Social and Labor Law

Prof. Sabrina DARBALI

2022-2023
Introduction
It is the whole of the legal relations which arise from the
execution of tasks by a worker (the employee) for the
account and under the subordination of another (the
employer).

➢ In other words, the purpose of the labour law course is to

study the legal norms that govern the relationship between
an employer and an employee.

It applies to the legal relationships related to salaried work.

In this sense, it is different from legal relationships arising from
training, voluntary work, self-employment or work carried out within
the framework of the public service.
The employment relationship is characterized by a link of subjective
relationship between an employer who pays an employee who
provides his professional skills.
An employer is any natural or legal person who hires the services of
one or more natural persons.
An employee is any person who has undertaken to carry out his
professional activity under the direction of one or more employers in
return for payment.
Labor law regulates the formation, performance and termination of
employment contracts.

It also guarantees respect for trade union freedoms and safety

standards at work, as well as the protection of at-risk workers.

It is governed by the Labor Code introduced by Law n°65-99.

It includes seven books in addition to the primary book and 585

articles presented as follows:
Book I deals with labor agreements.
Book II concerns working conditions and compensation.
Book III concerns the most representative trade unions, staff
representatives and the works council.
Book IV concerns mediation at work and the employment of
employees.
Book V concerns the supervisory bodies.
Book VI is about peaceful solutions for collective conflicts.
Book VII contains final provisions.
The main objective of the course

The general purpose of this course is to provide students with legal

knowledge that will help them to manage their businesses well in the
coming years and to choose the most suitable solutions and means to
deal with the problems they will face.

➢ To reach these objectives we will start with a presentation of the

social law.
So how can we explain this law?

What is social law?

Social law is a set of legal rules that apply to the individual and collective
relations between private employers and their employees during the
performance of work, as well as the rules that govern social security.

However, with the establishment of the social security system, social law has
been divided into two distinct but complementary branches

❑ Labor law ;
❑ Social security law.
Part I: The Employment Contract
Chapter I: Definition of the employment contract
Art. 24 of the Labor Code states that: "The employment contract is an
agreement which commits the worker to provide his professional
services for a fixed period of time to perform a specific job in return for
a salary to be paid by the employer".

The validity of the employment contract is subject to the conditions

relating to the consent and capacity of the parties to contract as well as
to the object and purpose of the contract, as set forth in the Code of
Obligations and Contracts.
The employment contract is concluded for an unlimited period of time,
for a fixed period of time or to perform a specific job.
A fixed-term employment contract may be concluded in the event that
the employment relationship could not have an open-ended duration.
It can be concluded in case the employment relationship could not
have an unlimited duration.
However, a contract concluded for a maximum of one year becomes an
open-ended contract when it is maintained beyond its duration.
In the agricultural sector, a fixed-term contract may be concluded for a
renewable period of six months, provided that the duration of the
contracts does not exceed two years.
The contract then becomes open-ended.
I. Termination of the employment contract
The employment relationship between employers and employees can
be terminated by several methods:

1. Dismissal:
Dismissal being the termination of the employment contract at the
initiative of the employer by presenting a valid reason.
It is therefore forbidden to dismiss an employee without a valid reason,
unless the dismissal is related to his/her fitness or conduct.
The dismissal can be made for the following reasons:

▪ By disciplinary measure: the serious fault: The jurisprudence is the

only one to identify a serious fault, that is to say that it is the judges
who decide if there is or not a serious fault, and we can say that there
is no specific meaning of the serious fault.

▪ For economic reasons: in case of difficulties of the company, the

employer must first dismiss the temporary staff before the
permanent staff, as it must consider the seniority and family expenses
of the employee.
▪ For personal reasons: When the employer considers an employee
unable to perform his duties as an employee.

When the employee is considered to be stable, the employer has the

duty to give him/her a notice of dismissal during which he/she can be
absent for 2 hours per day without exceeding 8 hours per week to find
another job.
Except for serious misconduct, the employer is obliged to pay a
compensation in lieu of notice to the employee if their employment
contract (open-ended contract) is terminated without notice.

The amount of the compensation in lieu of notice will be proportional

to the remuneration that the employee would have received if he had
remained at his post during the notice period.
The severance pay is calculated as follows:

For a period of 5 years, the severance pay paid by the employer is 96

hours of salary per year;
From 6 to 10 years, the severance pay paid by the employer is 144
hours of salary per year;
From 11 years to 15 years, the severance pay paid by the employer is
192 hours of salary per year;
For a period of more than 15 years, the severance pay paid by the
employer is 240 hours of pay per year.
2. Resignation
The employment contract can be terminated by the employee's will
and this is automatically called a resignation.

If the employee takes into account to inform his employer of his

departure by a notice period, this will allow him to receive a
compensatory indemnity.

In case of serious misconduct justified by the employer or abuse of

right, the resigning employee could be sentenced to damages.
3. Mutual agreement by fixed term contract:
In the case of any fixed-term contract, work shall not be
stopped until the end of the period specified in the
contract.
In other words, the contract can only be terminated if
both the employer and the employee decide to end it.
4. Retirement:
Having reached the age of sixty, (61 as of January 2017) every
employee must be retired.
However, he/she may continue to be employed after this age by order
of the governmental authority in charge of labor upon request of the
employer and with the consent of the employee.
The retirement age is set at 65 for employees in the mining sector who
can prove that they have worked at the bottom of the mines for at least
5 years.
Normally there is no notice or compensation for retirement, but the
collective bargaining agreement requires that a notice period be
observed and that a retirement indemnity be paid, the amount of
which is proportional to the seniority obtained in the company.
Chapter II: The formation of the employment contract
1. Conclusion of the employment contract
The employment contract is subject to the rules of Common law and can
be established in the forms that the contracting parties wish to adopt.
It is therefore necessary to refer to the contractual regime of Common law,
as defined in the D.O.C.
Under the terms of the latter, four conditions are required for the validity
of an agreement:
▪ Consent;
▪ The capacity of the parties;
▪ A certain object which forms the subject matter of the commitment;
▪ and a lawful cause.
i. The consent of the parties

It may be given in writing or verbally, or it may be the result of a tacit

agreement, as is the case in the continuation of an employment
relationship.
However, a fixed-term contract must be in writing.
In the absence of a writing, an employment contract is supposed to be for
an unlimited period.
The actual will to contract must have been exercised freely, i.e. without
being affected, on pain of nullity of the contract, by a defect in consent,
fraud or violence.
ii. The capacity of the parties

In order for an employment contract to be valid, the parties

must have the capacity to contract (art. 25 DOC).
The problem that arises is to know whether contracts
concluded by those who are incapable can be valid.
This concerns the case of the minor employee and that of the
married woman.
❑ The minor employee

A minor may not be allowed to work before the age of

15 years, art. 143 of the Code.
This prohibition is in principle mandatory.
Before that age, they are subject to obligatory schooling.
It has always been considered that making young
children work constitutes an attack on future
generations.
Therefore, before the age of 15, no contract can be
concluded either by the minor or by his legal
representative.
Art. 150 reinforces the sanctions for the employment of
children under 15 years of age.
Also, art. 145 has just extended the age to 18 years
instead of 15 years for young workers in theaters or
circuses.
❑ Married women
Art. 9 provides for the right of the woman to conclude
the work contract without, of course, the consent of
her husband.
It is a total freedom that allows her to exercise a
profession.
However, according to art. 172, a woman may perform
night work, taking into account her health and social
situation.
iii- The purpose and cause of the contract

The employment contract cannot have as its object the

exercise of an activity that is contrary to order, morality
and good manners.
It cannot also contain clauses that are contrary to public
order.
For example: a clause stating that the employee is not a
member of a trade union or that the salary is lower than
the minimum wage would be cancelled.
iv. Forms and proof of the contract
The legislator gives the parties complete freedom as to the form of
the contract. It can therefore be written or verbal.
Proof of a verbal employment contract may present some difficulties.
Indeed, according to the common law of contracts, which is
applicable here, proof can be made by any means when the contract
concerns a sum not exceeding 250 DH.
For a higher amount, which is the majority of cases, the contract
should in principle be proven by means of a written document or at
least a preliminary written proof, such as a pay statement or an
employment certificate.
2. Duration and different types of employment contracts

The code provides for the regulation of several contracts. It

has selected those that are the most common:

a. The trial contract;

b. The open-ended contract;
c. The contract for a fixed term;
d. The contract for a determined work.
a. The trial contract

The interest of this contract is beyond discussion.

The employer can evaluate the competence of the worker.
The worker can judge if the job suits him.
If the job suits him It is a contract that does not exceed 6 months
maximum.
In this kind of contract the parties involved can break the
contract voluntarily and this without compensation or notice.
When the employee is on probation for at least one week, this
period may be terminated only after the employee has been
given one of the following two notices, unless he/she commits
a serious fault:
▪ 2 days before the termination if the employee belongs to
the category of those who are paid by the day per week or
every two weeks.
▪ 8 days before the termination if the employee is paid
monthly. The notice period cannot be shorter than 8 days.
b. The open-ended contract

The permanent contract is the most frequent in practice.

No time limit is set by the parties.
It ends as soon as one of the parties asks for its termination.
These rules are essentially intended to temper the brutal and arbitrary
nature of the termination.
A contract is presumed to be for an unlimited period if it is not in writing.
The notice period for managers, employees and workers can be found in the
following table:
For the executives

Seniority Notice period

Seniority = 1 year 1. One month
Seniority = 5 years 2. Two months
More than 5 years 3. Three months
For workers

Seniority Notice period

Seniority = 1 year 1. 8 days
Seniority = 5 years 2. 1 month
More than 5 years 3. 2 months
Except for serious misconduct, the employer is obliged to pay a compensation in lieu of
notice to the employee if their employment contract (open-ended contract) is
terminated without notice.
The amount of the indemnity in lieu of notice will be proportional to the compensation
that the employee would have received if he had remained at his post during the
notice period.

The severance pay is calculated as follows:

▪ For a period of 5 years, the severance pay paid by the employer is 96 hours of salary
per year;
▪ From 6 years to 10 years, the severance pay paid by the employer is 144 hours of
salary per year;
▪ From 11 years to 15 years, the severance pay paid by the employer is 192 hours of
salary per year;
▪ For a period of more than 15 years, the severance pay paid by the employer is 240
hours of pay per year.
c. The fixed-term contract

The fixed-term contract is a contract in which a term is

stipulated.
This term is the result of a future, certain fact having a specific
date known in advance by the employee.
It is the anticipation of the deadline that allows it to be different
from a contract of undetermined duration.
It benefits from a more or less important regulation in the labor
legislation
❑ In which cases can a fixed-term contract be used?
There are three cases:
▪Replacement of an employee in the place of another
when the employee's contract is suspended. The
suspension must not be due to a strike;
▪Temporary increase of the company's activity, which can
be an exceptional order, urgent work for example.
▪Seasonal employment (e.g. agriculture, tourism, etc.)
❑The maximum duration of a fixed-term contract
In principle, the code does not provide for a duration except in two cases:
▪ The non-agricultural sectors when a company is created or a new
establishment is opened within the company.
In this case, a fixed-term contract can be concluded for a period not
exceeding one year, renewable only once. If it is renewed, it will become an
open-ended contract.

▪ In the agricultural sector, a fixed-term contract can be concluded for a

renewable period of 6 months.
The period of the contract must not exceed 2 years, otherwise it becomes a
permanent contract.
d. The contract to perform a specific job (CTD)

This is a mixed contract or a hybrid between a contract for

an unlimited period and a contract for a fixed period.
It is similar to a contract for a specific occasional task that
is not lasting and for a limited period of time.
E.g.: work on a construction site (road, building, mosque,
etc.), etc.
3. The duties resulting from the employment contract
The employment contract imposes a certain number of
obligations on both parties, as set out in articles 20 and following

A. Duties of the employee

The code does not expressly state that the employee must be
capable of performing the work that is the subject of the
contract, but this is self-evident since professional inadequacy is
a legitimate reason for dismissal.
Art. 20 states that the employee is responsible in the context of his work for
his actions, negligence or lack of diligence.
He must also respect the orders of his employer and this within the
framework of the legal and regulatory provisions, the employment contract,
the collective agreements or the internal regulations.
Likewise, he/she must be subject to the rules of ethics relating to the
profession.
➢ This is commonly known as the "obligation of loyalty".
Concerning the material assigned to him for the execution of the work, art.
22 provides that he must take care of the material and return it after the
work for which he is responsible.
In the case of loss or damage, he/she remains
responsible unless he/she can prove the existence of a
fortuitous event or force majeure.
In case of a change of residence, the employee must
inform the employer of his new address, either by
personal delivery or by registered letter with
acknowledgement of reception.
the code does not provide for all of the obligations
imposed on him.
Other obligations result either from the employment contract, the
internal regulations or the collective agreement. It can be invoked
in this sense:
▪ Certainly, he cannot refuse to perform the tasks included in his
job.
▪ He must respect the working hours, in particular the hours in
force in the company.
➢The non-respect of the duration represents a serious fault
justifying the dismissal especially in case of repeated delays.
▪ Not to carry out the work for his personal account.
B. The employer's duties
▪ Classically, he must provide the agreed work and pay the agreed
employee;
▪ He must take all necessary measures to protect the employees' health
and dignity when they perform the work under his orders;
▪ He must ensure that good conduct and morals are respected and that
discipline is established in the company;
▪ He must issue a work card that includes all the indications that will be
determined by decree. This card is renewable every time a change in its
professional quality arises or in the amount of salary.
4. Suspension of the contract
A. Cases of suspension
During the employment relationship, exceptional
circumstances may provisionally suspend the performance
of the employment contract, without leading to its
termination
In this case, the contract remains in force, but each party is
released from the duties related to its execution.
Thus, the employee is exempted from performing the work
agreed upon, while the employer is no longer required to
pay the employee a salary during the entire period of
suspension.
Article 32 provides for 7 cases:
▪ Mandatory military service;
▪ Absence of the employee for illness;
▪ Maternity;
▪ Temporary incapacity following an accident at work or an
professional disease;
▪ Absence of the employee either for personal convenience or
for an electoral term;
▪ Strike;
▪ Temporary legal closing of the company.
a. Military service
A worker called up for legal military service is allowed to
suspend his employment contract under a special regime.
His work contract will be suspended and at the time of his
release he is entitled to integration only on the condition that
he asks his employer at the very latest the month following his
release.
And when he integrates his position, he will benefit from all the
advantages acquired before his departure.
b. Absence of the employee due to short-term illness

In the obvious interest of the employee, but also of the company that
keeps the employee at its disposal, illness causes, at least when it is of
short duration, a simple suspension of the contract.
The sick employee must immediately notify the employer of the illness by
sending a medical certificate within the time limits stipulated by the
internal regulations or the collective agreement (48 hours).
The employer may consider the employee to have left the company when
his/her absence for a non-work related illness exceeds 180 continuous
days within a period of 365 days or when the employee becomes
incapable of performing his/her duties.
c. Maternity
The Moroccan legislator has taken special provisions to protect pregnant
women.
Thus, the woman has the right to suspend her contract for 14 weeks (art. 152).
The suspension takes effect 7 weeks before the estimated date of delivery and
ends 7 weeks after the delivery.
The woman has the right not to return to work after 7 or 14 weeks in order to
take care of her child, provided that she notifies her employer within 15 days of
the end of her maternity period.
In this case the period of suspension should not exceed 90 days.
After returning to work, she benefits from all the rights acquired before the
maternity period.
❑ In the event that a medical certificate shows that the maternity
presents pathological complications, this period of suspension may be
extended for as long as the situation lasts, up to a maximum of 8 weeks
before the birth and 14 weeks after the birth.

❑ When the birth is premature, it is up to the woman concerned to send

her employer a registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt
informing him of the causes of her absence and the probable date of
return to work.
d. Temporary incapacity due to an accident at work or an
professional illness.

It involves several questions regarding its duration in order to

make the suspension apply and not the termination.
e. Strike

The constitution provides that the right to strike will be guaranteed.

However, an organic law will set the conditions and forms in which it can
be exercised.

Two questions arise:

▪ Does the right to strike, which has been clearly recognized in the
private sector, extend to the public sector?
▪ What are the criteria of legitimacy relating to the strike?
In any case, the strike establishes a cause of suspension of the work
contract except for serious fault of the employee.

➢ At this level, it implies three essential elements:

▪ First, the termination of work;
▪ Secondly, the cessation in question must be collective and
concerted;
▪ Finally, the strike implies a professional request.
Chapter III: Termination of the employment contract

The loss of employment represents, along with industrial accidents and

professional illnesses, the most serious risk faced by the employee.

This is why protection is necessary, but not to the point of taking over the
job.

The open-ended contract can be terminated either by the employer's

initiative, in which case it would be called dismissal, or by the employee's
decision, in which case it would be called resignation.
I. Dismissal
Like any contract of unlimited duration, the employment contract can be
terminated by the will of one of the parties.
As a result, perpetual contracts are prohibited.
On the other hand, it is necessary to facilitate the mobility of the
workforce.
Freedom of work cannot be assimilated to a kind of slavery.
This is why a special process has been set up depending on whether the
dismissal is individual or collective.
1. Individual dismissal
A. Rules of procedure
There are three types of dismissal: normal dismissal, serious misconduct and
abusive dismissal.
The rules of procedure are different according to the nature of each of these
dismissals.

a. The notice or leave period

The period of time between the date of notification of the dismissal and the date
of the actual termination of the employment.
This formality is of extreme importance because its purpose is to relieve the
anger of a worker who is thus without a job and consequently without a source
of support.
the dismissal of the employee in contempt of this rule certainly makes his fate
worse.
▪ Any agreement providing for a period of less than 8 days would be null and
void unless it is a case of superior force.
▪ To be able to grant this notice, the contract must be concluded for an open-
ended period; the dismissal must not be motivated by a serious fault
▪ The employee is granted a few hours of absence to look for a new job at the
following rate: 2 hours per day; 8 hours per week; 30 hours per month.
▪ These hours are considered as actual working hours.
▪ The determination of these hours must be agreed between the parties. Once
the new job has been found, the right to absence is no longer valid.
▪ The notice period is of an optional nature. The employer may replace the
employee with a compensatory indemnity equal to the amount he or she
would have received if he or she had stayed in his or her job.
b. The regime of serious misconduct or disciplinary dismissal

▪ Misconduct may be minor, serious or gross.

▪ Each of these has its own consequences, whether in terms of the
termination of the contract or in terms of compensation.
▪ The legislator has provided for cases of serious misconduct chargeable
to both the employer and the employee and a specific procedure.
❑ Cases of serious misconduct
According to art. 39, the following cases are considered serious misconduct:
▪ Commission of an offence against decency, breach of trust, or morality for
which a final judgment involving the loss of liberty has been handed down.
▪ Disclosure of a professional secret damaging to the company.
▪ Repeated absences.
▪ Damage to installations, equipment, raw materials.
▪ Failure to comply with instructions, particularly in terms of health and
safety.
▪ Inciting to debauchery, etc.

➢ It should be noted that this list is not exhaustive.

Cases of serious misconduct for which the employer is responsible.
These are :

▪ Characterized insults;
▪ Use of violence and attacks against the employee;
▪ Sexual harassment;
▪ Inciting to debauchery

➢The employee who leaves his job because of these faults is

considered to be abusively dismissed.
❑ The applicable procedure
This is the procedure applicable as a disciplinary action following a serious
fault. The termination is done without respecting the notice period and
without compensation or reparation for damages.
On the other hand, certain formalities must be respected.

• Hearing of the employee

Before the implementation of the dismissal, the employee must have the
opportunity to defend himself.
He must be auditioned by the employer or his representative in the presence
of the staff representative or the trade union representative of the
establishment.
The latter are chosen by the employee in person and this within a period not
exceeding 8 days from the date of the commission of the accused act.
• The delivery of the official report (P.V) and the list of sanctions to the employee
A report is drawn up on this subject. It must be signed by both parties. A copy is given to
the employee.
In the same way, the decision of sanction indicated in art. 37 is also given to the
employee in person with acknowledgement of receipt or by registered letter and this
within 48 hours from the date of the decision of sanction.

• Proof of valid reason

The burden of proof is on the employer, just as it is when he claims that the employee
has left his job.

• The decision to dismiss

This must include the reasons that justified the decision, the date of the hearing. It must
be attached to the P.V. in question.
c. Abusive dismissal
❑Notion of unfair dismissal
The code does not provide a clear definition of the notion of abusive
dismissal, but simply mentions cases as an example.
However, we can say that it is a dismissal which is effected with the
intention to harm. It takes place outside the cases provided for by the
law.

➢The French doctrine states that it is a situation in which « the

employee provides proof of an intention to harm or of a blamable
lack of concern on the part of the employer ».
In fact, art. 36 makes it clear that disciplinary sanctions (in this case, dismissal)
must not be motivated by the following reasons:

▪ Trade union membership or the exercise of the function of trade union delegate;
▪ Participation in union activities outside of or during working hours;
▪ Application for eligibility for the position of employee delegate or the exercise of
this position or the fact of having exercised it previously;
▪ Filing a claim against the employer;
▪ Race, color, sex, family status, conviction, political opinion, etc.
❑Penalties for abusive dismissal
Several sanctions are provided for under Article 59.
This text mentions three types of reparation:
▪ Reparation of damages;
▪ Reparation for the notice period provided for in articles 41 and 51;
▪ Reparation for loss of employment.

➢It should be noted that reintegration has not been mentioned.

❑Proof of unfair dismissal
▪ In principle, the charge of proof belongs to the claimant, i.e. the
employee.

▪ However, in practice, this charge is generally overturned and it is the

employer who must provide proof that his dismissal was not abusive.

▪ The employee has the right to contest the employer's accusations in

court.
B. The legitimacy of the dismissal or the substantive conditions: the
requirement of a valid reason

This reason, as important as it is, will limit the use of dismissal and gives
this measure its legitimacy.
It protects the employee in a way.
The legislator has identified three cases in which this is the case:

1. The professional capacity;

2. The conduct of the employee;
3. Necessity of the operation of the business.
1. The professional capacity
▪ This means that the employee must be professionally fit to perform his
job.

▪ This is a fundamental element of the contract and the employer is the

only one who can evaluate it.

▪ It is on the basis of his skills and know-how that he is hired, if not a

candidate cannot be retained for a position for which he is not suited.
2. The employee's conduct
The employment contract places the employee in a state of subordination.
As a result, he is required to maintain a certain level of conduct in the company.
A breach of the rules of discipline would expose him to sanctions such as dismissal.

3. Necessity of the company's operation

The employer responsible for the good functioning of the company is obliged to
enforce the strictness and avoid the waste of the human capital.
If the needs of the company so require, he/she will not hesitate to lay off one or
more employees.
C. Discharge of the situation following the termination

Once the contractual relationship has been ended, the employer and the
employee must proceed with the settlement of their situation.
In this case, the termination is quite costly for the employer.
In addition to the indemnities that are paid after the dismissal, other formalities
remain at the employer's charge.
The employee, in turn, remains under certain conditions, liable for some
obligations.
1. Compensation for the dismissed employee
Two kinds of indemnities must be paid by the head of the company when he/she
proceeds with the dismissal.
Firstly, the indemnities that are assimilated to salary.
Secondly, the dismissal indemnity.

a. Indemnities assimilated to salary

These are the compensatory indemnity for notice or sudden termination and the
compensatory indemnity for paid vacations.
❑ Compensation in lieu of notice or pay for sudden termination
▪ An employee who is immediately dismissed from the company must not be
refused the right to notice.
▪ The employer is not at fault if the employee does not respect the right to
notice.
▪ In this way, the obligation to give notice is optional and a sudden termination
can be pronounced.
▪ In this case, the failure to observe the notice period is likely to result in the
payment of a compensatory indemnity to this effect.
▪ This is a remuneration due to the employee for this period of time, and the
employee is required to remain at the disposal of his employer unless the
employer has objected to the employee performing the obligations of the contract
until its end.
▪ In many cases, if it is the employer who wishes to separate from his employee, he
can quickly exempt him from the leave period.
▪ In this case, the employee will receive an indemnity equal to the remuneration he
would have received if he had effectively accomplished his notice period.
▪ This indemnity compensates only for the non-respect of this formality and the
sudden termination is not necessarily abusive.
❑Compensation for paid vacation
▪ It is due to the employee whose contract is terminated at the moment
when he/she has acquired a right to leave, which he/she has not yet
exercised.
▪ This indemnity is calculated on the same basis as the annual leave
indemnity.
▪ In this case, each month of work started counts for the calculation of the
indemnity.
▪ The employee can only be excluded from this indemnity if he is
dismissed as a result of gross negligence.
▪ However, it is granted even in case of resignation.
b. Severance pay
▪ It is mandatory to pay it to the dismissed employee.

▪ This indemnity is not the consequence of the employer's fault but it

appears as a kind of additional remuneration granted in return for the
attachment to the company for a certain period of time.

▪ It is intended to compensate the worker for the damage he or she suffers

as a result of the loss of his or her job at the will of the employer.
2. Duties of the dismissed employee

▪ The employee is required not to compete unfairly with his former employer.

▪ He can certainly work for a competitor of his former employer.

▪ But he cannot take advantage of his position in the company to act to the
detriment of the former employer, in particular by revealing manufacturing
processes or by taking away his former employer's customers.

▪ To protect against this danger, the employment contract sometimes includes a

non-competition clause.
▪ It aims to prohibit the employee whose contract is terminated from engaging in
certain professional activities that could be harmful to his former employer.
▪ It must be expressly stipulated in the employment contract.
▪ It is only valid if it is limited in time and space so as to allow the employee to carry
out a professional activity in accordance with his training and knowledge.
▪ Often a financial compensation is provided to the employee during the period of
application of this clause.
▪ The violation of this clause gives rise to damages to the employee and even
against his new employer if the employer was in bad faith.
▪ This clause can be associated with a penalty clause.
Part II: the employment relationship
Section 1: Employment in the company
The company is the place where the employment contract is executed.
It is also the place where the employee spends his entire professional
career.
Therefore, all labor regulations are applicable there.
However, for the sake of clarity, only two points will be discussed,
namely:
▪ Working hours
▪ Remuneration.
A. The duration of the working day

▪ In France before 1841, the duration of the working day was not specified by any text.

▪ The law of 1841 elaborated some measures in favor of children. The 12-hour day was
applied to all workers.

▪ In 1919, the principle of the 8-hour day was established by the Treaty of Versailles.

Nowadays, the reduction of the working week to 35 hours is one of the main reforms
introduced by the socialist government
▪ In Morocco, until 1926, there was no legal provision on the subject.

▪ The dahir of July 13, 1926, limited working hours to 10 hours per day,
with a mandatory minimum rest period of one hour.

▪ Later, another dahir of 18 June 1936 instituted the 48-hour work week.

▪ This dahir is still in force. It applies in particular to industrial and

commercial establishments
1. Normal working hours

Duration/ Annual duration Weekly duration Distribution

activity

Not exceeding 1
hour per day with
Non-agricultural 2288 hours 44 hours legal exceptions
activity
Variation according Determined by
Agricultural activity 2496 hours to the needs of the the appropriate
government
cultures. authority.
2. Weekly rest

▪ As it is mandatory, it can be granted to the employee during a 24-

hour period from midnight to midnight.

▪ Friday, Saturday or Sunday, as well as market day, are days on which

the weekly rest can be granted to employees.

▪ All employees of a given company may be granted weekly rest at the

same time.
3. Rest on paid holidays and public holidays
Under penalty of 300 to 500 DH of financial penalty, an employer can be punished for
the employment of his employees during :
▪ paid holidays: list determined by regulation;
▪ public holidays.
An employee paid by the hour or by the day receives an indemnity for the paid
holiday, equal to the remuneration he would have received if he had remained at his
workstation, with the exception of risk indemnities or repayment of costs and
expenses committed by him in the course of his work.
In establishments whose operation is necessarily continuous due to the nature of
their activity or which have adopted a weekly rest period in rotation, work may not be
interrupted on a paid holiday or public holiday.
The same provisions may be applied in food retail establishments
4. Paid annual leave

Every employee is entitled, after six months of continuous service in the

same company or with the same employer, to annual leave with pay, the
duration of which is fixed as follows:

▪ An employee shall be granted his full annual leave with pay before the
expiration date of his employment contract if such employment contract is
for a fixed term.

▪ Interruptions of work due to illness are not counted as paid annual leave.
B. Remuneration

In the context of an employment contract, remuneration is the total

wages or benefits provided by an employer to each of its employees in
return for their services.

Wages are freely determined by direct agreement between the parties

or by collective bargaining agreement, subject to the legal provisions
concerning the legal minimum wage.
1. Forms of wages

a. Time wages (hourly, daily, etc.)

▪ This is the one that is received by an employee without reference to a

qualitative production.

▪ This is the most common system and has the advantage of security for the
worker.

▪ Its disadvantage is that it does not motivate to improve the performance

b. The piecework wage or output wage
▪ This is the simplest form of wage: wage for one piece multiplied by the
number of pieces.
▪ The wage is exactly proportional to the output, but employees may have
to work too fast or overwork to earn more.
c. Percentage wage
▪ Mostly practiced in the commercial profession.
▪ Employees receive a fixed monthly salary plus a percentage of the
business they handle.
▪ The sales representatives receive a remuneration according to the
developed or created clientele.
d. Tipped wages
▪ It is particular to certain professions: waiters, cinema ticket agents,
hotels...
▪ Tips are not paid by the employer but by the employer's customers. They
are added as a supplement to the basic salary.
▪ Nowadays, they are an obligation imposed by custom to mark the
customer's satisfaction with the service provided.
e. Additional payments
▪ In addition to the salary itself, there are sometimes certain bonuses:
overtime, night work, Sunday work, various bonuses (seniority,
attendance, dirty work, hardship, etc.).
2. The amount of the salary

▪ The salary is fixed by the principle of contractual freedom between the

parties, or by the terms of a collective agreement with the respect of the
minimum salary as it is provided by a regulatory text according to the
cost of living.

▪ Any discrimination between the two genders in terms of salary is

forbidden when they do the same work, in accordance with the adage
« equal pay for equal work ».
❑ The guaranteed interprofessional wage (SMIG)
▪ The SMIG was introduced for the first time in Morocco by the dahir of 1936 in order to
provide workers with a minimum living wage.
▪ Article 35 sets the SMIG as the minimum value due to the worker in order to ensure
that those with low incomes have the purchasing power to keep up with price levels
and contribute to economic and social development and the evolution of the
company.

▪ It constitutes a minimum level below which no salary can be paid, despite any
agreement to the contrary.
▪ Introduced for the first time in Morocco by the dahir of 1936 in order to
provide workers with a minimum living wage.
▪ It applies to both agricultural and non-agricultural activities.
▪ It is determined by a regulatory text, after consultation with the most
representative employers' and employees' professional organizations.
▪ It is calculated in non-agricultural activities according to the value determined
by regulation.
▪ It includes tips, supplementary wages in cash or in kind.
▪ Interest in kind is not taken into account for this calculation in agricultural
activities.
▪ The minimum wage is calculated in non-agricultural activities on the basis of
the hourly wage and in agricultural activities on the basis of the wage paid in
a single day.