Capital: Yaounde
Monetary Unit: Central African CFA franc
Population: (2022 est.) 5,956,000
Official languages: French, English
Cameroon, on the Gulf of Guinea, is a Central African country of varied terrain and wildlife. Its inland capital, Yaoundé, and its biggest city, the seaport Douala, are transit points to ecotourism sites as well as beach resorts like Kribi.
The public holidays in Cameroon are as follows;
Date Holiday
- 1 Jan New Year’s Day
- 2 Jan New Year Holiday
- 11 Feb Youth Day
- 7 Apr Good Friday
- 21 Apr Djouldé Soumaé
- 1 May Labour Day
- 18 May Ascension Day
- 20 May National Day
- 28 Jun Tabaski
- 15 Aug Assumption Day
- 25 Dec Christmas Day
Probationary periods of up to 6 months are allowed, and the agreement must be in writing. Managerial staff are generally entitled to an 8-month probationary period.
In general, employees are eligible to accrue 1 1/2 days of leave for each month of work. After 5 years of service, employees are eligible to receive an additional 2 days per month. Workers who have accumulated more than 12 days of leave may split up their leave, but one portion must equal 12 continuous working days. Workers are also generally eligible to receive 10 days of paid leave for family events.
Female employees are generally entitled to 14 weeks of paid maternity leave, with 4 weeks to be taken before the birth or 6 weeks if her doctor orders confinement. Maternity leave is paid for by the National Social Insurance Fund.
Fathers can use their 10 days of paid family leave for paternity leave.
Employees are generally entitled to at least 5 days of paid sick leave per year. If an employee is injured or becomes ill at work, the employer is responsible for paying for medical treatment.
Employees who have worked for at least 2 years are generally entitled to severance pay. The amount of pay is determined by the Minister in charge of Labor.
Cameroon Salary and Wages: Accurately estimate your costs when employing in Cameroon in 2023. Includes base salary, dependents, benefits, taxes, social contributions, and payroll costs. Monthly or yearly calculation period.
13th/14th Month Salary: There is no statutory requirement to pay the 13th or 14th month salary. Employees are entitled to a standard rate of holiday after one year of service.
Generally, fixed-term contracts of up to 2 years are allowed and may be renewed once. If the fixed-term contract is for more than 3 months, it must be in writing.
According to the most recent publication by Macro Trends in 2021, Cameroon experienced a steady increase in its international migration from 2000 to 2015. In 2005, the number of international migrants from Cameroon was 258,737, a 13.29% increase from 2000.
Fixed-term contracts may only be terminated for reasons of gross misconduct, force majeure, or written consent of both parties. Indefinite-term contracts can be terminated at any time by either the employer or the employee.
Moreover, upon the termination of the contract of employment, a final settlement of all wages and allowances is effected as soon as the employment ceases.
All employees must receive statutory benefits required by law for your company to stay compliant. For instance, Cameroon celebrates 10 public holidays for which employees should get the day off. The country also has a vacation requirement — employees are usually eligible to accrue 1.5 days of leave for each month they work. After five years, they should get an additional two days per month. Employees are also eligible to receive 10 days of paid leave for family events. Mothers with kids under six should get two extra days of leave for each child who lives at home, or one day if the mother’s accrued leave doesn’t exceed six days.
In general, the work week is 40 hours.
Overtime may occur on a temporary basis for work necessary due to exceptional or seasonal overload of work; the impossibility of finishing work within a fixed delay, and when recruitment of extra staff is not possible. Overtime hours cannot exceed 20 hours per week. Overtime is paid at the following rates.
- Overtime during the night is at 50% of the hourly salary
- Overtime rate for the day is as follows: – 8 first hours: 20% of the hourly salary; following 8 hours: 30% of the hourly salary; for the third installment of hours, up to 20 hours per week: 40% of the hourly salary; for overtime work performed on Sundays: 40% of the hourly salary.
There are different termination rules for the two employment contract types in Algeria: Fixed term contracts terminate on expiry and Unlimited term employment contracts may only be terminated for cause or redundancy.
For an employee’s employment contract to be terminated for cause, there has to be serious misconduct. Dismissal is only permitted once a disciplinary procedure has been carried out. Failure to carry out a disciplinary procedure will result in the dismissal being deemed to be ‘abusive’ and this will have consequences for the employer, who will be required to pay termination compensation.
Notice of termination must be given, the duration of which is set by the Minister in charge of Labor and is based on the seniority and the occupational group of the employee. During the notice period, the employee is generally entitled to one day off per week to look for another job.
Employees pay personal income taxes of between 11% and 38.5%. This information is provided as generally accepted information and is not intended as advisory services.
Social Security Rate for Employees in Cameroon averaged 3.27 percent from 2004 until 2021, reaching an all time high of 4.20 percent in 2016 and a record low of 2.80 percent in 2005.
Employment Expenses
Cameroon’s tax system awards a deduction of business expenses within the limit of 30% of the taxable salary. Furthermore, the amount destined to settle social contributions borne by the employee is a deductible charge.
Standard Deductions
Any individual subject to PIT is granted an annual abatement of a fixed amount of XAF 500,000 for wages and salaries.
VAT shall be levied on natural persons or corporate bodies that automatically, habitually, or occasionally carry out taxable transactions consisting of provisions of services or sales of goods.
The total VAT in Cameroon is 19.25%. Exports are zero rated. The VAT paid upstream is recoverable, except where otherwise stated.
Note that VAT is invoiced only by natural and legal persons whose turnover (taxes excluded) is equal to or above XAF 50 million and who are under the tax regime of actual earnings.
Withholding tax at rate of 15% is applicable on income from renting out built-on or non-built-on property situation in Cameroon. No unilateral double taxation relief is granted under domestic tax law in respect of foreign taxes paid. Bilateral relief is provided under Cameroonian tax treaties.
A 16.5% WHT is to be deducted at source by entities that pay remunerations granted to the board members of public institutions, public corporations, and semi-public companies in any capacity.