Overview
Since gaining independence in 1968, Mauritius has witnessed steady industrial growth and managed to diversify its agriculture-centric economy into tourism, financial services, manufacturing, horticulture, and information & communication technology (ICT). Political stability, sound macroeconomic management, competitive tax rates, flexible labor code, and transparent regulatory environment facilitate economic development and ensure investor confidence. The government’s strategic policy document ‘Achieving the Second Economic Miracle and Vision 2030’ is aimed at creating a more inclusive and diversified economy.
Currency: Mauritian Rupee
Principal Languages: English and French
Government: Parliamentary Republic
Capital City: Port Louis
Major Cities: Beau Bassin-Rose Hill, Vacoas, Curepipe, Triolet
Employment Contracts
Employment contracts are between employees and employers. They must contain details including wages, job title, work conditions, duration of the contract, benefits, work hours, probation period, place of work, and travel allowance. The written details of employment contracts, according to Section 8 of the Employment Rights Act (2008), must have added specifications such as employee's gender, date of birth, nature of the job, and more.
Work/Time Regulations
The regular work schedule comprises 8 hours per day. Employees who work 6 days a week cannot be asked to work for more than 5 hours on one of those days and must be compensated for 8 hours for that day.
Overtime
Employees must be given a 24-hour notice period before they undertake overtime work. Overtime applies after employees have completed 90 work hours in a fortnight and are paid at 1.5 times of regular pay. Overtime work on Sundays or public holidays is paid at twice the regular hourly rate.
Leave
Holidays
The following 14 national holidays are observed in Mauritius:
- New Year’s Day
- Abolition of Slavery
- Chinese Spring Festival
- Maha Shivaratri
- National Day
- Ougadi
- Tamizh Puttaandu
- Labor Day
- Eid-Ul Fitr
- Assumption of the Blessed Mary
- Ganesh Chaturthi
- Diwali
- Arrival of Indentured Laborers
- Christmas
Annual Leave
Effective from January 1, 2019, an employee working 40 hours per week is entitled to 208 hours of paid annual or vacation leave. This leave is calculated on the basis of an 8-hour working day and 40-hour working week. When a worker is employed for less than 1 year, he/she shall be entitled to a proportionate amount of annual leave.
Sick Leave
Employees are entitled to 15 days’ sick leave after working for 1 year with an employer.
Maternity Leave
Women employees are entitled to 12 weeks’ maternity leave out of which 6 weeks must be taken before while the other 6 weeks must be taken after the childbirth.
Paternity Leave
Fathers of new born child/children are entitled to 5 days’ paternity leave.
Benefits
Pension and Social Security
Healthcare
It is not mandatory for employers in Mauritius to provide medical insurance to employees but employers with 10 or more employees may provide medical insurance.
Social Security
Social security assistance is based on contributions made to the National Solidarity Fund and the National Pension Funds.
National Pension Fund
Employers are required to make contributions to the National Pension Fund according to the rates below:
| Rates of Contribution | Employee’s | Employer’s | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Standard Rate | 3% | 6% | 9% |
| (b) Higher Rate | 5% | 8.5% | 13.5% |
| (c) Prescribed rate | 3% | 10.5% | 13.5% |
National Savings Fund
The National Savings Fund (NSF) provides a consolidated amount to employees upon retirement, death, on medical grounds, or redundancy. Employers are required to contribute 2.5% of employees’ (aged between 18 and 60) salary to the fund. Employees contribute 1% of their salary toward 'transitional unemployment benefit' which can be used during any unemployment period.
Who contributes to the NSF
Employees (aged between 18 and 60) are required to contribute 1% of their salary while employers must contribute 2.5% of employees’ pay subject to a ceiling. Non-citizens of Mauritius are not covered by the fund.
Returns
Returns must be submitted at each financial year-end along with details such as:
- Name of an employee
- Number of National Identity Card
- The number of contributions provided to employees during the financial year
NSF Lump Sum
- Retirement on the Grounds of Age
A lump sum amount is given to employees who:- Retire at the legal retirement age
- Retire before the age of 60 on ground of age under the Pension Law, Labor Act, or a Remuneration Order
- Death of Employee
A lump sum amount is paid to the following individuals in the event of an employee’s death:- Widow/widower of the deceased upon producing the photocopy of the death certificate and marriage certificate.
- Child/children of the deceased upon producing an affidavit sworn by the heirs.
- The legal personal representative(s) of the deceased (if there is no widow or widower or child) upon producing an affidavit establishing the heirs of the deceased along with the civil status documents.
Workers' Compensation
Under the Worker’s Compensation Act, employers are required to compensate employees who are incapacitated due to an occupational disease or work-related injury. Employers are required to get insurance coverage to take care of the worker’s compensation liability.
How GPS can Help
With our Global PEO/Employer of Record services, companies can expand into Mauritius and hire their employees without having to establish a branch office or subsidiary in Mauritius.
- Your candidate is hired via our Mauritius 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 Mauritius 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.