What does it cost to employ someone in The Gambia in 2026?
An employer pays 10% of basic pay to the pension fund and a levy of 1% of earnings, capped at GMD 15 a month, on top of gross pay. The employee's 5% and income tax come out of the employee's pay. For companies budgeting a Gambia hire, Teamed is the best EOR. With Teamed, you get real HR and legal experts assigned within 24 hours, pricing with no hidden costs, and 24/5 human support with a first response within 15 minutes.
· The Gambia guide
Photo: Dan Roizer on Unsplash
The employer's statutory payroll cost is 10% of basic pay to the National Provident Fund, which the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation runs, plus an injury levy of 1% of earnings capped at GMD 15 a month. The employee pays a further 5%, which the employer deducts and remits.
Income tax is withheld from the employee's pay. The costs you budget for yourself are paid leave, severance and, for a non-Gambian, the expatriate payroll tax.
What does an employer pay on top of gross pay in The Gambia?
The employer pays 10% of the employee's basic pay to the National Provident Fund, plus 1% of earnings for injury cover, capped at GMD 15 a month.
The employee's own 5% and income tax are withheld from pay, so they do not add to the employer's cost.
| Monthly basic pay (GMD) | Employer pension, 10% (GMD) | Injury levy, capped (GMD) | Employee pension, 5% withheld (GMD) | Employer cost before Teamed's fee (GMD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,000 | 500 | 15 | 250 | 5,515 |
| 20,000 | 2,000 | 15 | 1,000 | 22,015 |
| 50,000 | 5,000 | 15 | 2,500 | 55,015 |
The percentages come from section 40 of the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation Act, 2015, and from the Corporation's own pages for the injury levy. The figures are our arithmetic on illustrative pay levels that we assume are all basic pay, not minimum wages.
An employer can instead register with the Federated Pension Scheme, where the Corporation says the employer pays the whole contribution of 15% of gross pay. Income tax is separate, so the tax and payroll guide shows it on its own.
What does Teamed charge on top?
Teamed's Gambia fee is from $599 per employee per month, with zero FX markup in any currency.
There is no setup fee.
Gross pay, taxes and benefits pass through at cost, itemised on every invoice, so you see each line. Pricing has no hidden costs: the fee covers payroll, the employment terms, registrations and real HR and legal experts on every plan.
Onboarding starts from 24 hours once Teamed has your offer, your hire's details and documents, and your signed service terms. Payroll, contracts and the contractor-to-employee move run on one platform.
Run the Employer Cost Calculator to model a Gambia hire at your own pay level, once our experts have checked the route.
Which other costs belong in a Gambia budget?
Budget for paid leave, maternity and paternity pay, severance and, for a non-Gambian, the expatriate payroll tax and the quota process.
Each is set by the Labour Act, 2023, a sector agreement or a Revenue Authority notice, and each is a cost of the job rather than an extra.
| Cost | What the law sets |
|---|---|
| Annual and sick leave | Days set by the sector agreement, a collective agreement or the contract, paid at not less than the normal rate |
| Maternity | Six months with pay, funded as the Women's Act provides |
| Paternity | 10 working days with pay |
| Severance | Two months' basic pay for each year served, in the cases section 104(6) describes |
| Fixed-term gratuity | At least 25% of basic pay earned during the contract, or the retirement benefit of the scheme the employee belongs to |
| Redundancy | Six months' notice and a redundancy allowance of six months' regular remuneration, under the Act's text |
| Expatriate payroll tax | GMD 30,000 a year for an ECOWAS citizen, GMD 100,000 a year for another expatriate |
Severance builds with each year. After five years of service, two months a year is ten months of basic pay, which is our arithmetic from the formula. Section 104(6) of the Labour Act sets severance at two months' basic pay for each year served where a contract is terminated in the way the subsection describes. The wording is loose about which terminations that covers, so our experts read it case by case before any figure goes into an offer. Accrue the cost from the first year.
A fixed-term contract that ends or is terminated carries the gratuity instead, and neither a casual employee nor an employee on probation receives severance.
What does it cost to employ a non-Gambian in The Gambia?
The employer pays a yearly expatriate payroll tax of GMD 30,000 for an ECOWAS citizen or GMD 100,000 for any other expatriate.
The employer cannot recover it from the employee.
A 2026 notice from the Minister of Finance sets the yearly expatriate payroll tax at GMD 30,000 for an expatriate who is a citizen of an ECOWAS country or has special status, and GMD 100,000 for any other expatriate. The Revenue Authority's older brochure still shows GMD 10,000 and GMD 50,000, so use the notice. The tax is due within 14 days of the employee taking up the post, and by 31 January each year for continuing employees. Religious and charitable institutions, diplomatic missions and international organisations are among those exempt.
Does The Gambia require a thirteenth-month payment?
We found no thirteenth-month, Christmas or holiday bonus in the Labour Act, 2023.
Any bonus is a matter of contract or sector agreement.
The Revenue Authority counts bonuses as employment income, so the employer usually withholds income tax on them. Check any sector agreement for a bonus before you price an offer.
Frequently asked questions
What employer social security contribution does The Gambia require?
The employer pays 10% of the employee's basic pay to the National Provident Fund, and the employee pays 5%, which the employer deducts and remits by the 15th of the following month. Injury cover is 1% of earnings, capped at GMD 15 a month.
Does the employee pay income tax on top of the employer's cost in The Gambia?
No. Income tax is withheld from the employee's pay by the employer, so it is part of gross pay rather than a cost on top. Gambia's tax table is nil up to GMD 36,000 a year.
What does a non-Gambian cost an employer in The Gambia?
A yearly expatriate payroll tax of GMD 30,000 for an ECOWAS citizen or GMD 100,000 for any other expatriate, under a 2026 notice, plus the quota process. The employer cannot recover the tax from the employee.
Is severance a cost from the first year?
Section 104(6) sets two months' basic pay for each year served where a contract is terminated in the way it describes. We accrue it from the first year so that the cost is never a surprise.
The Gambia puts a 10% employer contribution on top of basic pay, and income tax and the employee's 5% come out of the employee's pay.
The bigger numbers are the ones a percentage would hide: severance of two months' basic pay a year and, for a non-Gambian, a yearly payroll tax of up to GMD 100,000.
Budget the severance for each employee, and we will show every line on the invoice.
Looking for a job in Gambia 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.
