Mauritania
Min. wage
(x12 payments)
MRU 4,500 /mo
About the minimum wage
Employer tax
~20.6%
Understand employer tax
Annual leave
18 days
Learn about annual leave
Notice period
15 days-3 months (by role)
Termination and notice info
Updated
Sep 2026
The indefinite-duration contract (CDI) is the standard and default form of employment in Mauritania, with no predetermined end date. It may be concluded verbally but is strongly advised to be in writing and registered with the labour inspectorate. Affords full statutory protections on termination procedure, notice, and severance.
Fixed-term contracts (CDD) must specify a precise term or task and be justified by a temporary need. Combined duration of the initial contract plus its single permitted renewal cannot exceed 2 years. If the relationship continues beyond that, or a further renewal occurs, the contract is deemed reclassified as indefinite (CDI), triggering full CDI protections. Contracts exceeding 3 months must be submitted to/approved by the labour inspector.
The standard legal working week is 40 hours, with at least 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest (customarily Friday) and a minimum daily rest break after 6 consecutive hours worked. Overtime compensated at premium rates, commonly cited as approximately 115% of base hourly rate for daytime overtime, 140% for night work, and 150% for work on the weekly rest day or a public holiday (exact tiers can be refined by sector CBAs).
The trial/probationary period allows either party to assess suitability. May not exceed 6 months for ordinary employees, extendable to 12 months for supervisory/managerial staff (cadres) or employees whose normal residence is outside Mauritania. During probation the contract may generally be terminated by either party without notice or indemnity, provided not abusive or discriminatory.
Mauritanian labour law does not require a 13th (or 14th) month salary or statutory annual bonus. Any such payment is a matter of individual contract, company policy, or sector CBA. Note: some third-party guides describe a mandatory annual bonus of 12-25% of wages for Mauritania, but this appears to conflate Mauritania with Mauritius' distinct 13th-month-pay law - see REVIEW FLAGS.
No broad, centralized job-title licensing regime, but foreign nationals require a work permit/visa and residency authorization, and Mauritanian labour law contains local-labour-preference principles. Regulated professions (law, medicine, accounting, engineering) require registration with the relevant professional order/ministry regardless of nationality.
Approximately 20% of gross salary: 13% to CNSS for combined retirement/invalidity/survivors pension, family allowances, and work-injury insurance (capped at MRU 70,000/month), plus 2% for occupational medicine (same ceiling), plus 5% to CNAM for health insurance (full salary, no ceiling). Separately, a 0.6% apprenticeship/vocational-training tax is due on total payroll.
Approximately 5% of gross salary withheld: 1% to CNSS (retirement pension, capped at MRU 70,000/month) plus 4% to CNAM for health insurance (full salary). Employees are also subject to progressive payroll/income tax (ITS) withheld by the employer.
In addition to statutory leave, employees are entitled to the following statutory benefits:
Mauritania's employment-related social protection is split between CNSS (retirement/old-age pension, invalidity, survivors' benefits, work injury/occupational disease, family allowances) and CNAM (health insurance). Contributions are due quarterly.
Note: some tax advisory sources cite a different apportionment (e.g., employer 15% capped at MRU 15,000/month, employee 1%) - see REVIEW FLAGS.
Work-injury and occupational-disease protection is provided through CNSS as part of its combined contribution (bundled within the ~13% employer CNSS rate).
Employers do not pay a separate stand-alone workers' compensation premium outside the CNSS contribution structure; no private workers' comp insurance market equivalent is mandated by law.
Statutory severance applies to dismissals not for serious misconduct, calculated as a percentage of the employee's average monthly salary (last 12 months) multiplied by years of service:
For collective/economic (redundancy) dismissals, higher rates apply: 30% (years 1-5), 40% (years 6-10), 50% (beyond 10 years). Not owed for dismissal due to serious/gross misconduct.
A 13th-month salary is not a statutory requirement under Mauritanian labour law.
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Your employee's hours, time off, holidays, bonuses, and commissions are automatically calculated into payroll. RemoFirst will invoice you in either US Dollars (USD), Euros (EUR), British Pounds (GBP), Canadian Dollars (CAD), Australian Dollars (AUD), or Singapore Dollars (SGD) around the 15th of each month to make sure your employees are paid on time. To make it even easier, you can summarize your entire global team's salaries to aggregate them into one payment (instead of many individual payments).
Unlike full-time employees, contractors work on projects with multiple companies at a given time and are technically self-employed. Full-time employees are solely focused on their employer and usually receive benefits (such as health insurance, equity or stock options, and time off) as an additional form of compensation. While it can be cheaper to work with international contractors instead of paying benefits to a full-time employee, you run the risk of misclassification. It's recommended to work with an EOR for contractor onboarding and payments, so you can know that your international contractors are paid compliantly and on time.
Whenever the employee or employer has a question about, or anything else related to international employment, they can speak with our customer support team to get answers from our team of experts.
