Working days in Mali: working days, weekly rest and public holidays

Five in the morning, on a Sunday, at Laiterie du Wassoulou, in Bougouni. The churns of fresh milk arrive from the villages and cannot wait until Monday. The workshop runs seven days a week; the office closes on Friday evening. The director wants to know who may work on Sundays, how to pay for 22 September, and whether he can “buy back” an employee’s rest day.

Laiterie du Wassoulou and the people mentioned in this article are fictitious: they are used as examples only.

1. What exactly are we talking about?

Laiterie du Wassoulou employs 35 people: 28 in the collection and pasteurisation workshop, 7 in the office. To organise their weeks, five notions must be distinguished:

Notion	Definition
Working day (jour ouvrable)	A day on which work may be done: any day that is neither the weekly rest day nor a public holiday, i.e. Monday to Saturday when the rest day is Sunday
Non-working day	The weekly rest day, in principle Sunday
Day worked (jour ouvré)	A day actually worked in the company, often five or six a week
Weekly rest	Compulsory rest of at least 24 hours per week
Public holiday	A day set by law, not worked and paid

The Labour Code uses the expressions “working days” and “non-working days”, in particular for overtime and leave (articles L.137 and L.151), without defining them. The definitions above follow from the Sunday rest rule (article L.142).

The most common mistake

Confusing working days with days worked. The dairy’s office works five days a week, but the week has six working days.

A working day is one you may work. A day worked is one you actually work.

2. Weekly rest: 24 hours, never bought back

Weekly rest is compulsory. It lasts at least 24 hours and takes place in principle on Sunday. It may under no circumstances be replaced by compensation (Labour Code, article L.142).

Two rules complete this foundation. The daily rest of women and children lasts at least twelve consecutive hours (article L.186). For domestic staff, the weekly rest may, by mutual agreement, be set on another day or given as two half-days (Decree No. 96-178/P-RM, article D.86-20).

Why this rule? Rest protects the employee’s health and family life. Extra pay makes up for neither.

What removing a rest day costs

Failing to grant weekly rest is punishable by a fine of XOF 10,000 to 18,000, raised to XOF 100,000 for a repeat offence (article L.324). The fine is incurred as many times as there are offences, in particular where several employees are affected, up to fifty times the maximum (article L.335).

Example. During the peak collection period, the dairy cancels the rest day of 12 workshop employees for one week.

Maximum fine per employee: XOF 18,000

Maximum fine incurred: 12 × 18,000 = XOF 216,000, not counting repeat offences

What you need to do

• Schedule 24 consecutive hours of rest per week for each employee.
• Refuse any arrangement that replaces rest with a bonus.
• Post the rest schedule so it can be shown in the event of an inspection.

3. Working on Sundays: by rotation, not by exemption

Some establishments may give weekly rest by rotation, on a day other than Sunday: those whose activity cannot stop without serious inconvenience for community life (Labour Code, article L.143). The list is set by Order No. 96-1566 of 7 October 1996 (article A.144.2). It includes in particular:

• hospitals, clinics and pharmacies;
• hotels, restaurants and similar establishments;
• establishments producing or selling food products;
• industries using materials liable to deteriorate quickly;
• water, electricity and telecommunications services, and public transport.

Laiterie du Wassoulou produces food from a raw material that deteriorates quickly: it may run the workshop on Sundays. Each employee keeps their 24 hours of rest, on another day of the week.

Workshop team	Weekly rest day
Team 1	Monday
Team 2	Wednesday
Team 3	Friday
Office	Sunday

The individual agreement trap

A willing employee is not enough to open on Sundays. Outside the list in the order, rest remains on Sunday, even if everyone agrees.

What you need to do

• Check that the activity is on the list in the order before organising a rotation.
• Set in writing the rest day for each team and communicate it in advance.

4. Hours worked on a rest day

Hours worked beyond the statutory working time on a non-working day are increased by 50% during the day and 100% at night (Labour Code, article L.137). In agricultural undertakings, overtime worked on rest days or public holidays follows the same rates (article L.138).

Example. Awa, who runs the pasteuriser, is paid XOF 1,000 an hour. She has already worked her 40 hours when she is called back for six daytime hours on a Monday, her rest day.

Applicable rate: 100% + 50% = 150%

Pay for the six hours: 6 × 1,000 × 150% = XOF 9,000

Payment does not replace rest: Awa must still have her 24 consecutive hours in the week (article L.142). For the calculation of overtime, see our article Working hours.

5. Public holidays: not worked and paid

Public holidays, not worked and paid, are those set by law (Labour Code, article L.145). Law No. 05-040 of 22 July 2005 on public holidays sets out the list (Law No. 05-040, article 1):

• fixed-date holidays: 1 January, 20 January, 26 March, 1 May, 25 May, 22 September and 25 December;
• variable-date holidays: Easter Monday, the Maouloud days (birth and baptism), the Ramadan festival and Tabaski.

The Government may also declare the working day following certain holidays a public holiday (article 2), and all these days are not worked and paid (article 3). Each year, the minister in charge of labour announces by press release the dates of religious holidays and any added days.

Rest is compulsory on these days, except in establishments that cannot interrupt work. Pay follows the rules of Decree No. 2022-0125/PT-RM of 4 March 2022 (new articles D.145-1 and D.145-2):

Public holiday	Monthly-paid employee	Hourly- or daily-paid employee
Not worked	Normal salary, with no reduction	No pay for that day
Worked	Normal salary, with no increase	Pay for the hours worked

In establishments that cannot interrupt work, such as the dairy’s workshop, an employee who works on a public holiday keeps their salary and also receives an allowance calculated at the rates in article L.137: 50% during the day, 100% at night (article D.145-1).

Example. Awa, paid monthly, i.e. XOF 1,000 an hour, works eight daytime hours on 22 September.

Monthly salary: unchanged, neither reduced nor increased (article D.145-2)

Public holiday allowance: 8 × 1,000 × 50% = XOF 4,000

Awa receives her usual monthly salary, plus an allowance of XOF 4,000

What you need to do

• Keep the public holiday calendar up to date, following the Ministry of Labour’s press releases.
• Maintain the salary of monthly-paid staff when the public holiday is not worked.
• Pay the allowance due to employees who work on a public holiday in a continuous-operation establishment.

6. A closer look: days and paid leave

Annual leave accrues at two and a half days per month worked, i.e. thirty days a year, non-working days included (Labour Code, article L.151). For the calculation, four weeks or 24 days of work count as one month of service (article L.148).

Twelve months of work: 12 × 2.5 = 30 days of leave

The Sundays within these thirty days count as days of leave

Special leave granted for family events is not deducted from annual leave, up to ten days (article L.146).

Key takeaways in 6 points

1. Distinguish working days, on which work may be done, from days worked, on which work is actually done.
2. Give each employee 24 consecutive hours of rest per week, in principle on Sunday.
3. Never replace weekly rest with a bonus: the Code prohibits it.
4. Keep Sunday work for establishments on the official list, with a written rotation.
5. Increase overtime worked on a non-working day by 50% during the day and 100% at night.
6. Maintain the salary of monthly-paid staff on public holidays not worked and follow the Ministry’s annual press releases.