Nigeria

• New Year’s Day
• New Year Holiday
• Good Friday
• Easter Monday
• Eid-el-Fitri Sallah
• Labour Day
• Democracy Day
• Id el-Kabir
• Id el-Maulud
• National Day
• National Day Holiday
• Christmas Day
• Boxing Day

Working Hours

Employees can work up to 8.5 hours a day, or 48 hours per week, excluding overtime.

Minimum Wage

The current national minimum wage rate is NGN 70,000 per month, and it is set to be reviewed in 2027.

Employee Tax

Annual income	Tax rate
Up to NGN 300,000	7%
NGN 300,001 - 600,000	11%
NGN 600,001 - 1.1 million	15%
NGN 1.1 million - 2.7 million	19%
NGN 2.7 million - 3.2 million	21%
More than NGN 3.2 million	24%
Pension contribution	8%
Housing fund contribution*	2.5%

*Only applicable to those earning more than NGN 3,000 per year.

Bonuses

There are no statutory bonus schemes in Nigeria, but discretionary bonus schemes are common.

Employment contracts in Nigeria should be written and issued to the employee within three months of their start date. Contracts should include:

• Employer name(s)
• Employee name and address
• Start date
• Job title and responsibilities
• Working hours
• Salary and leave entitlement
• Sick pay and sickness procedure
• Contract expiry date (if applicable)
• Notice period
• Special conditions of the contract.

Both indefinite and fixed-term contracts are permitted in Nigeria.

Annual Leave

Minimum of six days' paid holiday per year, after one year of service.

Sick Leave

Up to 12 days’ sick pay per year.

Parental Leave

• Maternity leave: at least 12 weeks' leave paid at 50% of the mother's regular wage.
• Paternity leave: none.

Termination Process

Employers in Nigeria can terminate a contract, provided they give notice in line with legal requirements. Neither employers or employees are required to give a reason for termination of the contract.

Nigerian employers can dismiss an employee without notice for serious misconduct.

Employees can also end a contract by giving notice in line with their contract terms.

Severance Pay

Severance pay is only due for redundancy. The rate depends on the employee’s length of service:

• 1-5 years’ service = 2.3 weeks’ pay
• 5-10 years’ service = 11.4 weeks’ pay
• 10+ years’ service = 22.9 weeks’ pay

Under a Mauve Group Employer of Record (EOR) solution, clients and their international workers benefit from Mauve’s Global Master Insurance Programme—a market-leading, unified corporate insurance system that links all Mauve entities to two preferred providers. As part of our global Employer of Record services, this programme ensures that companies expanding globally through our EOR service have access to reliable and compliant insurance coverage for overseas employees.

The insurance provides comprehensive coverage in international locations via a combination of the master policy and jurisdiction-specific local policies where required by law. This ensures full compliance and protection in line with local employment regulations—key to any international Employer of Record solution.

The policies include:

• Employer’s Liability and Public Liability – £10,000,000 combined limit
• Professional Indemnity – £5,000,000 limit
• Worker’s Compensation – Limit varies depending on the country of employment

For detailed information about statutory and recommended EOR insurance coverage in your chosen country, get in touch with Mauve’s global compliance team.