How do you hire an employee in Lesotho in 2026?
A Lesotho hire works at most 45 hours a week, earns one day of paid annual leave for each month worked and can be put on probation for up to four months. Minimum wages are set by sector notice. If you are hiring in Lesotho, 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 runs your first hire from signed terms to first payslip.
· Lesotho guide
Photo: Tatenda Mapigoti on Unsplash
Lesotho caps normal hours at 45 a week. Overtime is paid at not less than one and a quarter times the normal rate, and work on a rest day or public holiday is paid at double.
Workers earn one day of paid annual leave each month, with a minimum of 12 working days a year. Probation can run for four months, and for up to a year for managers and professionals.
What are the working-hours rules in Lesotho?
Normal hours are at most 45 a week: nine hours a day on a five-day week, or eight hours on five days and five on the sixth.
Overtime is paid at not less than one and a quarter times the normal rate.
| Rule | What the Labour Act sets |
|---|---|
| Normal week | Not more than 45 hours |
| Longest day with overtime | 12 hours, where the continuous nature of the work requires it |
| Overtime pay | At least one and a quarter times the normal rate |
| Work on the weekly rest day or a public holiday | Double the wage rate for an ordinary workday |
| Monthly option | 195 ordinary hours, and not more than 260 hours in total with overtime |
| Weekly rest | At least 24 continuous hours |
| Rest during the day | At least one hour after five hours of continuous work |
The normal hourly rate for a monthly worker is monthly wages divided by 195 hours. At M10,000 a month that is about M51.28 an hour, so overtime at one and a quarter times is about M64.10 an hour. That is our arithmetic from the Act's formula.
Part-time work means at least five hours a day, 40 hours a week and 160 hours a month. Security guards, watchmen and diamond mining have their own hours rules in the Fifth Schedule.
How does probation work in Lesotho?
Probation can last up to four months, and a worker can be dismissed during it or at its end with one week's notice.
For managers and professionals the parties can agree up to a year.
Extending probation beyond four months needs the Labour Commissioner's written leave. A worker on probation cannot bring an unfair dismissal claim, except where the dismissal is for the business's operational requirements or no written reasons were given.
Put the probation period in the written terms. The termination guide covers what happens after it.
How much leave do Lesotho employees get?
Annual leave is one working day on full pay for each month of continuous employment, with a minimum of 12 working days a year.
After 12 months, sick leave is 12 days on full pay and 24 days on half pay in each year.
| Leave | Entitlement |
|---|---|
| Annual leave | One day a month, at least 12 working days a year, on full pay |
| Public holidays | A day off with pay when the holiday falls on a working day |
| Sick leave, first six months | No wages are required |
| Sick leave, second six months | Up to 12 days on full pay |
| Sick leave, after 12 months | Up to 12 days on full pay, then up to 24 days on half pay, in each year |
| Maternity | Seven weeks after confinement, eight if a certified illness arises from it |
| Stillbirth | Three weeks of maternity leave |
| Paternity | 14 days on the birth of a child |
| Adoption | 14 days of bonding leave from the day the child arrives |
| Bereavement | Five days for an immediate family member |
Leave above the statutory minimum can be carried over, up to 18 days in all, from one calendar year to the next. By agreement, a worker can take cash instead of up to six days of statutory leave. A worker who leaves after at least three months of continuous work is paid one day for each completed month of leave earned but not taken.
Sick pay needs a medical certificate, and sick leave days do not carry forward. For absences beyond six working days the employer may require a second examination at its own expense. Public holidays and weekly rest days do not count as annual leave. The holiday list sits in the Public Holidays Act, which we confirm before the first payslip.
What maternity leave must you give in Lesotho?
The Act guarantees time off before the birth from the date of a medical certificate, and seven weeks after it. The time off is eight weeks if a certified illness arises from the confinement.
The Act does not make the employer pay wages during maternity absence.
The pregnant worker gives notice with a certificate that confinement will probably take place within seven weeks. The leave before the birth is extended if the birth is later than expected. Within seven days after confinement the worker delivers a certificate of the date.
The employer may still pay, and must if the contract or a collective agreement requires it. A returning mother may nurse the infant for up to one hour a day during working hours for six months, and is paid for that time. Dismissing a worker during statutory maternity leave is automatically unfair.
What form must a Lesotho employment contract take?
A contract can be open-ended, for a fixed period or for specific work. The employer must tell the worker the pay basis and rate when the contract starts, or as soon as practicable.
A fixed-term contract ends on its stated date without notice.
Where a fixed-term contract provides for renewal, the employer must give notice of termination or renewal. A contract for specific work ends when the work is done.
An employer of more than one worker keeps a register of workers, in English or Sesotho, with these particulars:
- name, home address and tax number;
- the job description, the nature of the contract and the wage rate;
- the start date, the end date and the reason for ending;
- holiday entitlement and next of kin.
Wages are paid in legal tender or, with the worker's consent, electronically, at least monthly for contracts over a month. An employer may deduct tax and consented fund contributions. A single deduction for deliberate loss or damage cannot exceed one third of a month's wages without the Labour Commissioner's approval.
What do you need to hire a non-citizen in Lesotho?
A non-citizen needs a work permit from the Director of the National Employment Service before starting work.
The employer submits the application, and the Director first certifies that no qualifying Lesotho citizen is available.
| Fee in the Fourth Schedule | Amount |
|---|---|
| New application | M1,000 |
| Certificate valid six months or below | M2,000 |
| Certificate valid two years | M3,000 |
The Schedule also prints a fee for permits between six months and two years, but the figure is garbled in the Gazette, so we confirm it before quoting. An employer of foreign labour must show evidence of permits within four days of the Director's request. Employing a non-citizen without a permit can mean a fine of up to M5,000, up to six months in prison, or both.
Is there a minimum wage in Lesotho?
Not one national figure. The Minister publishes minimum wages by notice in the Government Gazette, and a notice overrides a lower contract wage.
We confirm the notice for your sector before we quote an offer.
Lesotho has no single national minimum wage. Under sections 165 to 167 of the Labour Act the Minister publishes minimum wages in the Government Gazette in a wages notice, and a notice replaces any lower wage in a contract. We read the Act, not the current notice, so we confirm the notice that applies to your sector before you quote an offer. An employer to whom a notice applies must display a copy at a conspicuous place in the workplace.
How does Teamed handle a Lesotho hire from offer to payslip?
Teamed issues the written Lesotho terms and runs the hire from offer to first payslip, from $599 per employee per month, with zero FX markup in any currency.
Your designated person runs the first hire from signed terms to first payslip.
Real HR and legal experts apply the Labour Act's hours, probation and leave rules to your contract, and you direct the work. There is no setup fee.
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.
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Agree the offer
Role, gross pay and contracted hours. Check the pay against the wages notice for the sector.
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Sign the service terms
Teamed employs your hire and issues the written Lesotho employment terms.
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Set up payroll
Teamed registers the hire for tax withholding and confirms any other payroll obligation.
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Run the first payroll
Your designated person's first-hire role ends at the first payslip, and the ordinary service continues.
Start from the Lesotho hiring overview, or run the Employer Cost Calculator before your first offer goes out. EOR is the right model for a first Lesotho hire, until it isn't.
Frequently asked questions
What is the working week in Lesotho?
At most 45 hours: nine hours a day on a five-day week, or eight hours on five days and five on a sixth. Overtime is paid at not less than one and a quarter times the normal rate.
How long can a probationary period last in Lesotho?
Up to four months, and a worker can be dismissed during it or at its end with one week's notice. Managers and professionals can agree a period of up to a year.
Is there a thirteenth-month payment in Lesotho?
We found none in the Labour Act, which we read in full. Any bonus is a matter of contract.
Does Lesotho have statutory paternity leave?
Yes. A worker is entitled to 14 days of paternity leave on the birth of a child, and to 14 days of bonding leave on an adoption.
Does an employer have to pay wages during maternity leave in Lesotho?
Not under the Labour Act, which says it imposes no liability to pay wages during that absence. The employer may pay, and must where the contract or a collective agreement requires it.
Lesotho gives you a 45-hour week, 12 days of annual leave and 14 days of paternity leave under a Labour Act that is only two years old.
The traps sit in the details: sector wages notices instead of one minimum wage, a work permit for every non-citizen, and any guide that predates the 2024 Act.
Your designated person runs the first hire from signed terms to first payslip.
Looking for a job in Lesotho 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.
