Bamako, Mali

Employment law

Temporary lay-offs

22 June 2026

According to Article L.46 of the compendium of legislative and regulatory texts relating to the Labour Code, “ ‘Any individual or collective dismissal carried out by an employer for one or more reasons not inherent to the employee’s person and resulting from the abolition or restructuring of a post or a substantial change to the employment contract following economic difficulties or technological change constitutes a redundancy’”.

In other words, redundancy on economic grounds is a dismissal that may be carried out for one or more reasons not inherent to the employee’s person and resulting from the abolition or restructuring of a post, or a change—rejected by the employee—to an essential element of the employment contract, arising in particular from:

  • Economic difficulties;
  • Technological changes;
  • A reorganisation of the company;
  • The cessation of the company’s business.

Please note that the actual occurrence of the redundancy, the restructuring of a post or the amendment of an essential element of the employment contract is assessed at company level.

In all cases, any redundancy must be justified by a genuine and serious reason that is objectively verifiable.

Reducing the workforce is a possible solution. 

However, a specific procedure must be followed. A period of furlough (temporary lay-off) prior to redundancy or a reduction in the workforce is generally three months. If, after this non-renewable three-month period, no solution can be found to avoid redundancy on economic grounds, the employer must:

  • Follow the order of redundancies: Establish the order of redundancies, taking into account certain criteria: professional skills, length of service, social security contributions;
  • Consult with staff representatives;
  • Summon employees to a preliminary interview and conduct this interview: Provide the list to staff representatives, if any. The employer must then summon the representatives within eight days to gather their suggestions;
  • Draw up and, where possible, implement a job-preservation plan;
  • Notify the employees of their dismissal if no other solutions are found;
  • Pay the severance pay and hand over the end-of-contract documents;
  • Do not forget to inform the relevant administrative authority: Provide the labour inspector, for the purposes of their investigation, with the list of employees proposed for redundancy and the minutes of the meeting held with the staff representatives.

Please note: If your employee is a protected employee (for example, holding a position as a staff representative), you are required to seek authorisation from the labour inspector before dismissing the employee on economic grounds.

Which employees can be placed on temporary lay-off, and which cannot

not?

Can a woman on maternity leave be placed on temporary lay-off?

If a woman is on maternity leave, you may not take any action concerning her. Maternity leave is a statutory suspension of the employment contract (at the expense of the INPS), Article D.86-27 of the Labour Code.

Is there a category of employee who cannot be placed on temporary lay-off

?

Yes, the employment contract is suspended whilst the employee is unable to work as a result of an accident at work (AT) and whilst an employee on maternity leave is on leave under the conditions laid down by current legislation, Article D.86-27 of the Labour Code.

Is the period of temporary lay-off renewable?

No, it is a non-renewable period of 3 months.

Does placing a trade unionist on temporary lay-off pose a problem? Is a special procedure required to place them on temporary lay-off?

Placing a trade union representative on temporary lay-off does not pose any problems provided you follow the procedures below: 

  • If your employee is a protected employee (for example, holding a position as a staff representative), you are required to seek authorisation from the labour inspector before placing them on temporary lay-off or dismissing them on economic grounds.

Can an employee refuse to be placed on temporary lay-off?

No, an employee cannot refuse to be placed on temporary lay-off. If they refuse, the employer is obliged to dismiss them on economic grounds.

NB: Once an employee has been placed on temporary lay-off, the employer may not require employees in the same role to work overtime.

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