Maternity leave Ivory Coast: 14 weeks and CNPS pay

Maternity leave Ivory Coast lasts fourteen consecutive weeks: six weeks before the expected date of delivery and eight weeks after it (article 23.6 of the Code du travail, the labour code enacted by loi n° 2015-532 of 20 July 2015). During that suspension the CNPS — Caisse Nationale de Prévoyance Sociale, the national social security fund — pays a daily benefit equal to the salary the employee was earning when her contract was suspended, while the national cross-industry collective agreement puts half of the salary on the employer. This guide covers duration, benefits, formalities, job protection and payroll. Updated 13 November 2026.

At a glance

• Duration: 14 weeks, 6 before the expected date and 8 after delivery.
• Extensions: 2 extra weeks for a multiple birth, up to 3 extra weeks for an illness caused by the pregnancy, plus the length of the child's hospital stay (12 months maximum).
• CNPS daily benefit equal to the pay received when the leave started, settled monthly in arrears.
• CNPS conditions: 3 consecutive months of work for one or more registered employers, actual stop at seven and a half months of pregnancy, residence in the country.
• Employer: half-salary where the cross-industry collective agreement applies.
• Dismissal prohibited during medically certified pregnancy and throughout the suspension.
• Nursing: up to one hour per working day for 15 months. Father: 2 working days.

Maternity leave Ivory Coast in one table

Rules reread on 13 November 2026 against the Ivorian labour code, loi n° 99-477 (the social security code) and the CNPS leaflets.

Duration and dates of maternity leave Ivory Coast

Article 23.6 entitles the employee to suspend her contract for fourteen consecutive weeks, six of them before the expected date of delivery and eight after. The CNPS adds a condition of its own: work must actually stop from seven and a half months of pregnancy. Working past that point costs part of the benefit without adding a single day of leave.

Extensions set by the code

• Multiple birth: the eight-week post-natal period is increased by two weeks.
• Medically certified illness caused by the pregnancy or the delivery: three further weeks, twenty-one days at most. The CNPS then requires a medical certificate and a report establishing the link with the pregnancy, plus a certificate confirming that work has not resumed.
• Child kept in hospital: post-natal leave is extended by a period equal to the hospital stay, capped at twelve months.

Late or early delivery

If the birth happens after the expected date, the eight post-natal weeks remain acquired: maternity leave Ivory Coast then runs beyond fourteen weeks. The code provides no equivalent rule for an early birth: the eight weeks run from the actual date of delivery, and that date sets the return to work.

A worked calendar

Delivery expected on Monday 15 March 2027: the employee stops on Monday 1 February and, if she gives birth on the expected date, returns on Monday 10 May. If the birth happens on 22 March, the return moves to 18 May.

Who pays for maternity leave Ivory Coast

Two texts answer each other. Article 23.11 of the labour code and article 53 of the Code de prévoyance sociale place on the social security institution a daily benefit equal to the pay received when the contract was suspended. Article 30 of the cross-industry collective agreement of 19 July 1977 provides instead that the employee receives half of her salary from the employer, the other half being paid by the CNPS, with which she files her own claim. In the sectors covered by that agreement, pay is therefore maintained and shared. Check your own agreement before settling the payroll rule. These rules apply to private-sector employees; civil servants and self-employed women fall under separate schemes.

Conditions, amount and funding

The monthly ceiling of 70,000 FCFA applies to the contribution base, not to the benefit: for an accountant paid 450,000 FCFA gross, the employer contributes on 70,000 FCFA but the benefit follows actual pay. Rates are set out in our guide to CNPS contributions in Ivory Coast.

The other maternity benefits

The same branch also pays prenatal allowances, a maternity allowance in three instalments — half at birth, a quarter at six months, a quarter at twelve months — and reimburses pregnancy-related care within public tariffs. Amounts are set by decree. Declared within the first three months, the pregnancy opens prenatal allowances for the nine months preceding the birth.

Formalities and documents for the CNPS

1. Declare the pregnancy within the first three months, with a medical certificate. The fund issues the pregnancy and maternity record book.
2. File the first part of the claim before delivery: CNPS maternity insurance form, three pregnancy certificates (check-ups at 3, 6 and 7.5 months), the employee's birth certificate on a first claim, two photographs, copies of the last three payslips, employment and start-of-leave certificates, identity document and bank details.
3. Complete it after delivery: the child's birth certificate within three months, a delivery certificate stating that the child was born viable, a return-to-work certificate, then certificates for the child's check-ups at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months.
4. Attach medical costs: prescriptions, pharmacy receipts, test results, hospital invoice and report, operating report for a caesarean. For a delivery abroad, file the first part before travelling.

For income tax purposes the fund also asks for the birth certificates of the children and of the spouse: it takes family circumstances into account.

Job protection during maternity leave Ivory Coast

An employer may not take pregnancy into account to refuse a hire, end a contract during the probation period or order a transfer, nor seek information about it (article 23.3). Article 23.4 prohibits terminating the contract of an employee whose pregnancy is medically certified, and throughout every period of suspension she is entitled to, whether or not she uses it. Two exceptions: gross misconduct, and the impossibility of maintaining the contract for a reason unrelated to the pregnancy, the delivery or the adoption of a child under 15. A dismissal served nonetheless is cancelled if, within fifteen days, the employee sends a medical certificate of pregnancy in writing. A fixed-term contract still ends at its term; see our guide to the Ivorian payslip.

Protection runs the other way too: a pregnant employee may end her contract without notice or severance, and the mother keeps that option while nursing (article 23.5). On her return, an employee who had been reassigned because of her pregnancy goes back to her previous job, and the leave counts as actual work for seniority (article 23.10).

Nursing breaks and the father's birth leave

One hour a day for 15 months

For fifteen months from the return to work, the mother is entitled to rest periods for nursing, totalling no more than one hour per working day (article 23.12). It is one of the most common omissions. The collective agreement also allows unpaid leave of absence for nursing.

Is there paternity leave?

The Ivorian labour code creates no separate paternity leave. The father relies on special leave for family events: the birth of a child gives 2 working days, within an annual cap of 10 days, with no pay deduction, for a worker with six months of service (article 25.12). See also our guide to leave management in Ivory Coast.

Handling maternity leave Ivory Coast in payroll

The contract is suspended: ordinary pay stops on the day leave begins. In a company covered by the collective agreement the employer pays the half-salary, which remains salary, appears on the payslip and bears the usual deductions. The daily benefit goes straight to the employee and never passes through payroll. The system must produce, without rekeying, the employment, start-of-leave and return-to-work certificates together with copies of the last three payslips. HR and payroll software for maternity leave Ivory Coast records the expected date, computes the protected period, blocks any termination during the suspension and flags the fifteen months of nursing breaks. Our free payroll simulators price the half-salary.

Costly mistakes

• Declaring the pregnancy too late: past the third month, prenatal allowances are no longer due for the nine months before the birth.
• Letting the employee work beyond seven and a half months, when the CNPS requires an actual stop at that point.
• Computing the benefit on the 70,000 FCFA ceiling, which only concerns the contribution base, or sending a reference salary inflated with exceptional bonuses.
• Forgetting the return-to-work certificate, the child's birth certificate within three months, the extensions or the nursing breaks.

Frequently asked questions

How long is maternity leave in Ivory Coast?

Fourteen weeks: six before the expected date of delivery and eight after. The post-natal period rises to ten weeks for a multiple birth.

Who pays maternity leave in Ivory Coast?

The CNPS pays the daily benefit. Where the cross-industry collective agreement applies, the employer pays half the salary and the fund the other half.

Is pay maintained at 100 %?

The texts set a benefit equal to the pay received when the contract was suspended, and the collective agreement splits it in half. Your sector agreement may be more generous.

Can a pregnant employee be dismissed in Ivory Coast?

Not during a certified pregnancy or any period of suspension, except for gross misconduct or an impossibility of maintaining the contract unrelated to the pregnancy.

What are the CNPS eligibility conditions?

Three consecutive months of work for one or more registered employers, an actual stop from seven and a half months of pregnancy, and residence in the country.

Which documents does maternity leave Ivory Coast require?

Before: CNPS form, three pregnancy certificates, the last three payslips, employment and start-of-leave certificates, identity document and bank details. After: the child's birth certificate within three months, a delivery certificate and a return-to-work certificate.

How long do nursing breaks last?

Up to one hour per working day, for fifteen months from the return to work.

Is there a paternity leave in Ivory Coast?

No separate paternity leave: the father is entitled to two working days of special leave for the birth, with no pay deduction.

Key takeaways

• Maternity leave Ivory Coast: 14 weeks, 6 before and 8 after delivery, extendable.
• CNPS daily benefit equal to the pay received when leave started, with a half-salary from the employer where the cross-industry collective agreement applies.
• Pregnancy declared within three months, child's birth certificate within three months of delivery.
• No termination during a certified pregnancy or the suspension of the contract.
• One hour of nursing time a day for 15 months, and 2 working days for the father.

Official conditions are published in the CNPS maternity insurance leaflet. To track every maternity leave Ivory Coast and its protected period without spreadsheets, book a Socium demo.