Severance pay Ivory Coast law grants is due to any employee on a permanent contract dismissed after at least one year of service, except for gross misconduct. For each year of service it equals 30% of the average monthly total salary of the last twelve months up to the fifth year, 35% from the sixth to the tenth and 40% beyond (decree no. 2017-210 of 30 March 2017). Below are the formula, a complete worked example, the amounts that come on top (notice, leave, damages) and the special cases.
Who is entitled to severance pay Ivory Coast?
The Labour Code (law no. 2015-532 of 20 July 2015, art. 18.16) provides for a dismissal indemnity whenever the termination is not attributable to the employee, including force majeure. Decree no. 2017-210, which repealed decree no. 96-201 of 7 March 1996, sets the conditions:
- the contract is terminated by the employer;
- the employee has completed at least one year of effective service;
- the employee has not committed gross misconduct.
The indemnity is separate from notice and damages: it is added to them. It is not due during the probation period, which can be ended freely without compensation (art. 18.1), nor when the employee leaves to draw a retirement pension: a retirement indemnity calculated on the same basis is then paid instead.
The severance pay Ivory Coast formula
Severance pay Ivory Coast employers owe is calculated by seniority band, each year being paid at the rate of its band:
| Years of service | Percentage of reference salary per year |
|---|---|
| Years 1 to 5 inclusive | 30% |
| Years 6 to 10 inclusive | 35% |
| Beyond year 10 | 40% |
Fractions of a year count, rounded down to the month. The same scale appears in article 39 of the 1977 interprofessional collective agreement.
The reference salary
The base is the average monthly total salary of the twelve months of activity preceding the dismissal. It includes everything that pays for work (base salary, additional salary, seniority bonus, overtime, bonuses and commissions, benefits) and excludes amounts that reimburse expenses. The Code confirms that bonuses and commissions count towards notice and dismissal indemnities, on their monthly average, over no more than the last twelve months (art. 31.9).
A worked severance pay Ivory Coast example
As an illustration, take a logistics manager in San-Pédro, paid monthly, classified in an employee category, made redundant after 12 years and 4 months of service. Her average total salary over the last twelve months, bonuses included and expenses excluded, is 500,000 FCFA.
| Band | Calculation | Amount (FCFA) |
|---|---|---|
| Years 1 to 5 | 5 × 30% × 500,000 | 750,000 |
| Years 6 to 10 | 5 × 35% × 500,000 | 875,000 |
| Years 11 and 12 | 2 × 40% × 500,000 | 400,000 |
| 4 months of year 13 | 4/12 × 40% × 500,000 | 66,667 |
| Dismissal indemnity | - | 2,091,667 |
The indemnity is worth just over four months of salary. On top come three months’ notice, worked or paid, and pay in lieu of untaken leave. If the dismissal were found to be unfair, damages would also be due.
What comes on top of severance pay Ivory Coast
Notice
Decree no. 96-200 of 7 March 1996 and article 34 of the agreement set the notice period, unless more favourable terms apply:
| Employee | Length of service | Notice |
|---|---|---|
| Paid by the hour, day, week or fortnight (first five categories) | Up to 6 months / 6 months to 1 year / 1 to 6 years / 6 to 11 years / 11 to 16 years / beyond | 8 days / 15 days / 1 month / 2 months / 3 months / 4 months |
| Paid monthly (first five categories) | Up to 6 years / 6 to 11 years / 11 to 16 years / beyond | 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 months |
| Sixth category and above | Up to 16 years / beyond | 3 / 4 months |
During notice, the employee has two paid days off a week to look for a job (art. 18.6 of the Code). If notice is not worked because of the employer, pay in lieu equal to the salary and benefits of the period is due (art. 18.7). A termination notified during leave, or within the 15 days before or after it, adds two months’ salary for a monthly-paid employee (art. 36 of the agreement).
Untaken leave
Accrued but untaken leave pay is paid on departure. Its calculation is explained in our guide to leave management in Ivory Coast.
Damages for unfair dismissal
A dismissal without legitimate grounds, or a collective redundancy that ignores the required procedure, is unfair (art. 18.15). Where the employer is responsible, damages equal one month of gross salary per year of service, with a minimum of three months and a maximum of twenty. In our example, that would be twelve months of gross salary, on top of severance pay Ivory Coast rules require and the notice.
Special cases
Redundancy for economic reasons
When more than one employee is concerned, the employer sends a file to the staff representatives, the labour inspector and the National Council for Social Dialogue at least fifteen working days before an information meeting chaired by the inspector (art. 18.10 to 18.14). The dismissed employee has a two-year priority for rehiring (art. 18.9). The indemnity is the same as for an individual dismissal.
Long-term sickness
If the employee cannot return to the job at the end of the suspension period, the employer who records the termination pays notice, leave and the dismissal indemnity (art. 18.5).
Death of the employee
With at least one year of service, direct-line dependants and the surviving spouse receive an amount equal to the dismissal indemnity. The employer also contributes to funeral costs: three times the category minimum wage up to five years of service, four times from six to ten years, six times beyond (decree no. 2017-210, art. 6 and 7).
Successive rehiring
An employee dismissed several times through job cuts in the same company accumulates service, less any indemnities already received.
End of a fixed-term contract and negotiated termination
A fixed-term contract that ends without a permanent contract gives the right to an end-of-contract indemnity of 3% of gross salaries received (art. 15.8), not to the dismissal indemnity. The parties may also agree a negotiated termination (art. 18.17): it can then only be challenged under civil law, but no one can waive the dismissal rules in advance.
Severance pay Ivory Coast mistakes
- Calculating on base salary alone instead of average total salary, bonuses and commissions included.
- Applying 40% to the whole service, or 30% to every year: each band has its own rate.
- Ignoring the months of the final year, which count pro rata.
- Paying in instalments: salary and indemnities are due on the last day of service (art. 32.7).
- Forgetting the employment certificate and the CNPS salary statement (art. 18.18).
- Neglecting the procedure: a flaw turns the dismissal into an unfair one.
Preparing the final settlement
The final payslip combines the month’s salary, pay in lieu of leave, notice and severance pay Ivory Coast rules require. Each amount has its own nature: have your adviser confirm the tax and social security treatment of each before calculating net pay. Reading the lines is explained in our payslip guide for Ivory Coast, the net pay method in our guide to net salary calculation in Ivory Coast, and social deductions in our guide to CNPS contributions in Ivory Coast.
The twelve-month average salary is the slowest figure to rebuild by hand. With the simulator and payroll software that calculates severance pay Ivory Coast, Socium uses payroll history, seniority and bonuses to produce a verifiable final settlement. The texts cited are gathered in the edition of the Ivorian Labour Code published by UVCI. Legal minimum wages, which also serve as the base for funeral costs, are covered in our article on the minimum wage in Ivory Coast.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate severance pay Ivory Coast?
Multiply the average monthly total salary of the last twelve months by 30% for each of the first five years, 35% for years six to ten, 40% beyond, then add the fraction of the final year pro rata to the months worked.
How much service is needed for severance pay Ivory Coast?
One year of effective service in the company, and no gross misconduct.
How much for 3 years at 300,000 FCFA?
3 × 30% × 300,000, or 270,000 FCFA, plus notice and untaken leave.
Does resignation give a right to the indemnity?
No. The indemnity requires a termination that is not attributable to the employee.
Key takeaways
- At least one year of service, no gross misconduct.
- 30%, 35% then 40% of average total salary per year, fractions included.
- Notice, leave and, for unfair dismissal, 3 to 20 months of damages come on top.
- Severance pay Ivory Coast is paid on the last day of service.
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