Immediate increase in SMIG (5%) and SMAG (10%)

On Thursday, September 1, 2022, the Government Council approved draft decree no. 2-22-606 setting the legal minimum wage in industry, commerce, the liberal professions and agriculture.

Morocco has increased its minimum wage 25 times since 1980, reaching a minimum wage of 2,970 dirhams/month from september 2022 and 3,111 dirhams/month in September 2023.

The increase in the SMIG concerns the industrial, commercial and liberal professions sectors, while the increase in the SMAG concerns the agricultural sector.

The new SMIG in Morocco in September 1, 2022 and SMAG have therefore been set by a decree published in the B.O. No. 7125 on September 12, 2022.

The legal minimum wage (SMIG) for one hour's work for the liberal professions and the industrial and commercial sectors will immediately rise from DH14.81 per hour to 15.55 DH on time from from September 2022 which is equivalent to 2,970 dirhams/monthSimilarly, the social agreement provides for a further increase of 5% which will take place in september 2023 to reach 16,29 dirhams/hour, equivalent to 3,111 dirhams/month.

The Guaranteed Minimum Agricultural Wage (SMAG), meanwhile, is on the rise. of 10%moving to 84,37 dirhams for a day's work against 76,70 dirhams previously, from September 2022. A new rise of 5% will be applied from september 2023to reach 88,58 dirhams. Under the social agreement, the SMIG and SMAG are to be aligned by 2028.

Finally, for the public sectorthe minimum wage will rise from 3,300 to 3.500 dirhams per month, under the terms of the social agreement.

Faithfully yours,

Ilham Taha-Bouamri
Chartered accountant and tax specialist

Everything you need to know about redundancy in Morocco

This informative note describes the reasons, justification and calculation of severance pay in Morocco.

1. Possible reasons for dismissal and their justification:

A distinction is made between "redundancy for economic reasons" and "redundancy for personal reasons". Personal dismissal is linked to the employee's person, whereas economic dismissal is carried out by the employer for a reason outside the employee's person. Dismissal for personal reasons comprises two types of dismissal: those based on non-serious misconduct (non-disciplinary) and those based on serious misconduct as defined in article 39 of the Labor Code (disciplinary). Dismissal in this way presupposes compliance with substantive conditions (justification of the reason, ART 39 of the Labor Code) and compliance with a formal condition (a specific procedure).

Dismissal for non-disciplinary personal reasons is when it is not necessarily caused by a fault (serious or gross) on the part of the employee, although it remains inherent to his or her person. This type of dismissal can therefore be caused, for example, by the employee's inability to achieve an objective previously agreed with the employer.

To this end, the legislator requires the employer, before dismissing for this reason, to first adopt disciplinary sanctions against the employee for non-serious misconduct, namely a warning; a reprimand; a second reprimand or dismissal for a period not exceeding eight days; a third reprimand or transfer to another department.

Under article 38 of the French Labor Code, when disciplinary sanctions have been exhausted during the year, the employer may dismiss the employee. In this case, the dismissal is considered justified.

Disciplinary dismissal is, however, the case where the employee has committed a serious offence, as stipulated in article 39 of the French Labor Code. In this case, the employee may be dismissed without notice, compensation or payment of damages.

Article 39 cites offenses against honor, trust or public decency, the disclosure of a professional secret causing damage to the company, and the commission of a list of acts inside the establishment or during work. However, it is important to note that the French Supreme Court has ruled that the list provided for in Article 39 is not exhaustive (C. Supr., Soc., May 12, 2004, no. 467). Consequently, the employer may justify dismissal on grounds other than those listed in article 39.

2 Calculating severance pay in Morocco:

To be entitled to compensation, the employee must have been bound to his employer by an open-ended employment contract at the time his contract was terminated, in accordance with the provisions of articles 52 and 53 of the French Labor Code.

Also, the reason for terminating the employment contract must not be based on serious misconduct. The employee must also have worked for at least six months in the same company where he or she was dismissed. The following types of compensation must be taken into consideration:

- Compensation in lieu of notice :
This indemnity is provided for under article 51 of the new Labor Code. Its amount is equal to the salary that the dismissed employee would have received if he had remained in his job until the end of his notice period, as provided for in his employment contract or the relevant implementing decree.

- Legal severance pay:
This indemnity is provided for under article 53 of the French Labor Code, and is calculated on the basis of the employee's length of service with the company and hourly wage. Only employees dismissed for serious or gross misconduct may be deprived of this indemnity. The amount of severance pay for each year or fraction of a year of actual employment is equal to :

- 96 hours' salary for the first 5 years of seniority, or 2.5 months' salary for the first 5 years of seniority;

- 144 hours' salary for seniority between 6 and 10 years, or 3.8 months' salary for the next 10 years of seniority;

- 192 hours' salary for the period of seniority from 11 to 15 years, or 5 months' salary for the next 15 years of seniority; Preview(opens a new tab)

- 240 hours' pay for seniority exceeding 15 years.

- Damages :
Damages are provided for under article 41 of the French Labor Code. The amount is set at 1.5 months' salary per year of seniority, capped at 36 months' salary.

- Compensation for unused paid leave :
This indemnity is provided for under article 251 of the French Labor Code, and is paid for days not taken from the annual paid leave to which the employee is entitled.

 

Faithfully yours,

Ilham Taha-Bouamri
Independent chartered accountant and tax specialist

Employers: Claiming job loss benefits

Job loss claim

Dear readers,

This information note describes the procedure for claiming compensation for loss of employment in Morocco.

 

Job loss claim : CNSS provides employees who involuntarily lose their jobs, and who are actively looking for a new one, with a minimum income called Indemnité pour Perte d'Emploi (IPE), for a period of up to 6 months.

This allowance is one of the mechanisms implemented to help the beneficiary re-enter the job market.

Previously, eligible employees had to submit a claim to the CNSS branch of their choice, within a period not exceeding 60 days from the date of loss of employment.

From now on, employers can apply directly for job loss compensation for their former employees, on the dedicated electronic platform.

To date, this indemnity applies to employees who have accumulated 780 days of salary declarations during the thirty-six months prior to the date of job loss, including 260 days during the last 12 months prior to this date, and who have lost their job through no fault of their own.

On request, we can take care of this procedure.

It's not out of the question that a reform of these eligibility conditions will be voted on in the near future, with a view to lightening them.

Our legal and tax team will be happy to provide you with any further information you may require.

The accounting firm Fiscal & Légal Team can provide you with support and expertise in the fields of accounting, taxation and legal matters:

Business start-ups ;
Bookkeeping
Social Expertise and HRM
Legal advice
Processing pay slips ;
Tax optimization;
Outsourcing accounting and tax returns ;
Digitization
Direct debit
Company support

Faithfully yours,

Ilham Taha-Bouamri
Chartered accountant and tax specialist