WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM DURATION OF AN EXPATRIATE EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT?
Since the enactment of Presidential Decree No. 43/17, of 6 March 2017 (Regulations on the Hiring of Foreign Non-Resident Employees – “PD 43/17”), the rules on duration of fixed-term employment contracts of expatriates have been successively amended by Presidential Decree No. 79/17, of 24 April 2017, that revised PD 43/17, and the most recent Presidential Decree No. 151/17, of 4 July 2017 (“PD 151/17”).
As of the approval of PD 151/17, the maximum term of 36 months was eliminated by means of revocation of Article 75.1 of the Visa Law Regulations (approved by Presidential Decree No. 108/11, of 25 May 2011) and no new express rule has been established on the maximum duration of an employment contract entered into with an expatriate employee. Consequently, due to the inexistence of a specific rule on the contract ́s term, the point now for debate is to determine whether or not the Angolan authorities will follow a flexible approach, allowing the parties to freely define the maximum term of the contract (despite being subject to the limitation of two renewals) or apply the general rules set forth by the General Labor Law on fixed-term employment contracts.
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