8. Rules of Procedure

The internal regulations are an internal document drawn up by the employer and submitted to the staff representatives for their consideration before being approved by the labour inspectorate. They constitute a genuine charter for the parties to the contract.

The content of the internal regulations is limited exclusively to:

1. Measures relating to the technical organisation of work and any exceptional arrangements that may relate to it;
2. The terms and conditions for the payment of wages in accordance with Malian labour legislation;
3. General and permanent rules relating to discipline, in particular the nature and scale of sanctions that the employer may impose;
4. Rules concerning health and safety.

Conditions for the validity of the internal regulations 

The company director must communicate the draft internal regulations to the staff representatives, if any; failing that, to the staff delegates. This communication shall take the form of the delivery of a copy of the draft internal regulations by any means that allows the communication to be certified and gives it a definite date.

Within fifteen days of receiving the copy of the draft internal regulations, the staff representatives must submit their comments in writing to the company director. Failure to reply within the prescribed time limit shall be deemed to constitute acceptance.
 
The draft internal regulations, drawn up in duplicate, and a copy of the representatives’ comments shall be forwarded to the labour inspector for approval.

Twenty days after approval by the labour inspector, the internal regulations come into force.

Compliance with the internal regulations 

From the date they come into force, the internal regulations apply to all staff of the company; any breach of their provisions will result in disciplinary action, the nature of which is set out in the internal regulations.

Sanctions range from a warning to dismissal, including suspension for a period not exceeding eight (8) days and a reprimand. 

However, it is prohibited to impose fines or direct or indirect financial penalties.

New 

Internal regulations are mandatory in any company employing at least 10 staff members.

What should be done if an employer imposes disciplinary measures in the absence of internal regulations?

In principle, the employer must refer to the internal rules when applying disciplinary measures. However, if it transpires that no such internal rules exist, this irregularity may result in a penalty being imposed by the labour inspector.

The absence of internal rules cannot prevent the company director from imposing a disciplinary measure, given the discretionary power granted to them by law regarding the technical organisation of work and disciplinary measures.

Definition of terms

Discriminatory clauses: The internal regulations must not include provisions that disadvantage employees on the grounds of their gender, family circumstances or political or religious beliefs.

Disciplinary procedure: An employer may not impose a disciplinary sanction on an employee without first hearing the employee’s account of the allegations against them in the presence of a staff representative, or after having provided them with a request for an explanation to be answered in writing within a minimum response period of 48 hours.