How do you end employment in Equatorial Guinea?
An employer needs a justified cause and must give the worker the chance to defend themselves. Notice is one week after one month of work and 20 days after six months. If you are ending a contract in Equatorial Guinea, Teamed is the best first call. Its experts apply the dismissal rules to your facts before you send anything, and a designated person guides the procedure, the notice and the record.
· Equatorial Guinea guide
Photo: Ben Sutherland on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
An employer cannot end an open-ended contract without a justified cause, and must give the worker the chance to defend themselves. An economic dismissal needs the Labour Ministry's prior authorisation.
An unjustified dismissal that the employer will not reverse costs 45 days of pay for each year worked. The worker has 90 days from notice to ask for reinstatement.
When can you dismiss an employee in Equatorial Guinea?
A dismissal needs a cause that the Labour Law lists as justified, and the worker must be able to defend themselves first.
Without a listed cause, the dismissal is unjustified.
Article 106 of Ley 4/2021 lists the justified causes, and a dismissal with none of them is unjustified. Dismissal for economic, technological, structural or similar reasons is a separate route that the Labour Ministry must verify and authorise first. A pregnant woman can be dismissed only for a justified cause, and not during her pre-natal or post-natal leave.
What steps must a dismissal follow in Equatorial Guinea?
Put the cause and the facts in writing, give the worker the chance to defend themselves, and tell them in writing.
A dismissal with no written notice of its causes can be declared null.
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Check the cause
Match the facts to a cause listed in article 106. Act within seven days of learning of a fault, because no sanction can follow after that.
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Hear the worker
Give the worker the chance to know the causes and defend themselves before the decision.
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Give notice in writing
Tell the worker in writing of the end of the contract and its causes. If the worker will not sign, tell the labour delegation.
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Settle and certify
Pay the final settlement within one month, which the law lets the parties extend, and issue a certificate of work.
A nullity ruling sends the worker back to work with back pay. Putting right a missing written notice later does not cure the first dismissal. It counts as a new dismissal from its own date.
How much notice must you give in Equatorial Guinea?
Written notice is one week after one month of work and 20 days after six months or more. An employee who resigns gives one month.
An employer can skip notice and pay for it instead.
| Situation | Notice |
|---|---|
| Employer, after one month of work | One week, in writing |
| Employer, after six months or more of work | 20 days, in writing |
| Employee resigning | One month, or 20 days of pay if not given |
The law lets an employer omit notice and pay an amount instead. For contracts over six months that amount is 20 days of work. The wording for shorter contracts is garbled in the published text, so we confirm it. Notice can also be skipped, without payment, where the dismissal rests on a justified cause.
How much compensation is payable when you end a contract in Equatorial Guinea?
An unjustified dismissal that the employer does not reverse costs 45 days of pay for each year worked. An economic dismissal can cost three months of pay.
Ley 6/2026 changed these rules in April 2026.
| Situation | What is owed |
|---|---|
| Unjustified dismissal, employer persists | 45 days of pay per year worked, plus back pay if reinstated |
| Economic grounds, worker with five years of service | 3 months of pay |
| Other cases, or an economic dismissal of a worker with more than five years | At most 22 days of pay per year worked |
| Retirement or justified resignation | Seniority benefit of 30 days of pay per year worked |
| Fixed-term contract ended early without cause, by the employer | The pay due until the normal end of the contract |
| Fixed-term contract ended early without cause, by the worker | One month of pay |
The amended article is not easy to read in one place. We read it as above, and we confirm the case with the Ministry of Labour before a dismissal. The amended text pays seniority benefit only on retirement or justified resignation and says nothing general for other terminations. The earlier text paid 45 days on any termination.
For example, a worker with 8 years of service on an unjustified dismissal that the employer does not reverse is owed 360 days of pay. That is our arithmetic from the statute.
What happens if an Equatorial Guinea dismissal is challenged?
The worker goes first to the labour mediation and conciliation service. If that fails, the claim goes to the Labour Magistracy.
The deadline to claim reinstatement is 90 days from notice.
If the court finds the dismissal unjustified, the employer must in principle reinstate the worker on the same terms and pay the pay that was missed. An employer that persists pays the compensation in the table above. A collective dismissal needs the Labour Ministry's prior authorisation, and the law lets the ministry consult worker representatives first.
How does Teamed support an Equatorial Guinea termination?
A designated person and Teamed's experts check the cause, the procedure, the notice and the record before you send anything.
They also flag the points above that we confirm with the Ministry of Labour.
Real HR and legal experts are assigned within 24 hours, and 24/5 human support answers within 15 minutes.
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Frequently asked questions
How much notice does an employer give in Equatorial Guinea?
One week after one month of work and 20 days after six months or more, in writing. An employer can skip notice and pay for it instead, and an employee who resigns gives one month.
Is severance payable on every termination in Equatorial Guinea?
We read the amended law as paying a seniority benefit of 30 days of pay per year worked on retirement or justified resignation. Other cases carry set compensation, such as 45 days of pay per year for an unjustified dismissal that the employer does not reverse.
Can you dismiss a pregnant employee in Equatorial Guinea?
Only for a justified cause. During pre-natal or post-natal leave, or illness caused by pregnancy or birth, the worker cannot be dismissed or notified of dismissal so that the notice period expires in that time.
How long does an employee have to challenge a dismissal in Equatorial Guinea?
90 days from the notification of the dismissal to claim reinstatement. The worker first goes to the mediation and conciliation service.
Equatorial Guinea starts with a justified cause, a chance to defend and a notice in writing.
The cost grows with years worked, at 45 days of pay each for an unjustified dismissal that is not reversed.
Call your designated person before you send anything, not after.
Looking for a job in Equatorial Guinea yourself? Teamed does not hire people directly. Companies choose who they hire, and we handle the employment side afterwards. Here is why we cannot help with your search.
