Overview
Burkina Faso, a West African nation, has achieved constant annual growth of 5% in the past 5 years. Sound macroeconomic management mainly due to significant exports of cotton and gold has helped consolidate the country’s GDP. The government has liberalized the economy and introduced banking reforms to aid in foreign direct investments, the inflow of which is currently over $500 million. Food processing, textiles, and import substitution are some industries that are promising for foreign investors.
Currency: West African CFA Franc
Principal Language: French
Capital City: Ouagadougou
Major Cities: Bobo-Dioulasso, Banfora, Koudougou
Government: Semi-Presidential Republic
Employment Contracts
Fixed term employment contracts in Burkina Faso need to be in writing, and these contracts cannot be more than 3 years. In the case of permanent contracts, it is the best practice to sign a written contract that specifies the compensation, benefits, and conditions of termination. The salary and other types of remuneration payable to employees must be in West African CFA francs rather than any other currency.
Work/Time Regulations
The standard workweek has 40 hours for non-domestic workers, but for domestic workers, it may extend up to 60 hours.
Overtime
Additional payments for overtime work range from 15% to 120% over the regular wages.
Leave
HolidaysBurkina Faso observes 13 national holidays:
- New Year’s Day
- International Women’s Day
- Easter Monday
- International Labor Day
- Ascension Day
- Eid-Al Fitr
- Independence Day
- Assumption Day
- Aid-El Kebir
- Columbus Day
- Commemoration of Independence
- Mouloud
- Christmas Day
Annual Leave
Employees are eligible for 22 days of paid annual leave.
Sick Leave
Workers and employees are entitled to sick leave after 1 month of employment while employees such as executives and technicians are entitled to the same after 3 months. Compensation for sick leave is based on the difference between the employee’s salary and the minimum salary in that job category. Also, allowances attached to a position may include sick leave benefits.
Maternity Leave
Female employees get paid maternity leave for 14 weeks which both the employer and the country’s social security need to bear.
Paternity Leave
Male employees in Burkina Faso get 20 days of paid paternity leave for special events of their home life, and childbirth qualifies as such an event.
Benefits
Pension and Social Security
Employees need to make contributions equal to 5.5% of their salary to social security, while employers need to pay 16% along with a payroll tax of 3%.
Old-age Pension
Insured employees receive 2% of their average monthly earnings during the 5 years of the highest contributions each year, with a cap of 80%. The minimum pension payable to employees is 84% of the minimum wage. The early pension is paid and calculated in the same manner as the old-age benefit. In case a pensioner has a child, he or she receives 2,000 CFA francs as the child’s benefit.
Disability Pension
A disabled employee receives 2% of the insured’s average monthly earnings during the year in which the employee’s contribution was highest for that year, which is up to 80%. The minimum payable monthly pension is 84% of minimum wage. In case of partial disability, a constant-attendance allowance equal to 50% of the eligible disability pension is paid.
Child’s supplement is paid for eligible children of disabled pensioners, which is 2,000 CFA francs per month.
Workers’ Compensation
Disabled employees may be eligible for benefits under the work injury compensation scheme. Such employees are entitled to 100% of disability pension in addition to the general disability pension if it is more than the work injury pension amount.
Survivor Pension
A surviving spouse is eligible for 50% of the disability pension that the deceased person would have received if he/she was alive. In the case of more than one orphan qualifying as survivors, the pension amount is split equally between them.
The disability pension of 50% that the deceased employee would have received if he or she was alive is paid to an orphan. In the case of more than one orphans qualifying as survivors, the pension amount is split equally between them.
Parents, grandparents or other eligible dependents are entitled to receive 25% of the old-age or disability pension. The maximum disability pension payable to the dependents is 100% of the deceased’s old-age pension. Survivors are also eligible to receive compensation under the work injury scheme.
How GPS can Help
With our Global PEO/Employer of Record services, companies can expand into Burkina Faso and hire their employees without having to establish a branch office or subsidiary in Burkina Faso.
- Your candidate is hired via our Burkina Faso PEO. If needed, we can also help you find the right talent in any country with our comprehensive global staffing services.
- Your new employee begins work quickly as we take care of employment contracts, statutory and non-statutory benefits, and running their payroll - all in full compliance with Burkina Faso laws.
- Global PEO Services experts manage all day-to-day operational issues such as employee expenses, and severance/termination if required.
- With no contractor risks, pass on the compliance burden to Global PEO Services.
Spin Off/M&A Support
- Ensure continuity of payroll, benefits and HR support when acquiring or spinning off a business with employees overseas.
24/7 Support in 150+ Countries
- Empower your teams with 24/7 support and a single point-of-contact model in which experienced client services directors are in continuous communication with information and advice.
- We are backed by a mix of 300+ multidisciplinary experts from HR, Payroll, Finance, Tax, and Legal domains who are ready to respond to the expected and unexpected needs of your business on the shortest notice.
Easy Visibility into Your Employee Time & Attendance and Benefits Data
With our Global PEO, you get access to Mihi, our proprietary SaaS solution for time and
attendance, vacation, leave management and benefits enrollment and management.
Mihi enables clients to have easy access to employee data in real time. It is designed
specifically for companies with a global workforce, especially when working in multiple
countries with low headcount.
Ready for Growth When You Are
When ready, we can seamlessly transition you from the PEO/EOR model to your own
legal entity and provide ongoing international HR, finance, legal, compliance and staffing
support. Learn more about our end-to-end international expansion services.