Changes to the National Minimum Wage and Internal Regulations

This summary highlights the main recent legislative changes in Angola concerning the National Minimum Wage and the Internal Regulations of Companies, facilitating the understanding and monitoring of the most relevant changes.

1. Amendment to the National Minimum Wage

Presidential Decree 152/24 of 17 July was published, approving the attached National Minimum Wage, with the primary objective of adapting to the economic, financial and social challenges of today, the minimum sum of income that must be paid to workers for the work performed or for the services provided during the period of one month.

We highlight the following changes:

1. The national minimum wage is set at AOA 70,000.00 (seventy thousand Kwanzas).
2. The national minimum wage is set for Micro-enterprises (those that employ up to 10 workers and/or have an annual gross turnover not exceeding in Kz the equivalent of USD 250 thousand – cfr. no. 2 of article 5 of Law 30/11 of 13 September, Law on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) and start-ups, in AOA 50,000.00 (fifty thousand Kwanzas).
3. After 12 (twelve) months from the date of entry into force of the Decree, the national minimum wage is set at AOA 100,000.00 (one hundred thousand Kwanzas).

NOTE:

1. The decree was published on July 12, and will enter into force 60 (sixty) days after its publication, so that companies have the proper preparation for its implementation, so it will enter into force on September 12, 2024. As a result, as of September 12, 2025, the national minimum wage will be AOA 100,000.00 (one hundred thousand Kwanzas).
2. The Decree does not specify whether the change after 12 (twelve) months is extended to all companies, or the exception applicable to micro-enterprises and start-ups  will be maintained.Applying and making the interpretation most favorable to the worker, it is presumed that the exception will only cover the period between September 12, 2023 and September 12, 2024, with the minimum wage of AOA 100,000.00 (one hundred thousand Kwanzas) being applicable to all types of companies.
3. The Decree that will come into force on September 12, 2024, removes the previously established, the minimum wages by sectors of activity. However, it opens up the possibility of establishing minimum wages by industry, sector of activity or economic groupings through collective agreements, duly signed by the agreeing parties, deposited and registered by the Ministerial Department responsible for the Labour Sector
4. It is our understanding that this opening gives room for the possibility of companies being able to practice minimum wages, slightly lower.
5. However, it is only admitted in very important exceptional situations in which, for difficult economic reasons that companies are going through, provided that they prove to the workers, unions and the General Labour Inspectorate, that the payment of the minimum wage under the terms prescribed in the aforementioned decree would accelerate collective redundancies or the dissolution and consequent extinction of the company. We also understand that this agreement should always be transitory, and the term of practice of this minimum wage below that legally established, should last for a not very long period and with duly determined validity periods.

• Finally, the recent legal diploma regulating the minimum wage gives the possibility of reducing the national minimum wage for up to 24 months (2 years), when duly authorized by the Ministerial Department responsible for the Labor Sector, upon presentation of the documentation prescribed in article 3 of Presidential Decree No. 152/24 of July 17, 2024.

1. It is important to note that the qualification criteria of companies in large, medium, small and micro are not cumulative. In other words, for this qualiphilification the number of workers and, at the same time, the volume of invoicing are not required, and the existence of one is enough for the company to fit into one of the categories.

1. However, under the terms of Article 5 of Law No. 30/11, MSME Law, the criterion of turnover volume prevails over that of the number of employees. As an example, we can test the following hypothesis:

1. company A, which operates in the private security sector and has 110 employees, would be a medium-sized company, but in the 2023 fiscal year, which ended in July, it recorded a turnover below the equivalent of 250,000.00 USD, that is, an annual gross turnover equivalent to 210,000.00 USD. Certainly, this company qualifies as a micro-enterprise group because, notwithstanding the number of employees, it is referred to the group of medium-sized enterprises, while its turnover qualifies it as a micro-enterprise until proven otherwise.
2. company B, an accounting service provider, has 8 employees, at the outset, it would be qualified as a micro company, but its annual gross turnover for the 2023 fiscal year, which ended in July, was the equivalent of USD 280,000.00. Certainly, it qualifies it as a small enterprise group, since, notwithstanding the number of employees, it refers it to the micro-enterprise group, but due to its turnover volume, until proven otherwise, it qualifies it as a small enterprise.
3. Therefore, it is recommended that companies that have registered a turnover that fits into micro companies contact their accountants so that they provide suitable data declared to the General Tax Administration, as these will serve as a basis for justifying the practice of the national minimum wage of 50,000.00 KZ.  

• Internal Regulations

Law 12/23 of 27 December, General Labour Law, established a new panorama for the Internal Regulations of Employers, determining in arts. 102 to 106, the essential elements for its elaboration, validity and effectiveness.

Among which:

1. The Employer may draw up Internal Regulations, provided that they respect the rules on work organization, labor discipline, safety, health, hygiene in the worker, redemption indicators, among others, reflected in paragraph 2 of article 102 of the General Labor Law.
2. Employers with more than 50 employees must draw up Internal Regulations.
3. In the process of drafting the Internal Regulations, the Employer must consult the workers’ representative body on the same, which must give its opinion within 20 working days.
4. Once the Internal Regulations have been drawn up, they must be sent for information and registration to the General Labour Inspectorate of the Employer’s area of activity, being subject to an assessment to investigate irregularities by this entity, and may, if necessary, activate the correction mechanisms.
5. Internal Regulations that have not gone through the registration process are not effective for the Employee and Employer, nor should they be invoked against them in case of violation.

• Once the Regulation is approved, it must be published or posted at the Work Center, in a place widely frequented by the workers, in order to be aware of it, entering into force, under the terms of the Law, after 30 (thirty) days, counted from the date of publication or posting.
• Only the Internal Regulations that have gone through this process are effective inter partes – Employer and Worker, and can be invoked at any time in case of violation, as they become mandatory, under the terms of paragraph l) of article 84 of the General Labour Law.

This summary is purely informational and does not constitute complete legal advice. The information provided is valid as of the date of publication and readers are advised to seek legal advice before applying it in specific situations. The reproduction, dissemination or distribution of this content, in whole or in part, is prohibited without prior consent. For more information, we are available for contact and clarification at:                                                       geral@lasadvogados.co.ao / emilcalei27@gmail.com / emanuel.jeremias@lasadvogados.co.ao / messias.sanumbutue@lasadvogados.co.ao

Emanuel Jeremias

Messias Sanumbutue

Emil Calei

Pela L.A.,

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