How do you end employment in Liberia?
After probation, an employer in Liberia gives written notice of one to four weeks, depending on service, and an open-ended contract needs a cause. Where the job ends for economic reasons, severance is four weeks' pay for each completed year. If you need to end a Liberia 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.
· Liberia guide
Photo: Jacob Kpehe on Unsplash
After probation, the employer gives written notice of one week under three months of service, two weeks to six months, three weeks to a year and four weeks after a year. The employer can pay money in place of notice.
An open-ended contract can end only for a cause: capacity, conduct or the operational requirements of the business. Severance of four weeks' pay for each completed year applies where the job ends for economic reasons.
How much notice must you give in Liberia?
After probation, the minimum notice runs from one week to four weeks, depending on continuous service.
Notice is in writing and names the last day of employment.
| Continuous service | Minimum notice |
|---|---|
| More than one year | Four weeks |
| More than six months, under a year | Three weeks |
| More than three months, under six | Two weeks |
| Under three months | One week |
Notice starts on the first day of the pay period after the one in which it is served. The employer can instead pay a sum equal to what the employee would have earned in the minimum notice period. The contract's own notice period cannot be shorter than the Act's minimum.
The employer may end a fixed-term contract at any time only for a cause under the grave misconduct rule. A contract for a specific task ends when the task is done.
When can you dismiss an employee in Liberia?
Grave misconduct allows immediate termination without notice. Otherwise an open-ended contract needs a cause: the employee's capacity, the employee's conduct or the operational requirements of the business.
The employer must also follow a fair internal procedure before deciding.
Examples of grave misconduct in the Act include these:
- being unable to work because of alcohol or drugs in the working environment;
- sexual harassment, or an attack, battery or threat against a co-worker or the employer;
- careless or intentional destruction of employer property causing significant loss;
- absence for more than 10 consecutive days, or more than 20 days over six months, without good cause or explanation.
An employer cannot dismiss an employee for exercising or seeking to exercise a right under the Act, or for temporary absence from illness or injury, including paid sick leave. An employee who leaves because the employer's conduct made it unreasonable to stay is taken, unless the employer proves otherwise, to have been dismissed.
How is severance worked out in Liberia?
An employee whose job ends for economic reasons receives four weeks of severance pay for each completed year of service.
We found no severance clause for a dismissal for capacity or conduct.
| Situation | Severance |
|---|---|
| Job ends for economic reasons, such as a reorganisation or closure | Four weeks of pay for each completed year, plus notice |
| Dismissal for grave misconduct | No notice is required, and we found no severance clause |
| Dismissal for capacity or conduct, with a fair procedure | Notice under the Act, and we found no severance clause |
After five completed years the severance is 20 weeks of pay, which is our arithmetic from the formula. The severance duty operates in addition to any other obligation arising from the termination.
What must you do before reducing staff in Liberia?
Tell the Ministry of Labour, the affected employees and any recognised union at least four weeks before the terminations take effect.
Then negotiate in good faith, and select by the principle of first in, last out.
The information you give covers four points:
- the intention to terminate employment;
- the reasons for the cuts;
- the number and categories of employees affected;
- the date the terminations are to take effect.
Where exceptional circumstances apply, you give the information as soon as practicable. Negotiate alternatives to termination, the selection criteria, ways to reduce the number and any priority for re-hiring. Where length of service is relatively equal, consider qualifications and efficiency. If new employment arises later, consider the people made redundant first.
What must you give an employee when employment ends?
Accumulated unused annual leave is paid out, pro rata for service under a year.
Accumulated sick leave is not.
- Leave pay. A sum equal to the pay for annual leave accumulated but not taken.
- Notice pay. If you choose to pay money instead of notice, the pay the employee would have earned in the minimum notice period.
- Severance. Four weeks of pay for each completed year, where the job ends for economic reasons.
- Foreign workers. Repatriation to the country of origin or residence, whichever is closer, except where the employer has cause for grave misconduct.
The employer keeps the contract, wage and leave records for five years after employment ends.
What happens if a Liberia dismissal is invalid?
An employee can complain to the Ministry of Labour within six months of the employer's decision.
The Ministry or court must order reinstatement unless the employer proves one of two narrow exceptions.
The employer would have to prove either that the necessary trust and confidence cannot be resumed, or that the job no longer exists and no comparable job is available. Compensation, if ordered, should not exceed two years' remuneration, calculated on the average pay of the six months before dismissal. If the dismissal was to avoid paying a pension, the arbitrator can award up to five years.
An employee cannot make this complaint where the dismissal happened during probation or where the employer had grounds under the Act. Plan the reasons and the record before you end a contract.
How does Teamed support a Liberia 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, 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 Liberia hiring overview for the wider picture. EOR is the right model for a first Liberia hire, until it isn't.
Frequently asked questions
How much notice does an employer give in Liberia?
After probation, four weeks after more than a year of service, three weeks to a year, two weeks to six months and one week under three months. Notice is in writing, and the employer can pay money instead.
Is severance payable on every termination in Liberia?
No. The Decent Work Act provides severance of four weeks' pay for each completed year where the job ends for economic reasons. We found no severance clause for a dismissal for capacity or conduct.
Can you dismiss an employee for being ill in Liberia?
No. An employer cannot dismiss an employee for temporary absence from illness or injury, including time on paid sick leave, or for exercising a right under the Act.
What must a Liberia employer do before reducing staff?
Give the Ministry of Labour, the affected employees and any recognised union the intention, reasons, numbers and date at least four weeks before the terminations take effect, then negotiate in good faith and select first in, last out.
Liberia counts severance by the year at four weeks' pay, but only where the job ends for economic reasons.
Every other dismissal of an open-ended contract needs a cause and a fair procedure, and the default remedy for a bad one is reinstatement.
Call your designated person before you serve notice, not after.
Looking for a job in Liberia 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.
