Employer of Record in Tunisia

What Does an EOR Handle?

An EOR assumes every statutory obligation attached to the employer role in Tunisia. That covers contracts under the post-2025 CDI default, CNSS and CNAM registrations, monthly payroll, IRPP withholding, mandatory leave tracking, and safe termination. The following responsibilities sit with the EOR, not your business:

• Employment contracts: Drafts compliant CDI (open-ended) and limited-exception CDD (fixed-term) contracts in French or Arabic, including probation clauses capped at six months renewable once under Law No. 2025-9.
• Payroll processing: Runs monthly gross-to-net payroll in Tunisian dinar (TND), calculates the eight-band IRPP withholding, and issues compliant pay slips on a monthly cycle.
• Tax withholding: Withholds IRPP using the 2025 scale that tops out at 40%, plus the 0.5% Social Solidarity Contribution in force through fiscal year 2026.
• CNSS registration and filings: Registers each employee with the Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale, files the quarterly declaration, and remits the combined 26.75% employer and employee contribution (PwC Tunisia).
• Benefits administration: Manages CNAM health insurance enrolment, handles statutory leave tracking, and coordinates CNAM sick pay claims beyond the five-day waiting period.
• Leave and absence tracking: Accrues the statutory annual leave of one working day per month of service, applies the tenure-based uplifts, and runs the extended three-month maternity and seven-day paternity entitlements introduced by Organic Law 2024-61.
• Work permits and visas: Sponsors the work permit application with the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training and supports the long-stay Visa D process at the consulate for foreign hires.
• Termination compliance: Calculates notice under sectoral collective agreements, prepares the end-of-service indemnity at one day of pay per month worked (capped at three months), and files the required declarations with the labour inspectorate.

Who Uses an EOR in Tunisia?

An EOR fits the early and mid stages of a Tunisia hiring plan, where the cost and time of setting up a Tunisian limited liability company (SARL) is not yet justified. The arrangement is equally valuable for companies that want a single compliant employer across several African or MENA markets without standing up separate entities.

• Testing the Tunisian market: A company that wants to validate demand or source bilingual talent before committing to entity setup can hire one to five employees through an EOR and scale up or exit without legal unwind costs.
• Hiring a small team without entity overhead: Registering a SARL, securing CNSS and tax numbers, and meeting annual audit obligations takes two to four months and recurring accounting fees. An EOR compresses this to one to two weeks.
• Fast onboarding for remote roles: For engineering, finance, and shared-service hires who work from home, an EOR finalises a compliant CDI, runs payroll, and delivers a first pay slip within the first month.
• Hiring foreign nationals needing work permits: An EOR registered with the Ministry of Employment can sponsor the residence permit and work permit for a non-Tunisian hire, an arrangement not available without a local entity.

Companies that expect to exceed fifteen employees, tender for Tunisian government contracts, or operate regulated activities such as banking or insurance typically graduate from an EOR to their own entity at that scale.

Typical Onboarding Timeline

Most EOR providers can onboard an employee in Tunisia within one to two weeks once the offer is accepted and the employee provides the required civil status documents. A foreign hire requiring a work permit can extend the process to eight to twelve weeks because of the labour market test and consular steps.

• EOR agreement and employee details: 1–2 days
• Employment contract drafting and review (CDI or CDD exception): 2–3 days
• CNSS registration, CNAM enrolment and IRPP tax file: 3–7 days
• Payroll setup and benefits enrolment: 2–3 days
• Employee onboarding and first day: 1 day
• Total for a Tunisian national: 1–2 weeks
• Total when a work permit is required: 8–12 weeks, driven by Ministry of Employment review and consulate timelines

Employment Laws and Regulations in Tunisia

Employment Contracts

Tunisian employment is governed by the Labour Code (Code du Travail, promulgated by Law No. 66-27 of 30 April 1966 and amended several times since) and by sector-specific collective bargaining agreements. The Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training share oversight, and the labour inspectorate handles workplace disputes. Under Law No. 2025-9 of 21 May 2025, the open-ended contract (contrat à durée indéterminée, CDI) is now the legal default, and fixed-term contracts (contrats à durée déterminée, CDD) are strictly limited to seasonal work, temporary replacement, and documented peaks in activity (Library of Congress). Contracts must be in writing, in French or Arabic, and must cover position, salary, working hours, probation, and applicable collective agreement. A CDD that does not meet the statutory exception is automatically reclassified as a CDI with full seniority.

Working Hours and Overtime

The Tunisian Labour Code sets a standard workweek of 48 hours spread over six days, with an alternative 40-hour week permitted by collective agreement in many service sectors. Daily hours are capped at eight under the 48-hour regime, and total hours including overtime cannot exceed 10 per day or 60 per week. Executives and senior managers covered by forfait arrangements are typically excluded from overtime. Overtime must be pre-approved, is paid at a premium, and is governed by Article 90 of the Labour Code and the applicable collective agreement (TIA Tunisia Labour Law Guide).

The table below sets out the statutory overtime multipliers that apply to private-sector workers on the standard 48-hour schedule and the alternative 40-hour schedule. Multipliers are applied to the hourly base wage; the headline takeaway is that there is no free-overtime band for a 48-hour worker, because every hour beyond 48 carries a 75% premium.

Overtime on the 48-hour schedule cannot normally exceed 60 hours for the overtime bank across the year without a special authorisation from the labour inspectorate, and overtime earnings are included in the IRPP and CNSS base. Premium pay does not count toward the 13th-month calculation when one is owed under a collective agreement.

Minimum Wage

Tunisia operates two statutory minimum wages: the SMIG for industrial and service workers, set by decree and revised periodically, and the SMAG for agricultural workers (Luca Pacioli). The current SMIG values applied from 1 January 2025 under the most recent decree are set by workweek:

• SMIG, 48-hour week: TND 528.320 per month (TND 2.540 per hour).
• SMIG, 40-hour week: TND 448.238 per month (TND 2.275 per hour).
• SMAG: TND 20.320 per day for full-time agricultural labour.

Any employee paid below the applicable SMIG is entitled to the difference plus arrears. Collective bargaining agreements in banking, insurance, pharmaceuticals, telecoms, and oil and gas set higher sector floors that usually exceed the SMIG by 20–40%.

Probation Period

Law No. 2025-9 of 21 May 2025 standardised probation across all sectors. Probation is now capped at six months, renewable once for a further six months, for a total maximum of 12 months. Probation cannot be repeated if an employee is rehired. During probation, either party may terminate with a shorter notice that the collective agreement or contract defines (typically seven to 15 days), without severance (Amereller legal analysis). Executives and managerial roles under cadre collective agreements may still use the six-month probation plus six-month renewal, but the older nine-month and 12-month executive probations used before Law 2025-9 are no longer valid unless they fall within the new 12-month ceiling.

Leave Entitlements

The Labour Code sets statutory floors for annual leave, sick leave, maternity, paternity, and a handful of other categories. Tunisia’s 2024 reform of parental leave, enacted through Organic Law 2024-61, materially extended maternity and paternity entitlements from the historical baseline. Leave accrues from day one and is unaffected by probation.

Annual Leave

Statutory annual leave accrues at one working day per month of service, with a minimum of 12 working days once 12 full months have been worked, and a ceiling of 15 working days for most workers. Seniority adds one working day for every five years of continuous service with the same employer, capped at 18 working days. Workers under 18 receive 24 working days and those between 18 and 21 receive 18 working days. Leave can be carried over by agreement but must generally be used within the calendar year following accrual.

Sick Leave

The Labour Code does not set a fixed number of paid sick days paid by the employer; instead, sickness benefits flow through CNAM (Caisse Nationale d’Assurance Maladie). After a five-day waiting period, CNAM pays 66.66% of the reference salary for the first three years of contributions and 50% thereafter, for up to 180 days per 12-month rolling period (ISSA country profile). A medical certificate from a licensed practitioner is mandatory from the first day, and most collective agreements require the employer to top up to full salary for a defined period.

Maternity Leave

Following Organic Law 2024-61 effective 13 August 2024, female employees are entitled to three months of paid maternity leave, funded by CNAM on a percentage-of-salary basis comparable to sick leave (WTW briefing). An additional one month is available for medical complications, multiple births, or a child with a disability. Job protection extends through the leave and for a statutory period after return, and dismissal during maternity leave is void except for proven gross misconduct unrelated to the pregnancy.

Paternity Leave

Paternity leave was extended in the same 2024 reform from the historical one or two days to seven paid working days, to be taken within 30 days of the birth. Up to 10 days apply in special circumstances such as twins, a premature birth, or a child with a disability.

Other Statutory Leave

Beyond the main categories, Tunisian law and standard collective agreements recognise several short leave entitlements. These are typically paid by the employer and are counted separately from annual leave.

• Marriage leave: Commonly two to three paid working days for the employee’s own wedding under sector collective agreements.
• Bereavement leave: Typically three days for a spouse, child, or parent and one day for other close relatives, per collective agreement.
• Pilgrimage (Hajj) leave: Up to 30 days unpaid leave once during an employee’s career for the Hajj, subject to service conditions.
• Union leave: Paid time off for elected union representatives, set by the sector collective agreement and the Labour Code.
• Circumcision leave: One day paid leave recognised in most collective agreements.

Tunisia’s statutory leave framework sits in the Labour Code and in sectoral collective agreements, with the 2024 parental reform materially lifting maternity and paternity entitlements. The table below consolidates the main statutory leave types so you can see at a glance who funds each one and which ones accrue from the first day of employment. The most important takeaway is that annual leave accrues on the first month of service and maternity leave is now a full three months paid.

Statutory Employee Benefits

Beyond leave and social security, Tunisian employers must provide or facilitate several mandatory benefits. Remote People’s Tunisia employee benefits overview sets out the employer-funded package that an EOR typically manages in compliant form. The statutory minimum benefits that every employer owes are:

• Health insurance (CNAM): Funded through CNSS contributions, CNAM covers outpatient care, hospitalisation, maternity, and sick leave benefits. Employees choose between the filière publique, a regulated private-sector network, or a private reimbursement scheme.
• Pension (old-age, invalidity, survivors): Covered by CNSS as part of the combined 26.75% contribution; private-sector workers accrue rights toward a state pension from their first day of insured employment.
• Work accident and occupational disease insurance: Funded entirely by the employer through a dedicated rate within the CNSS package; coverage is immediate and non-contributory for employees.
• Family allowances: Paid by CNSS to insured parents for dependent children up to age 16 (or 21 if in full-time study), with a small monthly amount per child.
• Economic Loss of Employment Insurance: Introduced by the 2025 Finance Law at 0.5% each for employer and employee, the new fund compensates workers who lose their job due to economic or technological reasons.
• Transport allowance or equivalent: Not statutory but required by most collective agreements; the sector agreement usually fixes a monthly amount tied to public transport costs.
• 13th-month allowance (if sectoral): Not required by the Labour Code but mandatory under many collective agreements, typically paid in December.

See the employer and employee contribution tables in H2 4 for the exact 2025 rates that fund these benefits.

Recent Regulatory Updates (2025–2026)

The past 18 months have brought the most significant overhaul of Tunisian employment law in more than two decades, driven by two distinct reforms. On 13 August 2024, Organic Law 2024-61 entered into force and extended paid maternity leave to three months and paternity leave to seven working days, aligning Tunisia with ILO Convention 183 standards. On 21 May 2025, Law No. 2025-9 was enacted and published in the Journal Officiel on 23 May 2025. The law prohibits labour-only subcontracting (mounaoula), makes CDI the default contract, strictly limits CDD use to documented seasonal, replacement, or peak-activity cases, caps probation at six months renewable once, and imposes criminal fines of TND 10,000 (doubled for legal entities) for non-compliance (DLA Piper analysis).

On the tax side, the 2025 Finance Law (Law 2024-48 of 20 December 2024) replaced the five-band IRPP scale with an eight-band progressive scale running from 0% to 40%, and raised combined CNSS contributions from 25.75% to 26.75%. The 0.5% Social Solidarity Contribution was extended for fiscal years 2025 and 2026 and is scheduled to revert to 1% on 1 January 2027 (PwC significant developments). Employers hiring in Tunisia in 2026 should budget for these higher combined contributions and confirm that any CDD relationship inherited from a legacy contract has been reviewed for automatic conversion under Law 2025-9.

Work Permits and Visas in Tunisia

Work Permit Requirements

Who Needs a Work Permit

Every non-Tunisian national who intends to work in Tunisia needs a work permit, regardless of nationality. The limited exceptions concern nationals of countries with reciprocal free-movement or diplomatic agreements and certain intra-corporate secondees whose stay in Tunisia does not exceed short mission thresholds. Dual nationals with Tunisian citizenship do not need a permit. EU and North American citizens do, despite shorter visa-free tourist entry rules, once the purpose becomes paid employment (Tunisia work permit overview).

Eligibility and Required Documents

Work permits are issued by the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training (Ministère de l’Emploi et de la Formation Professionnelle) and require proof that the employer genuinely attempted to recruit Tunisian candidates first, under the labour market test. The standard documentation package includes a notarised employment contract, the employer’s CNSS and tax identifier, a copy of the candidate’s passport valid for at least 12 months, university degrees with apostilled or legalised translations, a detailed CV, a criminal record extract, and a medical certificate. The Ministry examines the file, issues the work permit, and the consulate then issues the long-stay Visa D.

Processing Time and Validity

A first work permit typically takes four to 12 weeks from complete file submission, depending on the sector and the strength of the labour market test. The permit is usually valid for 12 months and is tied to both the employer and the role. Delays typically come from missing notarised translations, incomplete collective agreement references, or roles where a Tunisian substitute could plausibly be identified.

Renewal Process

Renewal applications should be submitted at least 30 days before expiry, with updated contract, CNSS declarations, and tax filings. Renewed permits are generally issued for one or two years. The employee may continue working during a timely renewal, but operating on an expired permit exposes both employer and employee to fines and deportation risk.

Common Visa Types for Foreign Workers

Tunisia operates a layered system of visas and permits issued by the Ministry of the Interior (residence) and the Ministry of Employment (work). An EOR registered in Tunisia can sponsor most categories on behalf of the foreign employer; the employee still needs to appear in person at a Tunisian consulate abroad for the visa stamp. The table below summarises the main work-related visa categories that a foreign hire may use.

• Tourist visa: Permits short visits up to 90 days but does not authorise any form of paid employment.
• Student visa: Allows enrolment and limited part-time study-related work only, not full-time employment.
• Transit visa: Valid only for onward travel through Tunisian airports and does not allow work.

How an EOR Handles Work Permits

An EOR registered with the Ministry of Employment files the work permit application on the employer’s behalf, manages the labour market test, handles notarised translations, and liaises with the consulate in the candidate’s country of residence for the Visa D. The employee’s responsibilities are limited to providing civil status documents, attending the consulate appointment, and completing the medical exam. Because the Ministry’s review adds several weeks beyond the standard EOR onboarding timeline in H3 1.4, foreign hires usually start on day 60 to day 90 rather than day 10. Tunisia does not allow visa sponsorship without a locally registered entity, so using an EOR is typically the only practical route for a company that has not yet incorporated a Tunisian subsidiary.

Payroll, Taxes, and Social Security in Tunisia

Employer Contributions

Employers pay a combined 17.07% of gross salary into the CNSS, up from 16.57% in 2024. The increase reflects the 0.5% contribution to the new Economic Loss of Employment Insurance Fund introduced by the 2025 Finance Law. The table below breaks down the employer-side line items for a standard private-sector, non-exporting employer.

Fully exporting companies registered under Law 72-38 and its successors benefit from a preferential regime where the employer contribution is capped at approximately 0.5% on CNSS core, subject to eligibility criteria; new employers should validate eligibility with the Tunisian Investment Authority before budgeting at the preferential rate.

Employee Contributions

Employees now pay 9.68% of gross salary, up from 9.18% in 2024. The 0.5% increase mirrors the new Economic Loss of Employment Insurance Fund. The employer withholds the employee share at the source and remits it to CNSS along with its own contribution.

Income Tax

The 2025 Finance Law replaced Tunisia’s previous five-band IRPP scale with an eight-band progressive scale effective 1 January 2025. Taxable income is gross salary minus mandatory CNSS contributions and a 10% professional expense allowance capped at TND 2,000 per year. Employers withhold IRPP monthly through the PAYE system. The thresholds below are annual taxable income figures in Tunisian dinar, the statutory unit used in the Finance Law.

Non-residents are taxed on Tunisian-source income only. Employment income paid by a Tunisian employer to a non-resident is generally withheld at progressive rates unless reduced by a double tax treaty.

Payroll Cycle

Tunisian payroll runs on a monthly cycle, with most employers paying between the 25th and the last working day of the calendar month. Pay slips must be issued in French or Arabic and must show gross pay, each CNSS and CNAM deduction line, IRPP withheld, and net pay. Salaries must be paid by bank transfer; cash payments are only permitted in limited micro-enterprise cases. CNSS declarations and contributions are due quarterly on the 15th of the month following the end of the quarter, and monthly IRPP withholdings are due by the 28th of the following month for companies subject to the general tax regime. End-of-year declarations (including the annual wage return and the individual tax statement) are due in early February.

13th Month Salary and Bonus Pay

The 13th month salary is not mandatory under the Tunisian Labour Code. In practice, it is paid in many sectors where the collective bargaining agreement or individual contract provides for it, including banking, insurance, telecommunications, and parts of the industrial sector. Where mandatory under a collective agreement, the 13th month is usually one full month of base salary paid in December, calculated on the final base salary or on the average of the last three months, and is pro-rated for employees who joined during the year. When paid, it is treated as ordinary salary income and is subject to the full IRPP and CNSS withholdings. There is no statutory 14th month or profit-sharing requirement outside sector agreements.

Cost of Hiring Through an EOR in Tunisia

EOR Service Fees

Typical EOR fees for Tunisia sit between $300 and $600 per employee per month on a flat-fee basis. The fee covers compliant contract drafting, monthly payroll and pay slips, CNSS and IRPP filings, leave tracking, onboarding, offboarding, and day-to-day compliance support. Percentage-of-salary EOR pricing is uncommon for Tunisia because local gross salaries are relatively low and a flat fee gives a more predictable total cost of employment. Work permit sponsorship for foreign hires is often priced separately as a one-time government fee pass-through.

Total Employment Cost Breakdown

The cost table below shows a worked example for a mid-level Tunisian employee on a $2,500 USD gross monthly salary. All figures are in USD for a foreign buyer’s budgeting convenience; the underlying CNSS line items sit at 17.07% of gross salary. The key takeaway is that an EOR hire in Tunisia typically costs a US buyer about 25–30% above gross salary once statutory contributions and EOR fees are included.

Figures rounded at 1 USD ≈ 3.15 TND (April 2026); the 0.5–4% risk-graded work accident contribution is not included because it varies by sector.

Ready to hire in Tunisia? Get started with Remote People, we handle employment contracts, payroll, tax withholding, and full Tunisia compliance. No local entity needed. Contact our team to launch your Tunisian hire this month.

Benefits of Using an EOR in Tunisia

Hiring through an EOR in Tunisia lets you onboard local or foreign talent without navigating CNSS registration, the Ministry of Employment, the new Law 2025-9 contract rules, or the 2025 Finance Law tax scale on your own. The main advantages are concrete and quantifiable:

• Speed to market: An EOR onboards Tunisian employees in one to two weeks, compared with two to four months to incorporate a SARL, obtain CNSS and tax numbers, and open a bank account.
• Compliance assurance: The EOR keeps the contract, CNSS filings, IRPP withholdings, and end-of-service calculations current with the 2025 reforms, including the new CDI default and the 17.07% employer rate.
• Cost efficiency versus a local entity: For teams of one to 15 people, EOR fees of $300 to $600 per employee per month run well below the combined cost of local counsel, accounting, statutory audit, and office lease required by a SARL.
• Local expertise: A Tunisian-registered EOR understands sector collective agreements in banking, insurance, call centres, and offshore technology, and can align compensation packages with market practice.
• Flexibility to scale up or down: Adding or removing employees is a contract amendment, not a corporate event. For short-duration Tunisian projects of one or two years, an EOR avoids the cost of entity wind-down.
• Risk mitigation: The EOR sits between your business and the Tunisian labour inspectorate, absorbing misclassification, CNSS audit, and wrongful-termination risk within defined service terms.
• Better employee experience: Staff receive a local-language CDI, CNAM card, regular monthly pay, and statutory benefits from day one, a significant signal of employer quality in the Tunisian labour market.

For most foreign companies hiring one to 15 employees in Tunisia, an EOR is the most defensible, fastest, and lowest-risk route to a compliant hire. When you are ready to plan that hire, speak to Remote People.

Termination and Offboarding in Tunisia

Notice Periods

Notice must be given in writing by the employer and acknowledged by the employee, unless the termination is for gross misconduct (faute grave) or mutual agreement. Notice can be paid in lieu of work at the employer’s option. The Labour Code sets a statutory minimum, but most sectoral collective agreements set longer periods for non-probation dismissals. The table below summarises the typical notice schedule for private-sector CDI employees under the 2025 framework.

Dismissals for gross misconduct, established through a disciplinary procedure including a hearing, allow immediate termination without notice and without severance. Mutual separation agreements are enforceable when signed before the labour inspector. Economic redundancies must be pre-authorised by the Regional Labour Commission under Article 21 and following of the Labour Code.

Severance Pay

Severance pay (indemnité de licenciement or gratification de fin de service) is owed when an employer terminates a CDI employee without gross misconduct, after at least one year of service. The Labour Code formula is one day of wages per month of actual service, capped at three months of gross salary. Collective bargaining agreements in banking, insurance, pharmaceuticals, and oil and gas routinely improve on the statutory floor, for example by paying one month per year of service, subject to the applicable cap. The table below shows four worked examples on the statutory baseline.

Calculation Method

Severance is calculated on the gross monthly salary in force at the date of termination, including regular allowances and fringe benefits paid in cash, but excluding irregular bonuses, overtime, and expense reimbursements. For employees paid variable compensation, many collective agreements use the average of the last 12 months of total gross pay. The worked examples above assume a stable monthly gross.

Caps and Exceptions

Statutory severance is capped at three months of gross salary regardless of tenure, but sector collective agreements frequently extend the cap to six or even twelve months, particularly in banking and telecommunications. Severance is not owed in three situations: termination during probation, gross misconduct established through disciplinary procedure, and termination of a CDD at the contractual end date. CDDs terminated early without valid cause owe the wages remaining through the end of the term plus a fixed-term indemnity.

Grounds for Termination

Tunisian law recognises four main grounds for terminating a CDI: personal (performance, discipline, inability), economic (restructuring, closure, technological change), mutual agreement before the labour inspector, and automatic expiry on retirement. Personal dismissals for misconduct require a documented three-step disciplinary procedure including a written notice of the alleged facts, a hearing, and a written decision. Economic dismissals require Regional Labour Commission pre-authorisation. Protected categories (union delegates, pregnant employees, employees on maternity leave, workers on sick leave, employees during a work-injury recovery) cannot be dismissed without additional procedures and, in the case of union delegates, without Ministry consent.

EOR vs. Other Hiring Models in Tunisia

EOR vs. Setting Up a Local Entity

Setting up a Tunisian SARL gives full autonomy and eligibility for government procurement, but the upfront work is substantial: capital deposit, RNE registration, CNSS and tax numbers, commercial register filing, office lease, and appointment of a statutory auditor once thresholds are crossed. The table compares an EOR against setting up your own Tunisian subsidiary.

For teams of one to 15, the EOR almost always wins on cost and time; above that threshold, a local SARL starts to amortise its fixed costs and unlocks additional flexibility such as tendering for Tunisian government contracts. Companies that plan to bid on a Tunisian public tender should plan to incorporate from the start, because a SARL cannot be shortcutted.

EOR vs. Hiring Independent Contractors

Tunisian law now views misclassification of employees as contractors more strictly since Law 2025-9. If a worker is economically dependent, integrated into the hiring company’s operations, and supervised day to day, a Tunisian labour court will usually reclassify the contract as a CDI with retroactive seniority, back-paid CNSS, and back-paid severance. Contractor relationships remain valid for short projects, specialist consulting, and work that is genuinely outside the company’s core activity.

For regular, ongoing work that looks like employment, the EOR route is the defensible choice in Tunisia because Law 2025-9 reduces the scope of legitimate subcontracting. Contractors remain appropriate in some cases such as one-off advisory mandates, design commissions, or niche technical work. Remote People’s contractor management solution handles the compliance side of contractor engagements where they are appropriate.

EOR vs. PEO (Professional Employer Organization)

Tunisia does not operate a formal PEO framework in the US sense, because co-employment is not recognised by the Labour Code: there is only one employer of record per employee on the CNSS ledger. Services that market as “PEO” in Tunisia either provide HR administration to a client that has its own local entity (a services engagement, not co-employment), or they operate as a full EOR under a different brand. The comparison below assumes the PEO model operates in a country where the client has its own Tunisian entity.

For practical purposes in Tunisia, the question is almost always EOR versus local entity, not EOR versus PEO. If your company already has a Tunisian SARL and wants HR administration, a local payroll services provider is the right answer. If you do not yet have a SARL and want to hire local talent quickly and compliantly, the EOR route is the only legal structure that avoids misclassification risk under Law 2025-9.

Public Holidays in Tunisia

Tunisia observes around 14 public holidays per year, a mix of secular national holidays and Islamic holidays determined by the lunar calendar. Islamic holidays such as Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, the Islamic New Year, and the Prophet’s birthday are officially confirmed by the Mufti shortly before the date. Employees required to work on a public holiday are entitled to premium pay under the applicable collective agreement, typically at double time.

Islamic holiday dates are subject to confirmation by the Mufti and may shift by 24 hours in either direction based on the lunar calendar. Employers typically close on all national holidays and accommodate religious observance on Islamic holidays. Employers operating in continuous-operation sectors (hospitality, hospitals, customer service) generally grant compensatory rest days rather than pay in lieu.

How to Get Started with an EOR in Tunisia

Moving from “we want to hire in Tunisia” to a compliant, paid employee in Tunis typically takes five structured steps. The sequence below reflects what a Remote People Tunisia hire looks like end to end.

• First, confirm the role and compensation. Agree the position, workweek (40 or 48 hours), gross monthly salary in TND, and any allowances. Benchmark against the SMIG and the applicable sector collective agreement to ensure compliance.
• Second, share candidate details and scope. Send the candidate’s civil status documents, contract type (CDI preferred), probation length within the six-month cap, and any collective agreement references. The EOR confirms work permit needs if the hire is not Tunisian.
• Third, sign the contract. The EOR drafts a Labour Code-compliant contract in French or bilingual format, covering salary, working hours, benefits, probation under Law 2025-9, notice, and any sector clauses. Both the employee and the EOR sign; you countersign as the client.
• Fourth, run onboarding and first payroll. The EOR registers the employee with CNSS, CNAM, and the IRPP tax file, enrolls the employee in statutory benefits, and issues the first compliant pay slip on the next monthly cycle.
• Fifth, manage the ongoing relationship. You brief, manage, and review performance. The EOR handles leave tracking, renewals, benefit enrolment changes, notice and severance if the role ends, and responds to any labour inspectorate queries.

When you are ready to begin, contact Remote People for a Tunisia-specific proposal, a cost model based on your candidate’s gross salary, and a signed EOR agreement that lets your first Tunisian hire start inside a month.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How much does an employer of record in Tunisia cost?
A: EOR services in Tunisia typically cost between $300 and $600 per employee per month as a flat fee. The fee covers contract drafting, monthly payroll, CNSS and IRPP filings, CNAM enrolment, leave management, and offboarding. Statutory costs sit on top: the 2025 employer CNSS contribution is 17.07% of gross salary (PwC Tunisia). For a TND-equivalent of a $2,500 gross monthly salary, the fully loaded employer cost lands around $3,377 per month including the EOR fee.

Q: How long does it take to hire an employee in Tunisia through an EOR?
A: Most Tunisian nationals can be onboarded within one to two weeks once the candidate has accepted the offer and provided civil status documents. The EOR drafts a compliant CDI, registers the employee with CNSS, CNAM, and the IRPP tax file, and issues the first pay slip on the next monthly cycle. A foreign hire requiring a work permit adds six to ten weeks because of the labour market test and consular visa stamping.

Q: Is compliance with Tunisian labour law fully handled by the EOR?
A: Yes, for everything that attaches to the registered employer. The EOR manages Labour Code obligations, including the new Law 2025-9 rules on CDI as default and probation caps, CNSS filings, IRPP withholding under the 2025 eight-band scale, CNAM enrolment, statutory leave, and end-of-service indemnity. The client continues to manage day-to-day work, performance, and business decisions (DLA Piper Tunisia briefing).

Q: Who owns the intellectual property created by a Tunisian employee hired through an EOR?
A: The EOR contract assigns employee-created intellectual property to the client company (you), not the EOR. Tunisian law treats an employment contract as the default IP assignment mechanism for work created in the course of the employment. Remote People’s standard CDI includes an explicit IP and confidentiality clause that documents the assignment to the client company, which is far stronger than the implied assignment available under a contractor agreement.

Q: What employment contract types are available in Tunisia after Law 2025-9?
A: The open-ended contract (CDI) is the default under Law 2025-9 of 21 May 2025. Fixed-term contracts (CDD) are only valid for documented seasonal work, temporary replacement of an absent employee, or a quantified peak in activity. A CDD that does not meet the statutory exception is automatically converted into a CDI with full seniority. Probation in either case is capped at six months, renewable once (Amereller analysis).

Q: What statutory benefits does a Tunisian employee receive through an EOR?
A: Every EOR-hired Tunisian employee receives CNSS-funded old-age, invalidity, and survivors pensions, CNAM health insurance, work accident coverage, family allowances, paid annual leave of 12 to 15 working days increasing with tenure, three months of paid maternity leave, seven days of paid paternity leave, and up to 180 days of CNAM-covered sick leave per year. Sectoral collective agreements often add transport allowance, meal vouchers, and a 13th-month salary (WTW 2024 maternity leave briefing).

Q: Can I hire contractors instead of using an EOR in Tunisia?
A: You can, but only for work that is genuinely outside your core activity, short-term, specialist, and not supervised day to day. Law 2025-9 tightened the rules: a contractor who is economically dependent on you, integrated into operations, and under your direction will be reclassified by a Tunisian labour court as a CDI employee with retroactive CNSS, IRPP, and severance liabilities. For ongoing roles, Remote People’s EOR is the lower-risk solution; for occasional specialist work, Remote People’s contractor management solution handles compliance on legitimate contractor engagements.

Q: What happens at the end of a Tunisian employment through an EOR?
A: The EOR executes the applicable sector-specific notice period (typically one to three months), calculates statutory severance at one day of wages per month of service capped at three months of gross salary, issues the final pay slip including accrued annual leave, and files the end-of-service declaration with CNSS. For economic dismissals, the EOR also files the required pre-authorisation with the Regional Labour Commission. Serious misconduct allows immediate dismissal without notice or severance, provided the disciplinary procedure has been followed.

Q: Do I need a local entity to hire employees in Tunisia?
A: No. Tunisian law requires an employer to be registered with CNSS and the tax authority, but that registered employer can be a third-party employer of record rather than your own subsidiary. Incorporating a local société anonyme or SARL typically takes four to eight weeks and costs several thousand dollars in legal, capital, and registration fees, while an EOR hires staff on its existing Tunisian registration and can onboard the first employee in around two weeks. Most foreign companies choose an EOR for pilot hires, teams under ten, or markets they intend to test before committing to a branch. Source: DLA Piper Global Employment Guide.

Q: What are employer social security contributions in Tunisia?
A: Tunisian employers pay around 17.07% of gross monthly salary into the Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale (CNSS) in 2026, made up of 14.98% for pensions and healthcare, 1.59% for the work accident and occupational disease fund, and 0.5% for the FOPROLOS housing levy. The employer also withholds an additional 9.68% from the employee for CNSS (6.25% pension, 2.93% health, 0.5% FOPROLOS) plus IRPP income tax under the 2025 eight-band scale. Contributions are filed and paid quarterly through the CNSS e-service portal, with late-filing penalties accruing at monthly interest set by the annual Finance Law. Source: PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries Tunisia.

Where companies hiring in Tunisia expand next

Teams hiring in Tunisia often extend across the Maghreb and into Mediterranean Europe, where shared language and long-standing talent flows overlap. Many companies add a team in France first, drawing on established French-language business ties. Operations in Morocco follows as the Maghreb-region French-Arabic talent pool, while Algeria offers shared Maghreb labor norms and talent flows. Hiring in Italy is often the fourth step, valued for overlapping North African hiring dynamics.