Employment law
Dismissal: what a badly handled procedure costs in Mali
A Monday morning at a Bamako transport company. The branch manager calls in a driver who has been late on deliveries three times, tells him out loud he is fired and asks for the keys. The reason may well be sound. But with no letter, no written reason and no notice to the labour inspectorate, the company has just turned a defensible dismissal into a losing case.
1. What exactly are we talking about?
In Mali, ending an open-ended contract follows two sets of rules. Substance: the dismissal must rest on a legitimate reason. Form: it must be notified in writing, with its reason, and reported to the labour inspector. Each failure has its own price, and those prices add up.
A good reason does not save a bad procedure. A good procedure does not save a bad reason.
2. The three mandatory steps
Put it in writing, with the reason
Ending an open-ended contract requires notice served in writing that states the reason (Labour Code, article L.41). The employer must be able to prove that notice; the notice period runs from the date it is handed over (article L.43).
Inform the labour inspector
Any employer dismissing a worker informs the local labour inspector by registered letter, stating the worker, the employer and the reason (Labour Code, article L.40). The inspector has fifteen days to give an opinion. If the worker challenges the dismissal, the appeal to the labour court suspends the employer's decision.
Respect the notice period
Absent a collective agreement, notice is 8 days for staff paid by the day or week, 1 month for monthly-paid staff, 2 months for supervisors, 3 months for managers (article L.41). Only gross misconduct removes it, subject to review by the court.
The most common mistake
Many internal procedures copy the French model: an invitation to a pre-dismissal meeting, a five-working-day delay, a letter sent at least two days later. The Malian Labour Code does not require that meeting. What it requires is a written, reasoned notice and information to the inspector. Check your collective agreement, however, as it may add steps.
3. Four separate sums that are not interchangeable
A dismissed worker may claim several payments at once. The Code states that damages are distinct from both notice pay and severance pay (Labour Code, article L.51).
| Sum | What triggers it | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Pay in lieu of notice | Notice not observed | Salary and benefits for the unworked period |
| Severance pay | At least one year's service, no gross misconduct | 20%, 25% or 30% of average pay per year |
| Compensation for procedural irregularity | Legitimate reason, but no writing or no stated reason | At most one month's gross salary |
| Damages for wrongful dismissal | Reason missing, false or unlawful | Set by the court based on the harm |
The procedural compensation itself
When a dismissal is justified on the merits but notified without writing or without a reason, the court must award compensation of no more than one month's gross salary (Labour Code, article L.52). The word "must" matters: the court has no choice about awarding it, only about the amount.
A procedural flaw costs at most one month. A missing reason can cost years.
4. The calculation on a real case
Example. A monthly-paid driver earned an average of XOF 400,000 gross over the last twelve months. He has six years' service. He is dismissed orally, with no notice and no letter, for late deliveries the employer can prove.
Severance pay (article L.53):
- Years 1 to 5: 400,000 × 20% × 5 = XOF 400,000
- Year 6: 400,000 × 25% × 1 = XOF 100,000
- Total: XOF 500,000
Pay in lieu of notice (article L.42): one month, i.e. XOF 400,000.
Compensation for procedural irregularity: up to XOF 400,000.
Total exposure: up to XOF 1,300,000, even though the reason was real. If the court also finds that the lateness did not justify dismissal, damages for wrongful dismissal are added, based on length of service, age and harm.
5. A closer look: procedures that allow no approximation
Economic dismissal
The employer consults staff representatives, sets the order of dismissals (voluntary departures, professional ability, family responsibilities), and sends the list and the meeting minutes to the inspector (Labour Code, article L.48). Order No. 2024-4363 of 27 December 2024 clarified these criteria. Failure to follow these formalities triggers the article L.52 compensation (Order No. 96-1566 of 7 October 1996, article A.48.3). The worker also receives a special payment of one month's gross salary.
Staff representatives
Dismissing a staff representative, full or alternate, requires the labour inspector's prior authorisation. Without it, the dismissal is void and the representative is reinstated (Labour Code, article L.277). Here the sanction is not compensation: it is the worker's return.
For a staff representative, procedure is not a formality. It is the condition of the dismissal.
6. Resignation also has a form
A worker who resigns gives written notice of the decision. The employer cannot presume a resignation (Labour Code, article L.40). An absent worker who "stops coming" has not resigned: if the employer removes them from the payroll without a procedure, it is dismissing them, with all the consequences described above.
Key takeaways in 6 points
- Every dismissal from an open-ended contract is notified in writing, with the reason.
- The labour inspector is informed by registered letter and has fifteen days to give an opinion.
- Malian law does not impose the French pre-dismissal meeting; it imposes a written, reasoned notice.
- A justified but procedurally flawed dismissal costs up to one month's gross salary, on top of notice and severance pay.
- A dismissal without a legitimate reason gives rise to court-assessed damages, cumulative with the other payments.
- For a staff representative, dismissal without the inspector's authorisation is void.