Basic Facts

Madagascar is an island nation located in the western Indian Ocean, off the southeast coast of Africa. Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world and the first in Africa. It has a very rich ecosystem. More than 90% of Malagasy wildlife does not exist anywhere else on Earth. Madagascar is the world’s second-largest island country, after Indonesia, with 592,800 square kilometers. According to the United Nations, Madagascar is one of the least developed nations. Key components of Madagascar’s growth plan include ecotourism, agriculture, and increased spending on public services, private businesses, and health care.

*Please note that the official currency is the currency of remuneration when employed through WorkMotion in Madagascar.

Capital :
Antananarivo
Currency :
Malagasy ariary (MGA, Ar)
Languages spoken :
Malagasy, French
Population :
28.43 million (est. 2021)
Minimum wage 2023 :
MGA 168 019 (monthly)
Cost of Living index :
$
Payroll Frequency :
Monthly
VAT - standard rate :
20%
GDP - real growth rate :
4.4% (2021 est.)

Statutory Holidays

The holidays mentioned below are valid for the year 2024.

Date
Holiday Name
Extra Information
January 1
New Year's Day
March 8
International Women's Day
Only for women
March 29
Memorial Day
March 31
Easter
Movable
April 1
Easter Monday
Movable
April 10
Eid Al-Fitr
Movable
May 1
Labor Day
May 9
Ascension Day
Movable
May 19
Pentecost
Movable
May 20
Whit Monday
Movable
June 16
Eid Al Adha
Movable
June 26
National Independence Day
August 15
Assumption
November 1
All Saints Day
December 25
Christmas

Contract Sharing Time


The approximate time for sharing the contract with an employee in Madagascar is 14 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.

What You Need To Know


  • Employers are required to provide severance pay to employees dismissed for economic reasons.
  • An open-ended contract may be terminated without notice in the event of gross negligence.
  • The fixed-term contract cannot last longer than 2 years.

Labor Conditions


Working Hours

The legal working hours of employees or workers of one or the other sex, of any age, working on time, by task, or by a piece of work cannot exceed 173.33 hours per month, which on average is about eight hours a day.

Overtime

Overtime is defined as hours spent that are over the permitted working hours and results in a pay raise. No less than one and a quarter times (125%) the ordinary rate should be considered the overtime compensation rate.

Probation Period 

The probationary contract cannot exceed six months. It is renewable once for the same job.

Termination Notice Period

The length of a notice period depends on the length of service and employment type. It is set as follows: 

Length of service

 

Occupational Group
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5
Less than 8 days 1 day 2 days 3 days 4 days 5 days
Less than 3 months 3 days 08 days 15 days 1 month 1 month
Less than 1 year 8 days 15 days 1 month 1 and a half months 3 months
Over 1 year 10 days 1 month 1 and a half months 2 and a half months 4 months
Over 3 years Increase of 2 days per year of service within the above-referred total limit
Over 5 years 1 month 1 and a half months 2 months 3 months 6 months

Leave / Time Off

Annual Leave

The worker acquires the right to paid leave at the expense of the employer, at the rate of two and a half days per calendar month of service, which equals to 30 days per year.

After 12 months of effective service, the right to take leave is granted. The enjoyment of the first fraction of 15 days is required within three months of the opening of the right to leave within the agreed-upon limit of service necessity. The second fraction can be agreed upon by the parties and taken either before the end of the current year or over a three-year period. If the parties agree, leave entitlements for the three years preceding retirement may be accumulated and exercised prior to the date of departure.

Sick Leave

A worker is entitled to sick leave for a maximum of 6 months if the illness is duly certified by a qualified doctor. The employee should be entitled to their income during that time, being paid entirely by the employer. This income should be at least 45% of the minimum wage. The employer cannot dismiss the worker during the first 6 months of his illness.

Parental Leave

Maternity Leave

Maternity leave is typically 14 weeks long in Madagascar. It is divided into two parts: prenatal leave (before delivery) of six weeks or 42 days and postnatal leave (after delivery) of eight weeks or 56 days.

In the event of a pregnancy or childbirth-related illness, maternity leave can be extended by three weeks (prenatal or postnatal). The opinion of a doctor from an inter-company or company medical service, or, failing that, an approved doctor, is required in this case.

As a result, maternity leave can last up to 17 weeks in total.

Paternity Leave

The employee is entitled to ten days off after the birth of their child, as a part of the exceptional leaves for family events.

Other Types of Paid Leave

The employee is entitled to exceptional leave for family events within the limit of ten days per year:

  • Employee’s wedding;
  • Marriage of a child of the employee;
  • The marriage of the employee’s father, sister or brother;
  • Birth of a child of an employee (paternity); 
  • Circumcision of an employee’s child; 
  • The death of the employee’s spouse or child;
  • The death of the parents and parents-in-law, direct brother or sister of the employee;
  • The exhumation of the spouse, child, parent, in-laws, brother or sister of the employee;
  • Hospitalization of the spouse or minor child of the employee under his care or in his charge;
  • Moving (once a year).

Statutory Benefits

The National Social Insurance Fund (CNaPS) is a public industrial and commercial establishment jointly supervised by the Ministries of Public Service, Labor, and Social Laws, and Finance, Economy, and Budget. Its mission is to help the state achieve its policy on social protection for private sector workers. National Social Insurance Fund covers:

  • Family Benefits;
  • Accident Insurance and Occupational Diseases;
  • Retirement Benefits.

The employer contributes between 13% to 18%, depending on the sector, while the employee contributes 2%. The Social Security deductions are detailed as follows:

Benefits Employer Contributions Employee Contributions
Public Pension (disability, old age, survivors)
  • 4.5% (agricultural sector)
  • 9.5% (non-agricultural sector)
1%
Sickness and Maternity 5% 1%
Accident Insurance and Occupational Diseases 1.25%
Family Benefits 2.25%
Total 13% – 18% 2%

Health Insurance

Employers contribute 5% to Sickness and Maternity Insurance, while the employee contributes 1%.

Employers are required to:

  • To subscribe to an inter-company medical service;
  • To provide certain medical services to their employees and their dependents via an inter-company or company medical service;
  • To maintain the full salary during the first month of work stoppage, or even half of the salary from the second to the sixth month in certain circumstances;
  • Pay a suspension indemnity equivalent to the amount of the employee’s remuneration in the event of technical unemployment (for a maximum of six months).

Other Types of Insurances

Accident Insurance

Employers contribute 1.25% to Accident Insurance and Occupational Diseases. 

To be eligible for accident insurance, the employee must be diagnosed with a work injury or occupational disease. Employers must notify the National Social Insurance Fund of any accidents within 48 hours. Accidents that happen on the way to and from work are also covered.

Unemployment Insurance

There is no mandatory unemployment insurance.

Public Pension

The employee contributions to the public pension are 1%. Employers from the agricultural sector contribute 4.5%, while those from non-agricultural sector contribute 9.5%.

To be eligible for a public pension, an employee must be 60 years old and have at least 15 years of coverage, including at least 28 quarters of contributions in the 10 calendar years preceding their normal retirement age. To meet the coverage requirements, the insured may continue to work for up to five years after the normal retirement age.

Other Statutory Benefits

Family Benefits

The employer contributes 2.25% to the family benefits.

Family benefits are for male or female employees with children under 21. The monthly benefit is MGA 6,000 per child. 

Prenatal Allowance

It is for pregnant female employees (or employees’ spouses). The monthly allowance is MGA 54 000, and it is paid by Caisse Nationale de Prévoyance Sociale (CNaPS).

Maternity Allowance

Maternity allowance is for the female employee (or an employee’s spouse) giving birth to a child that is viable. The benefit is MGA 72 000, and it is paid in two installments (MGA 36 000 x 2), and it is paid by Caisse Nationale de Prévoyance Sociale (CNaPS).

Reimbursement for Medical Expenses

Female employees are entitled to reimbursement for medical expenses for childbirth. The amount is up to MGA 80 000, and it is paid by Caisse Nationale de Prévoyance Sociale (CNaPS).

Half Salary Allowance

The allowance is only for female employees. This is a sum of money allocated by the CNaPS to the employee during her maternity leave. This is equivalent to half of the last salary received by the employee before her departure on maternity leave. Compensation is paid in two installments following the employee’s half-daily salary, within the limit of 42 days before the probable date of delivery for the first installment and 56 days after the delivery for the second installment, with a possibility of extension up to 21 days, and it is paid by Caisse Nationale de Prévoyance Sociale (CNaPS).

Disclaimer

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.