Guinea PEO Services

The Republic of Guinea is experiencing a considerable acceleration of its economic and social development, due to the abundance of natural resources. Guinea is characterised by a large workforce of its youth and a high demand for infrastructures and services, leading many foreign investors to converge here.

The Guinean economic system is based on free market and investment policies, set to ensure that no restriction or discrimination is made regarding foreign investment. Investments in natural resources, such as mining, may require a license from the relevant authorities.

Working Hours

According to Section 221.1 of the Labor Code Law of Guinea: All private establishments must ensure that the actual working hours of employees are around forty hours.

The employer and the employee can agree on an employment contract for a duration of less than forty hours, this contract is then considered a part-time employment contract.

The employer can also enact more than forty hours per week on the employee by applying the rules of equivalence, recovery, modulation, or overtime.

Holiday / Sickness Allowances

Section 152.1 of the Labor Code states that the employment contract of an employee who is the victim of a work accident or an occupational disease is suspended for the duration of the work stoppage caused by the accident or disease. A commuting accident is also considered an accident at work for the purposes of these provisions.

The employer is required to make declarations to the relevant body for Social Security, and to inform the labor inspector of occupational accidents and diseases body within forty-eight hours of their occurrence. Failing which, the employer will bear the costs of treatment related to the work accident or occupational disease.

The length of the suspension periods is considered when determining any legal or contractual benefits related to seniority in the company.

With regards to holidays, Section 222.8 of the Labor Code states that unless there are more favorable provisions of a collective agreement, the employee is entitled to paid leave at the expense of the employer. This is at the rate of two and a half working days per month of completed service.

Section 222.12 states that the right to take leave is acquired after a period of effective service equal to one month.

Paid leave which doesn’t exceed twelve working days must be continuous.

The employee must take every accrued day of paid leave. Under no circumstances can provision be made by agreement for the granting of a compensatory allowance in lieu of leave.

Parental Leave

Article 153.1 states that female employees have the right to suspend the employment contract for a period (which begins six weeks before the expected date of childbirth and ends eight weeks after the date of delivery). It is, in any case, prohibited to employ women within six weeks of their expected delivery date.

When the childbirth takes place before the expected date, the period of suspension of the employment contract may be extended.

If a pathological condition, certified by a medical certificate as resulting from pregnancy or childbirth makes it necessary, the period of suspension of the contract is increased by the duration of this condition. This suspension is unable to exceed a total of eight weeks before the expected date of delivery and ten weeks after.

Employees have the right, during maternity leave, to obtain medical care in accordance with the regulations in force. In addition, they receive half the salary they were receiving at the time of the suspension from work.

The National Social Security Fund pays the employee the other half of their salary.

The law has no provision for paid or unpaid paternity leave.

Taxation

Guinea has two kinds of taxes; these are direct taxes and indirect taxes.

Direct taxes include the Minimum Flat Tax Rate or Impot Minimum Forfaitaire (IMF). The rate is set at 0.5% to the turnover of previous year and capped as follows:

• Large companies: minimum of GNF 40million and maximum of GNF 500 million.
• Medium companies: minimum of GNF 10million and maximum of GNF 100million.

Companies and legal persons exempt from corporation tax on all or part of their operations are exempt from the flat-rate minimum tax; new companies for the first calendar year of their operation, companies having ceased all professional activity prior to January 1st of the tax year and not subject to the license contribution in the rolls of the previous year, legal persons approved under the investment code, members of an approved management center (CGA) during their first three years of activity.

It should be noted that companies subject to corporate tax at the rate of 35% are no longer exempt from paying the IMF.

Tax payable by the employee: There is a withholding tax on wages paid to personnel employed by any natural or legal person in Guinea. This withholding tax is made by the company that pays wages to an employee and is calculated on all income and similar remuneration. This includes bonuses, pensions, and annuities, as well as benefits received by employees domiciled in Guinea or in respect of activities carried out in Guinea.

Tax payable by the Employer: Lump-Sum Payments (VF): Employers are required to pay a lump-sum payment based on the total amount of income, including benefits in cash and, after deduction, where applicable, of contributions for family benefits, paid to all personnel employed in Guinea.

Apprenticeship tax is levied on all income of any kind, including benefits in cash or in kind, the total amount of which is included in the general expenses of the company.

Commercial companies are subject to corporate income tax that is applicable on the taxable net profit made by the company.

Non-Commercial Profits (BNC) are those resulting from the exercise of a non-commercial profession or as income assimilated to non-commercial profits.

Agricultural Profits are incomes obtained by the exploitation of rural goods, cultivation, breeding and forestry production.

Dividend distributions are subject to a 10% withholding tax and applicable to interest on loans granted by the parent company to the subsidiary.

Indirect Taxes include the following:

• Value-added Tax (VAT): The tax base is constituted by all sums, values, goods, or services received in return for the taxable transaction.
• Tax on Financial Activities (TAF): The operations subject to the tax on financial activities are those related to banking, financial activities and, in general, to trade in securities and money.
• Main Social Obligations: Payments of social contributions once registered with the National Social Security Fund and employing at least one person. Employers are required to pay monthly social contributions (employee and employer) on behalf of their employees.
• Insurance Tax: The following are subject to insurance tax and exempt from stamp duty or the registration formality. Insurance and life annuity agreements concluded with an insurance company or with any other Guinean / foreign insurer, regardless of the place or date on which they are concluded. Actual insurance contracts, which cover notes and policies.

Reorganization of the RTS tax scale

The new GTC brings a modification in the scale applicable to the RTS by introducing a new tax bracket

For the income bracket ranging from 0 to 1,000,000 GF. - 0% tax rate

For the income bracket from 1,000,001 to 3,000,000 GF. - 5% tax rate

For the income bracket from 3,000,001 to 5,000,000 GF. - 8% tax rate

For the income bracket from 5,000,001 to 10,000,000 GF. - 10% tax rate

For the income bracket from 10,000,000 to 20,000,000 GF. - 15% tax rate

For the income bracket above 20,000,000 GF. - 20% tax rate

Cultural Information

The Republic of Guinea is in the southwest of West Africa, covering an area of ​​245,857 km². It is a coastal country with over 300 km of Atlantic coastline.

The three main ethnic groups in Guinea are Peuls, Maninkas and Soussous. These are spread over the four major geographic regions of Guinea. Maritime Guinea is home to nearly 75% of the Soussous, but it is also home to almost all the country's major ethnic groups due to the presence of the capital, Conakry, which attracts Guineans.

In the region of Middle Guinea, there are around 80% of the Peuls and 14% of the Malinkés; the latter are more numerous in Upper Guinea. Forest Guinea is mainly home to Malinkés, but also small ethnic groups such as the Kissiens, the Tomas, the Guerzés and more.

The official language of the Republic of Guinea is French, however each ethnic group has its own language.

Most of the Guinean population (around 90%) are secular Muslims. 10% of the inhabitants are Christians and 7% have indigenous beliefs.

Impacts from COVID-19

Guinea recorded its first confirmed case on March 12, 2020, in the capital city of Conakry and the number of cases continued to increase.

Guinea’s President Alpha Condé declared a state of health emergency throughout the country on March 27, 2020, for a period of one month. In April, the Guinean Government launched its Economic Response Plan to the COVID-19 health crisis, to contain and curb the pandemic, mitigate the consequences of the health crisis for households in precarious situations, and to mitigate the effects on companies and affected sectors.

The President of the Republic also established a Scientific Response Council to guide and strengthen measures to fight the pandemic with the aim of combating and preventing the spread of the Coronavirus across the country.

The pandemic has forced large numbers of workers in Guinea to work remotely or in flexible working patterns.