Mauritius, officially known as the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country situated in the Indian Ocean approximately 2,000km from the Southeastern coast of Africa. 

With a workforce of 594,000 people (2024) and a GDP of 15.5 billion US dollars (2025), Mauritius has a mixed, developing economy, reliant on agriculture, exports, tourism, and financial services. Mauritius has a well-educated workforce, many of whom are bilingual, making it an attractive country for employment for employers looking to expand abroad.

This help guide will provide you with an overview of mandatory employee benefits as determined by Mauritian labor laws, such as overtime compensation, working hours, and leave entitlements. We’ll also detail how Remote People can help simplify employing in Mauritius through our Employer of Record (EOR) services.

Mauritius Labor Law

The primary employee benefits workers in Mauritius are entitled to are detailed in the Workers’ Rights Act of 2019. This act consolidates previous labor laws, providing additional rights and protections against discrimination.

Other key laws that provide information on employee rights include the Employment Relations Act 2019 and various supplementary acts that provide employee rights for specific industries, such as agriculture, the sugar industry, financial services, and private security.

Employers should always consult with legal professionals before creating employment contracts to ensure that all Mauritian labor laws are adhered to.

Mandatory Employee Benefits in Mauritius

There are many mandatory employee benefits that employers hiring in Mauritius must provide to their employees – these are as follows.

Social Security Contributions

The Social Security System in Mauritius gives workers a range of financial benefits in the following circumstances:

  • Retirement
  • Invalidity
  • Death
  • Death of spouse
  • Care of a child

Contributions are collected from employers and employees, which fund the Social Security System. The social security rate in Mauritius in 2025 is 9%, which is split between employers and employees.

Minimum Wage

As of January 2026, the basic national minimum wage in Mauritius is Rs 17,110 per month. Additionally, a mandatory monthly salary compensation of Rs 635 is payable to all employees earning a basic salary up to Rs 50,000, effective January 1, 2026. This brings the effective minimum monthly payout to Rs 17,745.

Annual Paid Leave

All full-time workers in Mauritius are entitled to annual leave once they have worked for the same employer continuously for at least 12 months.

Workers may take a maximum of 20 days of annual leave per year. Once an employee has worked continuously for the same employer for 5 years, they are entitled to an extra 10 days of annual leave.

Part-time workers may take annual leave on a pro-rata basis if they work less than 5 days per week. Annual leave must be applied for with 3 months’ of notice unless under exceptional circumstances.

Employees are also entitled to 15 days of paid public holidays, which are not considered part of a worker’s annual leave entitlement.

Working Hours

The working week in Mauritius is typically 45 hours split over 5 days or 6 days. Employees are entitled to take one rest day of at least 24 consecutive hours per 7 days and a rest period of 1 hour per 4 hours worked, plus 20 minutes in tea breaks.

Night work consists of work carried out between the hours of 6 pm and 6 am, and young people under 18 are not permitted to work between the hours of 10 pm and 5 am.

Overtime Pay

Any hours worked beyond an employee’s contracted hours count as overtime. Overtime hours must be paid no less than 1.5 times the rate of an employee’s normal pay if carried out on a weekday or 2 times the rate if worked on a public holiday.

Employees are restricted from working any more than 12 hours per day, including overtime, except in special circumstances.

Public Holiday Leave

Public holidays in Mauritius are considered paid days off if they fall on a working day. The public holidays in Mauritius are as follows:

  • January 1: New Year
  • January 2: New Year (Day 2)
  • February 1: Abolition of Slavery
  • February 1: Thaipoosam Cavadee (date varies)
  • February 15: Maha Shivaratree (date varies)
  • February 17: Chinese Spring Festival
  • March 12: National Day / Independence and Republic Day
  • March 19: Ougadi (date varies)
  • March 21: Eid al‑Fitr (date varies)
  • May 1: Labour Day
  • August 15: Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  • September 16: Ganesh Chaturthi (date varies)
  • November 2: Arrival of Indentured Labourers
  • November 8: Diwali (date varies)
  • December 25: Christmas Day

Sick Leave

After 12 months of employment with the same employer, full-time workers in Mauritius are entitled to 15 working days of paid sick leave at full pay. Part-time workers may receive sick leave on a pro rata basis.

Sick pay is typically paid in full by the employer. Employees must provide their employer with evidence of a medical certificate to be eligible for sick leave exceeding three consecutive days. Sick pay can be accumulated to a maximum of 90 days.

Maternity Leave

Female workers in Mauritius are entitled to 16 weeks of maternity leave at full pay if they have a baby. This is generally taken as 8 weeks before birth and 8 weeks after birth.

Mothers may be entitled to an additional 2 weeks of paid maternity leave if they have multiple births or if their child is born prematurely. Employees must be protected from dismissal and discrimination while they take maternity leave.

In addition to their salary, expectant mothers in Mauritius also receive a monthly maternity allowance, which is paid for 9 consecutive months commencing from the start of the 3rd trimester of pregnancy.

Paternity Leave

Male workers in Mauritius are entitled to 4 weeks of paternity leave at full pay if their spouse gives birth to a child. This increased significantly in 2024, before which employees were only entitled to 5 working days of paternity leave.

Employees must have worked for the same employer for 12 continuous months to be entitled to paternity leave. Employers are responsible for paying for paternity leave and are restricted from dismissing or discriminating against an employee on paternity leave.

Pensions

The pension system in Mauritius consists of three pillars:

  • Basic retirement pension scheme 
  • Mandatory contributory schemes
  • Voluntary pension plans

The basic scheme is funded by taxation and is provided mainly to residents of Mauritius regardless of income or employment status.

Mandatory contributory schemes are funded by Social Security contributions, and both private and public sector workers are required to contribute.

Voluntary pension plans are personal schemes, usually offered by insurance companies to provide extra funds to people upon retirement age.

Severance Pay

Employees who have been dismissed from their contracts due to reasons out of their control may be entitled to severance pay. Severance pay is usually payable at 3 months of pay per 12 months of continuous employment.

Supplementary Employee Benefits in Mauritius

Employers are usually recommended to consider offering supplementary employee benefits to workers in Mauritius. There are many advantages to offering supplementary benefits to employees, including increased staff retention rates and a higher number of job applications for vacant roles.

Some examples of supplementary employee benefits in Mauritius include:

  • Performance bonuses
  • Advanced training courses
  • Private pension opportunities
  • Interest-free loans
  • Company cars
  • School fees
  • Childcare services
  • Expenses for travel, housing, and food
  • Enhanced annual, maternity, and paternity leave packages

Optimize Employee Benefits with Remote People

Remote People can help to simplify an often complicated process when it comes to hiring abroad. With a range of services designed to help companies hiring in Mauritius, Remote People can help reduce the load, allowing you to focus on other important tasks in your business.

A key service that can help when doing business in Mauritius is our Employer of Record (EOR) solution. Our EOR service enables you to hire and manage employees in full compliance with Mauritian labor laws, reducing the risk of errors and legal issues. We also handle essential employment tasks such as payroll, taxes, and benefit administration.

We can also help you hire employees directly with our Mauritius recruitment services. Our experienced team is well-versed in the Mauritian recruitment landscape and is fluent in the local language, making hiring a much easier process. They know the best places to advertise job roles, and can structure the most competitive compensation packages to attract the right candidates to your business.

Let Remote People help you streamline your business’s expansion into Mauritius with our range of services – simply contact us to get started.