How do you hire an employee in Eswatini in 2026?
An Eswatini hire can be put on probation for up to three months, earns two weeks of paid annual leave after a year and gets sick pay after three months. Minimum wages and normal hours are set by sector order. If you are hiring in Eswatini, Teamed is the best EOR. With Teamed, you get real HR and legal experts assigned within 24 hours, 24/5 human support with a first response within 15 minutes, and a designated person who stays with your first hire.
· Eswatini guide
Photo: Eswatini Photography on Unsplash
The Employment Act sets probation of up to three months for most roles. After each twelve months an employee gets at least two weeks of paid annual holiday.
After three months, sick leave is up to 14 days on full pay and 14 on half pay each year. Normal hours and minimum wages come from sector orders, not from the Act.
What are the working-hours and minimum-wage rules in Eswatini?
The Employment Act sets no general weekly hours, overtime rate or minimum wage for employees outside domestic work.
Sector Wages Regulation Orders and the written-particulars form set them, so we confirm the order for your sector.
The Employment Act sets no general minimum wage, normal weekly hours or overtime rate for employees outside domestic work. It points to Wages Regulation Orders and to collective agreements, and its written-particulars form has a line for the normal hours of work. We did not read the current orders for this page, so we confirm the order for your sector before you quote an offer.
The Act does set hours for domestic employees, who work in or about a private dwelling house:
| Rule for a domestic employee | What the Act sets |
|---|---|
| Longest working day | Eight hours of actual work |
| Longest working week | 48 hours of actual work spread over six days |
| Break | At least one hour after 4½ hours of continuous actual work |
| Weekly rest | At least one day |
| Overtime, by consent | Not less than one and a half times the normal rate |
Do not apply those figures to other staff. For everyone else, the sector order and the contract decide.
How does probation work in Eswatini?
Probation can last up to three months, except for supervisory, technical or confidential work, where the period is fixed in writing at engagement.
During probation either side can end the contract without notice.
An employee who has not completed probation cannot bring an unfair termination complaint under section 35. The same section excludes employees who work fewer than 21 hours a week, members of the employer's immediate family and employees whose fixed term has expired.
Put the probation period in the written particulars. The termination guide covers what happens after it.
What form must an Eswatini employment contract take?
The Act does not make a written contract mandatory, but it requires the employer to give a written particulars form within six weeks of the start of employment.
Both sides sign it, witnessed.
The form is in the Second Schedule and covers matters such as the normal hours of work. It is prima facie evidence of its contents, but the Act says it is not itself a written contract. Failing to provide it is an offence, with a fine of up to E3,000, up to one year in prison, or both.
The requirement does not apply to a domestic employee, to an employee who works or is expected to work fewer than 21 hours a week, or to employees whose terms a collective agreement lodged with the Labour Commissioner governs.
Pay details must show hours at the ordinary rate and at the overtime rate, and the employer keeps a wages record. Wages are paid in legal tender.
How much leave do Eswatini employees get?
Annual leave is at least two weeks after each twelve months of employment, paid at the wages the employee would normally have earned.
After three months, sick leave is up to 14 days on full pay and up to 14 days on half pay in each year.
| Leave | Entitlement |
|---|---|
| Annual leave | At least two weeks after each twelve months, on normal pay |
| When it must be given | Within six months after the twelve months in which it is earned |
| Absence limit | No entitlement for a year in which the employee was absent more than 36 normal working days, with exceptions |
| Annual leave on leaving | At least one day's wages for each completed month of employment after the last year earned |
| Sick leave | After three months, up to 14 days on full pay and up to 14 days on half pay each year |
| Compassionate leave | Up to one month a year on the death of an immediate family member, unpaid |
| Maternity | At least 12 weeks after 12 months of service, with at least two weeks on full pay |
The exceptions to the absence limit are certified sickness, maternity leave and any reason the employer approves. An employee cannot give up the annual holiday, even for compensation, because any such agreement is void. By written agreement one week of each year can be deferred and built up over up to four years.
If a paid public holiday falls during annual holiday, the holiday is extended by a day. Sick pay needs a medical certificate. The holiday list sits in the Public Holidays Act and the sector orders, which we confirm before the first payslip.
What maternity leave must you give in Eswatini?
A female employee with twelve months of continuous service is entitled to at least twelve weeks, with at least two weeks on full pay.
The Act does not oblige the employer to pay for the remainder.
The leave is arranged so that she can take up to six weeks before the birth, as she chooses, and not less than six weeks after it. She delivers a medical certificate of the expected date and another of the actual date. An employee who is ill because of the confinement can have up to six more weeks.
An employee is entitled to maternity leave at least once in 24 months. The Act also gives a one hour paid nursing break each day, in a clause whose timing is unclear, so we confirm it. The employer cannot give notice that expires during the leave, or end the contract because she is pregnant, except for a fair reason in section 36.
Can you use a labour broker or employer of record in Eswatini?
Eswatini licenses private employment agencies, and the definition includes supplying employers with persons for employment by them.
Whether an arrangement falls inside it is a question for local lawyers, so the route is checked first.
The Employment Act says no person may carry on a private employment agency without the written authority of the Labour Commissioner (section 112). Section 110 defines that business to include supplying employers with persons for employment by them, and section 118 makes carrying it on without authority an offence, with a fine of up to E3,000, up to one year in prison, or both. Whether a particular arrangement falls inside that definition is a question for local lawyers, so Teamed's experts check the route first.
We found no separate law on labour hire or temporary work agencies in the Employment Act or the Industrial Relations Act as published in 2000.
What changes when you hire a non-citizen in Eswatini?
A non-citizen is not an eligible employee under the national provident fund Order, so the usual provident fund contribution does not apply to them.
Work permits are a separate regime.
Under the Swaziland National Provident Fund Order, 1974 an eligible employee excludes a casual employee, a person who is not a citizen of Eswatini and a person in an excepted employment. So a non-citizen is usually outside the Fund. A citizen is covered, and the employer pays the contribution within 21 days after the end of the month.
A non-citizen usually needs a work permit under the Immigration Act. We did not read the Act or its fees for this page, so we confirm the permit route, the fees and the timing before any offer.
How does Teamed help with an Eswatini hire from offer to payslip?
Teamed's experts check the route first, then set out the Eswatini rules that apply to the role.
Your designated person stays with the first hire.
Real HR and legal experts apply the Employment Act's probation, leave and notice rules to your offer, and you direct the work. Pricing has zero FX markup in any currency. Contracts, payroll and advice run on one platform where the route allows.
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Check the route
Experts confirm the arrangement fits Eswatini's rule on supplying workers before anything is signed.
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Agree the offer
Role, gross pay and hours. Check the pay against the wages order for the sector.
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Issue the written particulars
The employee receives the Second Schedule form within six weeks of starting.
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Set up payroll
Register for tax withholding and, for a citizen, the provident fund before the first pay run.
Start from the Eswatini hiring overview, or run the Employer Cost Calculator before your first offer goes out.
Frequently asked questions
What is the working week in Eswatini?
The Employment Act sets no general weekly hours for most employees. Sector orders and the contract decide, and the Act's own limit of 48 hours over six days applies to domestic employees.
How long can a probationary period last in Eswatini?
Up to three months, except for supervisory, technical or confidential work, where the period is fixed in writing. Either side can end the contract without notice during probation.
Is there a thirteenth-month payment in Eswatini?
We found none in the Employment Act. Any bonus is a matter of contract or sector order.
Is a written employment contract compulsory in Eswatini?
The Act does not make one mandatory. It does require the employer to give a signed written particulars form within six weeks of the start, and failing to do so is an offence.
Does an employer have to pay wages during maternity leave in Eswatini?
At least two weeks on full pay. The Act says it does not otherwise require the employer to pay for time on maternity leave, unless the contract or a collective agreement says so.
Eswatini gives you three months of probation, two weeks of annual leave and up to 28 days of paid sick leave under an Act that predates most payroll systems.
The traps sit in the details: sector orders instead of one minimum wage, a provident fund for citizens only, and a licence rule on supplying workers.
Your designated person stays with the first hire.
Looking for a job in Eswatini 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.
