Country Language
Arabic
French
Country Currency
(XAF) CFA Franc BEAC
Location
Country Labor Law References & Information
1. Chad Employment Guide
Hiring in Chad starts before the job advertisement. An employer must notify the public employment office of a vacancy, and several types of contract need its endorsement before work begins. This Chad employment guide follows those obligations from recruitment through payroll, with separate guidance for foreign hires and for employers setting up their first local operation.
Country Labour Law in Chad
The Council of Ministers approved a draft replacement Labour Code on 3 September 2026. The official sources available at the review date confirm cabinet approval but do not establish promulgation or an effective date for the replacement. The rules below therefore follow the verified 1996 Code, as amended. In particular, an employer calculating the cost of ending a fixed-term contract should distinguish the September proposal from an entitlement already in force.
Key Legislation and Official Sources
| Legislation | Description | Official Source |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Code, Law No. 038/PR/96 of 11 December 1996 | Governs employment under an employer’s direction, including contracts, hours, leave, wages, safety, worker representation and disputes. Statutory public servants fall under a separate regime. | ILO NATLEX, Chad Labour Code |
| Ordinance No. 021/PR/18 of 27 June 2018 | Amends Articles 69 and 84. These concern the treatment of a contract submitted for endorsement and the labour inspector’s review of workplace rules. Employers using an older copy of the Code should check these articles separately. | Journal officiel, national legislation archive |
| Decree No. 96-189/PR/MFPT of 15 April 1996 | Requires notification of vacancies, regulates publication of advertisements and provides for reporting hires, departures and workforce information to the public employment office. | ILO NATLEX, hiring declarations decree |
| General Collective Agreement of 12 December 2002 | Sets terms for employers and workers within its scope, including recruitment documents, classifications, family leave, sickness and notice. A business should also check for a more specific sector or company agreement. | ILO NATLEX, general collective agreement |
| Minimum-wage and wage-grid decrees | The legal framework distinguishes the general interprofessional minimum wage (SMIG) from the agricultural minimum wage (SMAG). The wage grid and occupational classification can affect the minimum payable for a particular job. | UNHCR legal database, SMIG and SMAG decree · ILO wage-grid record |
| Social protection provisions of Law No. 7/66 and implementing texts | The 1996 Labour Code preserved the earlier social protection provisions pending replacement. The social security fund publishes the texts for affiliation, pensions, family benefits and occupational risks. | ILO legislative history |
| Universal Health Coverage Law No. 035/PR/2019 of 5 August 2019 | Establishes the health coverage framework. The salaried-worker scheme has a separate rollout from ordinary social security registration. | Journal officiel · National health insurance fund implementation update |
| Personal Data Protection Law No. 007/PR/2015 of 10 February 2015 | Governs the processing of personal information, including applicant and employee records. The national authority publishes the legislation and implementing instruments. | ANSICE legislative publications |
| Decree No. 2249/PR/PM/MSPI/2026 on foreign nationals’ admission and stay | The September 2026 Gazette sets out residence documentation and the relationship between permission to stay and employment authorisation. The decree includes exceptions for certain organisations covered by agreements with Chad. | Journal officiel, September 2026 issue · Official immigration portal |
| General Tax Code and Finance Law No. 008/AN/SENAT/2025 of 26 December 2025 | The Finance Law for 2026 updates tax provisions relevant to employers, including individual reporting of amounts paid to salaried personnel. | Finance Ministry, 2026 Finance Law |
Institutions Employers Deal With
| Institution | Responsibility | Official website or service |
|---|---|---|
| Office national pour la promotion de l’emploi (ONAPE) | Receives vacancy and hiring declarations, publishes vacancies, endorses specified contracts and handles employment authorisation for foreign workers. | ONAPE employment services |
| Inspection du travail | Monitors employment conditions, receives workplace matters within its remit and assists with labour disputes. The territorial inspector is a relevant contact for hours, workplace rules and dismissal procedures. | ILO legal record, Labour Code Books V and VI |
| Caisse nationale de prévoyance sociale (CNPS) | Registers employers and workers, collects contributions and administers pensions, family benefits and occupational injury or disease benefits. | CNPS employer and worker services |
| Caisse nationale d’assurance santé (CNAS) | Administers the universal health coverage system. Employers should confirm the enrolment and collection arrangements applicable to salaried staff with CNAS. | CNAS implementation update via the national press agency |
| Direction générale des impôts (DGI) | Administers tax registration, withholding and returns. The Finance Ministry publishes the Finance Law and tax guidance for the relevant year. | Finance Ministry publications portal |
| Agence nationale de sécurité informatique et de certification électronique (ANSICE) | Oversees personal data protection and publishes the rules governing processing and related formalities. | ANSICE publications |
| Agence nationale des investissements et des exportations (ANIE) | Operates the one-stop business registration service, the Guichet unique de création d’entreprise. | ANIE business registration service |
2. Labour Legislation in Chad
Chad Employment Guide to Contracts, Probation and Pay
A fixed-term contract (contrat à durée déterminée, CDD) must be in writing. It ordinarily specifies an end date or duration. The Code allows an event-based end in defined circumstances, such as replacing an absent worker or completing seasonal work. Continued employment after expiry can convert the relationship into open-ended employment (contrat à durée indéterminée, CDI). For a project hire, the contract should explain which event ends the assignment and who will track it.
Probation deserves its own clause. The general rule is to put an agreed trial period and its duration in writing, subject to the applicable collective agreement. For a CDD, Article 63 gives the worker a trial period. The employer can rely on that period for its own benefit only if the contract expressly says so.
Before quoting pay, the employer should identify the occupation, classification and applicable general or agricultural minimum. The statutory floor and the relevant collective wage scale should both be checked. A job title alone can be misleading: a payroll administrator working for an agricultural business may require a different classification from a seasonal field worker.
Hours, Overtime and Leave
The Labour Code regulates ordinary working time, overtime, night work and weekly rest, with specific treatment for agricultural activities. Managers should build rest into the roster and record hours actually worked. Payroll can then distinguish overtime from ordinary shifts and apply the premium due under the law or agreement.
Workers accrue paid annual leave. Employers should track service, leave taken and outstanding entitlement when employment ends. A medically justified non-occupational illness can suspend the contract and protect the employee against dismissal during the statutory period, subject to the Code’s exceptions. Salary continuation is a separate calculation under the applicable agreement. A workplace injury also requires an occupational-risk report.
The Code protects maternity leave around childbirth and provides for nursing breaks after the employee returns. Within its scope, the general collective agreement also gives paid family-event leave for the birth of a child. HR should identify the entitlement for the parent concerned and explain the CNPS maternity benefit process separately from the right to be absent.
Safety, Equality and Social Protection
The employer must protect workers’ health and safety and arrange occupational medical supervision. For contracts covered by Article 67, the hiring medical examination precedes conclusion of the contract. A practical induction should identify the hazards at the actual worksite, who provides protective equipment and how an employee reports an injury.
The Code prohibits discrimination in employment, including on grounds of sex, origin, religion and union membership. It also protects worker representation and collective bargaining. When pay or scheduling changes affect a group of employees, HR should check the relevant collective agreement and representatives’ rights before communicating the decision.
CNPS registration supports pension, family and occupational-risk benefits. General health insurance is administered separately by CNAS. In October 2026, the CNAS director described the salaried-worker scheme as approaching launch. A uniform payroll collection start for all private employers could not be verified as of 15 November. Before deducting a contribution, the employer should obtain the CNAS instruction covering its workforce and pay period.
Termination and Dispute Resolution
HR should identify the ground for separation before calculating final pay. Expiry of a fixed term, early termination of that contract, resignation, disciplinary dismissal and redundancy follow different rules. For example, Article 142 restricts the employer’s unilateral early termination of a CDD after probation to serious misconduct under the disciplinary procedure. A CDI dismissal requires review of the reason, applicable notice, procedure and compensation. The employer must also complete the appropriate departure declarations. Workers and employers can approach the labour inspectorate for conciliation.
3. The Most Popular Job Boards in Chad
The choice of channel depends on the job. ONAPE is both a recruitment service and a participant in the statutory hiring process. A commercial board can extend the search once the employer has completed the required advertising formalities.
| Platform | Link | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ONAPE | Public employment listings | Chad’s public employment service publishes jobs and internships with named employers and duty stations. Employers should start here for vacancy notification and advertising authorisation. |
| Emploi.td | Candidate and recruiter registration | A Chad-focused commercial job board. Employers can publish vacancies, while candidates can register, submit a CV and apply online. Suitable for searches across several industries. |
| ReliefWeb Jobs | Humanitarian vacancies | A specialist channel for humanitarian organisations. Candidates can filter by country, career category, experience and closing date. Useful for employers recruiting field, programme and support staff for a Chad duty station. |
For a vacancy outside N’Djamena, the advertisement should specify the town or field base, expected travel and the languages actually needed. A logistics coordinator based in the capital and one stationed in eastern Chad may have the same title and entirely different travel obligations. Clear location information helps candidates decide whether to apply.
4. Doing Business in Chad
Business Registration and Local Presence
ANIE’s one-stop service is the starting point for commercial registration. A foreign company should identify the entity that will sign contracts, pay salaries and appear on tax and CNPS records. The registration file depends on its legal form and activity. Before committing to a local start date, the business should confirm commercial registration, tax identification and any sector-specific authorisation. ANIE directs applicants to its physical counter while its online creation service is under development.
Language and Negotiation
French and Arabic are Chad’s official languages. A hiring manager should agree on the language for interviews, the written offer and safety instructions, particularly when an overseas office approves the terms. For field roles, a written offer should settle the base, travel expectations, transport, accommodation and who authorises schedule changes. These details matter when a candidate must move from the place of hire, because relocation itself can trigger ONAPE contract endorsement.
Payroll, Tax and Accounting
Payroll should identify taxable salary, allowances and benefits, calculate the applicable withholding and reconcile remittances to the tax authority with the separate CNPS declaration. Under the 2026 Finance Law, the employer must file an individual statement of amounts paid to each employee electronically through e-Tax. The ordinary annual filing falls before 15 March. For a salaried employee leaving Chad, the law specifies filing one month before departure. An international employer should therefore make the tax review part of offboarding before a departing employee leaves the country.
Chad applies the OHADA framework for business accounting. Finance should reconcile the payroll register, employer contributions, tax withheld, bank payments and ledger postings for each pay period. Non-profit organisations should check the separate OHADA accounting system applicable to their entity type, particularly where a grant budget and statutory payroll use different classifications.
Employee or Independent Contractor?
Under the Labour Code, employment involves paid work under another person’s direction and authority. A consultant who sets their own method and delivers an agreed report presents a different case from a field officer who works the company roster, follows daily instructions and reports to its supervisor. The employer should assess how the arrangement will operate before deciding whether to use payroll or a service agreement. An incorrect classification can leave wages, leave and social contributions outstanding. The Code also restricts labour lending that generates a profit for the supplier or reduces workers’ rights.
This page is intended as a general reference guide to the most commonly used job boards and key employment-related resources in the country, including links to local labor laws where available. While HR DADA strives to keep this information current, we update these listings periodically to reflect changes in market trends, platform relevance, and regulatory updates. For the most accurate and tailored guidance, whether for compliance, recruitment strategy, or HR market entry, we recommend reaching out directly to the HR DADA team via chat space.crew@hrdada.com.
