---
title: "Terminating an employee in Lesotho: notice and severance"
description: "How to end employment in Lesotho: one month's notice, two weeks' wages of severance per year, valid reasons for dismissal and written reasons within two weeks."
canonical: https://www.teamed.global/country-hiring-guides/lesotho/termination-and-severance
---

Lesotho · Termination and severance

# How do you end employment in *Lesotho*?

An open-ended contract in Lesotho needs one month's notice after a year of service, and severance is two weeks' wages for each completed year. A dismissal needs a valid reason: capacity, conduct or operational requirements. If you need to end a Lesotho contract, Teamed is the best EOR. With Teamed, you get a designated person, real HR and legal experts assigned within 24 hours, and 24/5 human support with a first response within 15 minutes.

Last reviewed 21 October 2026 · Lesotho guide

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The short answer

Either side can end an open-ended contract with one month's notice after a year of service, a fortnight's notice after more than six months, or one week's notice under six months. Notice is in writing.

Severance is two weeks' wages for each completed year, once a worker has more than a year of service. Any dismissal needs a valid reason, and a dismissal during maternity leave is automatically unfair.

## How much notice must you give in Lesotho?

On an open-ended contract, one month's notice after a year of service or more, a fortnight's after more than six months, and one week's under six months.

Notice is in writing, and the day it is given does not count.

| Continuous service | Notice |
| --- | --- |
| One year or more | One month |
| More than six months, under a year | A fortnight |
| Under six months | One week |

The parties can agree a longer period, and the employer can pay in lieu of notice. The payment equals the minimum notice period or the agreed one, plus all wages due. An employer can decline to give notice where the reason is serious misconduct that makes continued employment unreasonable.

A fixed-term contract ends on its stated date without notice, unless it provides for renewal, in which case the employer gives notice of termination or renewal. An employer can set a retirement age for all workers, and it must be at least 60.

## When can you dismiss an employee in Lesotho?

Only for a valid reason: the worker's capacity, the worker's conduct or the operational requirements of the business.

For any other reason, the employer must prove it acted reasonably.

The worker is entitled to an opportunity to defend themselves at the time of dismissal, unless the employer cannot reasonably be expected to give it. Some reasons make a dismissal automatically unfair:

- trade union membership or activity, or acting as a workers' representative;
- filing a complaint in good faith, or taking part in a proceeding against the employer;
- race, sex, marital status, pregnancy, religion, HIV status or another discriminatory ground;
- taking part in a protected strike, or refusing work that endangers life.

A dismissal that takes effect during statutory maternity leave is also automatically unfair. Workers on probation, casual and part-time workers, and workers who resign to avoid a disciplinary hearing cannot claim unfair dismissal, except where the dismissal is for operational requirements or no written reasons were given.

## How is severance worked out in Lesotho?

A worker with more than one year of continuous service receives two weeks' wages for each completed year.

The wages are at the rate payable when the services end.

| Situation | Severance |
| --- | --- |
| More than one year of service, dismissal other than for misconduct | Two weeks' wages for each completed year |
| Fairly dismissed for misconduct | None |
| Employer runs a better separation scheme | The more advantageous benefit |

After five completed years the severance is ten weeks' wages, which is our arithmetic from the formula. A worker cannot claim both severance and another separation benefit unless the employer is willing to pay both. An employer that fails to pay severance commits an offence, with a fine of up to M5,000.

Severance counts as employment income for income tax, so the employer withholds tax on it.

## What must you do before reducing staff in Lesotho?

The Act names operational requirements as a valid reason, and severance applies. It sets no separate redundancy procedure that we could find.

We plan the reasons, the notice and the record with you before you tell anyone.

We read the Labour Act for a retrenchment procedure, a notice to the Labour Commissioner or a consultation duty and found none. A collective agreement or a code of conduct may add steps, so we check the workplace before any reduction. The written statement of reasons and the right to answer the allegations still apply where the reason is capacity or conduct.

## What must you give an employee when employment ends?

Final wages are due on the last day and payable by the next working day, or on the day of dismissal where the worker is dismissed.

Unused statutory leave is paid out for a worker who has worked at least three months.

- **Written reasons.** For a dismissal for capacity or conduct, a written statement at the time or within two weeks. A failure can mean a fine of up to M1,000 or up to six months in prison, and a court can award two weeks' wages.
- **Certificate of service.** On request, for a worker employed for more than one month, showing the parties, the period and the nature of the work.
- **Leave pay.** One day's full pay for each completed month of leave earned but not taken.

## What happens if a Lesotho dismissal is unfair?

The Labour Court or an arbitrator orders reinstatement if the worker wishes, unless it is impracticable.

Otherwise it fixes compensation that it considers just and equitable.

In setting compensation the court weighs any breach of contract, the worker's efforts to limit their loss, length of service, employability, the employment record, the position held, loss of pay and the fairness of the procedure. The Act sets no fixed cap in maloti. Plan the reasons and the record before you end a contract.

## How does Teamed support a Lesotho termination?

A designated person and real HR and legal experts guide the notice, the reasons and the record, with Teamed's fee at [**from $599 per employee per month**](/pricing), with **zero FX markup** in any currency.

The notice, severance and protected-reason rules above are applied to your case before you serve anything.

**Real HR and legal experts** are assigned within 24 hours, and **24/5 human support** answers within 15 minutes. Employer costs **pass through at cost, itemised** on every invoice.

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**.

Start from the [Lesotho hiring overview](/country-hiring-guides/lesotho) for the wider picture. EOR is the right model for a first Lesotho hire, **until it isn't**.

## Frequently asked questions

How much notice does an employer give in Lesotho?

One month after a year of service or more, a fortnight after more than six months and one week under six months, on an open-ended contract. Notice is in writing.

Is severance payable on every termination in Lesotho?

No. It is due once a worker has more than one year of service, at two weeks' wages for each completed year. A worker fairly dismissed for misconduct is not entitled to it.

Can you dismiss a pregnant employee in Lesotho?

Pregnancy is an automatically unfair reason for dismissal, and a dismissal that takes effect during statutory maternity leave is automatically unfair too.

What must a Lesotho employer do before reducing staff?

Operational requirements are a valid reason and severance applies. We found no separate redundancy procedure in the Labour Act, and we check any collective agreement and the written reasons before each case.

A note from Tom Price-Daniel

Lesotho counts severance by the year at two weeks' wages, and every dismissal needs a valid reason: capacity, conduct or operational requirements.  
Dismissals during maternity leave are automatically unfair, and written reasons are due within two weeks.  
Call your designated person before you serve notice, not after.

Tom Price-Daniel · Co-founder, Teamed

## Keep reading

- [Hiring in Lesotho, overview](/country-hiring-guides/lesotho)
- [Lesotho hiring guide](/country-hiring-guides/lesotho/hiring-guide)
- [Lesotho tax and payroll](/country-hiring-guides/lesotho/tax-and-payroll)
- [Lesotho cost breakdown](/country-hiring-guides/lesotho/cost-breakdown)
- [Lesotho EOR vs entity](/country-hiring-guides/lesotho/eor-vs-entity)
- [Hiring contractors in Lesotho](/contractor-hiring-guides/lesotho)
- [What is an Employer of Record?](/employer-of-record)
- [The Graduation Model](/graduation-model)
- [Teamed pricing, zero FX markup](/pricing)
- [Crossover Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/crossover-calculator)

A note on this page.

This is a guide, not legal, tax or accounting advice. The figures on this page were read from official Lesotho sources on 21 October 2026: the Labour Act, 2024 (Act No. 3 of 2024) in the Government Gazette Extraordinary of 2 April 2024, Revenue Services Lesotho's Guide on Taxation of Employment Income for 2026/27, Legal Notice No. 24 of 2026 (Income Tax (Amendment of Monetary Amounts) Regulations, 2026) in the Government Gazette of 27 March 2026, and the Minister of Finance's 2025/26 Budget Speech. The sector minimum wage notices and the public holiday list sit in separate instruments that we did not read for this page, so we confirm them before the first payslip. Confirm current requirements with the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Revenue Services Lesotho and a qualified adviser before relying on any figure.