within 42 days after the appeal is lodged.

Income tax uses monthly taxable pay. Citizens have a zero-rate band to SCR 8,555.50, then marginal rates of 15% to SCR 10,000, 20% to SCR 83,333 and 30% above. Noncitizens pay 15% from the first rupee to SCR 10,000, then 20% and 30% at the same upper thresholds. Employers withhold and remit tax by the 21st of the following month.

Employers generally pay 15% tax on the prescribed value of taxable non-cash employee benefits. Statutory exemptions include specified meals, health insurance, medical expenses and home-to-work transport. The taxable value is reduced for documented business use and employee payments.

Non-Seychellois employees and self-employed people need a Gainful Occupation Permit, the authorization to work in Seychelles. The prospective employer completes an employee application; a self-employed applicant applies personally. Employment approval precedes the immigration application, and an employee must obtain the permit before entering to take up work.