Workforce

What the Law Says About Workforce Management in Mali

Staffing in Mali refers to the employment of temporary workers in a company through a temporary staffing agency (ETT). The agency has a business relationship with the user company, governed by a staffing agreement or temporary employment contract, and an employment relationship with the worker, governed by an employment contract.

There is a triangular relationship among the three parties, which can be summarized as follows

Client/Service Provider Relationship

The user engages the service provider through a commercial service contract without a legal relationship of subordination. The relationship is governed by commercial law, which governs the entire service provision. Care must be taken in drafting this contract, as its termination conditions are generally more flexible than those under labor law.

Client/Assigned Staff Relationship

No legal relationship exists between the user and the staff apart from the fulfillment of the service provider’s mandate as set forth in the employment contract binding the staff member to the temporary staffing agency. In practice, the employment contract is the operational implementation of the assignments set forth in the service agreement between the user and the service provider. The user must ensure that the purpose of the service agreement aligns with that of the employment contracts of the assigned personnel.

Relationship Between the Service Provider and Outsourced Personnel

The service provider—as employer—is bound to the staff by an employment contract establishing a legal relationship of subordination. The temporary staffing agency is deemed to be the employer and is vested with the rights and obligations associated with its status as an employer. It is liable for the claims of the workers as well as those of the tax, social security, and administrative authorities.

This type of employer—service provider is established by Article L.313 and its implementing regulations of Law 92-020/AN-RM of September 23, 1992, establishing the Labor Code of the Republic of Mali.

The interrelationship among the three parties is often illustrated by the statement that “the employee works for an employer who does not pay him, and he is paid by an employer who does not employ him.”

Under the terms of the staffing contract, the service provider must oversee its personnel and address any issues that may hinder the achievement of objectives, in accordance with sound administrative management.

Functional aspects related to “the employee in or at their position” are not covered by the service agreement. However, given the nature of certain services entrusted to the service provider, it may address issues related to work organization.

In Mali, temporary staffing is very often equivalent to temporary agency work. According to the Labor Code, temporary staffing may only be used to replace an employee whose employment contract is legally suspended in accordance with the provisions of Article L.34 of the Labor Code (maternity leave, sick leave, vacation, incarceration, etc.). The temporary employment contract must specify, in addition to the name of the employee whose contract is suspended, the reason for the suspension and the expected duration of the suspension.

“A fixed-term contract may not be used to permanently fill a position related to the company’s normal and ongoing operations.” Except in the sectors specifically listed in Decree 96-1566/MEFPT-SG.

For this reason, positions of a normal and permanent nature must be filled on a long-term basis through a permanent employment contract (CDI) in accordance with the provisions of Article L.22 of the Labor Code.

Is human resources—in all its aspects—not your area of expertise?

Call on APPM Law Firm at a lower cost.