The Federal Republic of Nigeria is located in the southeast of West Africa and stretches over 923,768 square kilometers. It shares land borders with Cameroon and Chad to the East, Niger to the North, Benin to the West, and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic ocean to the south. It shares maritime borders with Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, and São Tomé and Principe.
Administratively, Nigeria is divided into 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where the country’s capital, Abuja, is located. The constitution also includes a provision that more states can be created as needed. A member of OPEC since 1971, Nigeria has large deposits of petroleum and natural gas. Its economy is primarily based on the oil sector which provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings, and about 65% of budgetary revenues.
*Please note that the official currency is the currency of remuneration when employed through WorkMotion in Nigeria.
|
Capital :
Abuja
|
Currency :
Nigerian Naira (₦, NGN)
|
Languages spoken :
English
|
|
Population :
211.4 million (2021 est.)
|
Minimum wage 2023 :
NGN 30,000 monthly
|
Cost of Living index :
$ (122 of 139 countries)
|
|
Payroll Frequency :
Monthly/Biweekly/ Weekly
|
VAT - standard rate :
7.5%
|
GDP - real growth rate :
3.6% (2021 est.)
|
The national holidays mentioned below are valid for the year 2024.
The approximate time for sharing the contract with an employee in Nigeria is 5 business days assuming no special requests or changes to our standard employment contract. Any such requests or changes would need to undergo internal and external review, directly leading to a time delay.
NOTE: This number is subject to change and is only an estimation of the Contract Sharing Time. The estimated Contract Sharing Time begins from the moment that WorkMotion has received all required information from both the client and the employee.
The normal working hours are 40 hours per week. Normal working hours in an undertaking can be fixed by mutual agreement, by collective bargaining within the organization or the industry concerned, or by an industrial wages board where there is no machinery for collective bargaining. In every period of seven days, a worker is entitled to one day of rest which is no less than 24 consecutive hours.
The hours which a worker is required to work in excess of the normal hours constitute overtime. There is no legislation on overtime pay rates. Overtime pay is by mutual agreement between the employer and the employee, a collective bargaining agreement, or an order by the industrial wages board.
There is no statutory probation period for new employees in Nigeria. Through custom and practice, contracts of employment specify a three to six months probation period.
The notice period is based on the period an employee has been serving the contract as illustrated in the table below:
|
Contract Period Served |
Applicable Notice |
|
During Probation |
1 – 2 weeks |
|
Post Probation |
1 month or 1 month payment in lieu of notice |
A worker is entitled to a holiday with full pay for at least six working days, after 12 months of continuous service. The annual leave is increased to at least 12 working days for young workers (under sixteen) including apprentices.
The holiday may be deferred by agreement between the employer and the worker, provided that the holiday-earning period is not thereby increased beyond 24 months of continuous service.
A worker is entitled to be paid wages up to 12 working days in any one calendar year during absence from work caused by a temporary illness certified by a registered medical practitioner.
A female employee is entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave, six weeks before and six weeks after birth at 50% of their basic salary (paid for employees who have worked for six months or more).
To qualify for maternity leave, the employee should:
There is no provision for paternity leave in Nigeria.
Other than sick leave and maternity leave, there is no other type of paid leave provided for in the labor law.
There is no statutory provision for unpaid leave. Any other forms of authorized absence from work are at the discretion of the employer.
Employer contributions cover benefits for disability, maternity, sickness, and retirement. The levels of contribution are as summarized in the table below:
| Category | Employer Contribution |
| Contributory Pension Scheme |
|
| Group Life Insurance Policy |
|
| Social insurance (medical benefits) |
|
| Employees Compensation – Accidents at work and occupational diseases |
|
Nigeria requires all employers to provide employees with approved health insurance as part of its National Health Insurance Program. The plan guarantees employees some minimum benefits and is regulated by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
All employers in the organized private sector employing 10 or more workers are required to withhold contributions for the NHIS and make additional contributions as well. Contributions are earnings-related. The employer pays 10% while the employee pays 5% representing 15% of the employee’s basic salary. Additional charges apply for employees who wish to enroll their spouse and up to four children in the scheme.
The employer contributes at least 1% of the gross monthly payroll which may be increased based on the assessed degree of risk towards work injury insurance. To qualify for the insurance, the employee must be assessed with a work injury or occupational disease.
Benefits from work injury insurance are temporary disability benefits, permanent disability benefits, partial disability benefits, workers’ medical benefits, and survivor benefits.
An employee who retires, disengages, or is disengaged from employment before reaching the age of 50 on the advice of a suitably qualified physician or a properly constituted medical board, or due to permanent disability is allowed to withdraw up to 25% of their individual retirement savings account balance.
There is no standard retirement age in Nigeria. The retirement age is determined by an individual worker’s terms and conditions of employment. However, if an employee retires before age 50, there will be a six-month waiting period to commence pension benefits.
In the case of companies with 15 or more employees, the total social security pension contribution is 18% (10% for employers and 8% for employees) of the employee’s total earnings (sum of basic salary, housing allowance, and transportation allowance).
In addition to, and separate from, the contributions employers make towards the employees’ retirement savings account under the Pension Scheme, employers are required to provide a life insurance policy for each of their employees to guarantee a lump-sum payment equaling at least three times the annual total emolument of the employee (on the death of the employee). The lump-sum payment is made to the deceased employee’s eligible survivors by a life insurance company contracted by the employer.
The Industrial Training Act requires employers of five or more employees, or with a turnover of 50 million nairas or above per annum, to contribute 1% of annual payroll costs to the Industrial Training Fund.
The information contained in this Country Guide is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. The contents of this Country Guide contain general information and may not reflect current legal developments or address your situation. You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included in this Country Guide without seeking the advice or representation of a licensed attorney. WorkMotion Software GmbH disclaims all liability for actions you take or fail to take based on any content included in this Country Guide.
Information provided in this Country Guide is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including without limitation warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. WorkMotion Software GmbH periodically adds, changes, improves, updates, or removes information without notice, and assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the contents of this Country Guide. This Country Guide may contain links to other websites. WorkMotion Software GmbH disclaims all liability for the privacy practices or the content of such websites.