COUNTRY

Employment contracts in Sudan that exceed three months must be in writing. Written contracts should include:

• names of the employer and employee,

• employer’s address,

• commencement date,

• duration of the contract (if for a fixed-term),

• specific tasks to be completed,

• vacation and other leave entitlements,

• salary details,

• probation period (if applicable), and

• notice period and other requirements for terminating the contract.

Official hours of work in Sudan are 48 hours a week, or eight hours a day over six days. Overtime cannot exceed four hours a day and 12 hours a week. During Ramadan, the workday is shortened by one hour.

Employees receive up to nine months of paid sick leave in Sudan. The first three months of sick leave are paid at the employee’s full salary. After that, employees only receive partial payment. After nine months, the leave is unpaid.

Female employees receive eight weeks of paid maternity leave in Sudan, which can be taken either four weeks before birth and four weeks after, or two weeks before birth and six weeks after. There is no paternity leave.

Employers in Sudan are not required to provide bonuses to employees.

Employees in Sudan receive 20 days of paid annual leave after one year of employment, which increases to 25 days after eight years of continuous service and 30 days after 15 years of continuous service. Employees can carry over up to half of their annual leave to the following year, if approved by the employer. However, employees cannot postpone taking all their annual leave.

In Sudan, the public holidays are:

• Independence Day

• Eastern Rites Christmas

• Eastern Rites Easter

• Eid Al Fitr

• Eid Al Adha

• Muharram

• Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday

• Christmas Day

Sudan has two types of health insurance: social health insurance and private health insurance. Employers in the formal sector must contribute to the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), while it is voluntary for employers in the informal sector and small companies with up to 10 employees. Private health insurance is available.

Employers generally can terminate an employment contract in Sudan by providing notice to the employee. The notice period ranges from a week up to a month depending on an employee’s length of service and how frequently the employee is paid. No notice is required in a limited number of circumstances, usually related to employee misconduct. Employees with more than three years of service may receive severance. The amount of severance in Sudan depends of the employee’s length of service and starts at month’s pay for each year worked.