Key Finding - 4 Employment Security - 2020

3. EMPLOYMENT SECURITY

A. WRITTEN EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT

Nearly 90% (102) of the 115 countries covered require either a written employment or employment particulars which must be given to a worker on commencement of employment. There are 13 countries, nine of which are in Africa, which have no statutory provision on written employment contracts or particulars. Argentina (Americas) and Australia (Oceania) as well as Lebanon and Thailand in Asia, do not have any legal requirement for written employment contracts or particulars.

B. PROBATION PERIOD

More than 40% (52) countries have either no provision on probationary periods, or its duration is more than three months. Half of the countries in Europe have more than three months of probation while a similar percentage is observed for Africa. Half of the Asian countries provide for the probation period of three months. Twelve of the 15 countries in the Americas provide for a probationary period of three months or less. The USA is the only exception in the region: it has no statutory requirement on probationary period. 

C. FIXED TERM CONTRACTS

Nearly half of the countries examined under this Index, have either fixed contracts of more than 5-year duration or set no limits on the duration of fixed term contracts. Chile, Costa Rica, Iraq, and Morocco set the maximum limit at 12 months for fixed term contracts. Pakistan sets the lowest fixed term contract limit of 9 months. 54 (47%) countries require fixed term contracts of 13-60 months. 

D. TERMINATION NOTICE PERIOD

Around 60% of the countries in the Index provide for a requisite notice period of four weeks or 30 days. Cambodia (Asia), Nicaragua (Americas) and Spain (Europe) are the only countries in this range to provide a 15 days’ notice period. There are 10 countries which require a different notice period for workers and employers. Five of these countries are based in Europe. Iraq and Ukraine also require a different notice period for workers and employers. In Indonesia, Iran and Iraq, the notice period for the worker is 30 days while the employer does not have to observe any notice. In Ukraine, the minimum notice period for the worker is two weeks while for the employer it is two months. 

E. SEVERANCE PAY

More than 50% of the countries in this Index provide for a severance payment of 14 or more days per year of service. While 19 countries, 11 of which are in Africa, provide for less than 14 days’ wages as severance payment, there are 33 countries which have no provision on statutory severance payment of at least 14 days per year of service. 17 of the 33 such countries are in Europe. Eight of these 33 “No Provision” countries either have a fixed severance pay which remains the same irrespective of the years of service, or is not provided after the first year of service. In Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, Russia, and Ukraine, the severance pay remains constant irrespective of the years of service. Guatemala does not provide any severance pay during the first year of service.