What Severance Pay Rules Must Employers Follow in Burkina Faso?

Which Employees Qualify for Severance Pay?

• Employees on open-ended contracts dismissed for reasons other than serious misconduct, such as economic or organizational grounds.
• Employees who have completed at least one year of continuous service with your company.
• Employees terminated for non-culpable reasons, including incapacity or role redundancy, where the law does not exclude severance.
• Employees whose contracts end following employer-initiated termination and who receive proper notice or payment in lieu.
• Employees covered by collective agreements or company policies that grant severance on more generous terms than the Labour Code.
• Employees who resign for legally recognized constructive dismissal reasons, if such entitlement is confirmed by a labor authority or court.

What Are the Legal Timelines for Paying Severance?

In Burkina Faso, the Labour Code requires you to settle all termination-related payments, including severance, at the end of the employment relationship or within a very short, reasonable period afterward. In practice, employers aim to pay severance together with the employee’s final paycheck, usually on or shortly after the last working day. Any delay can be treated as non-payment of wages, exposing your company to claims for arrears and potential damages. To stay safe, build internal processes so that severance calculations are validated before notice expires and funds are ready for payment on the termination date. Where a dispute exists over the amount, you should still pay the undisputed portion promptly while documenting your position on the balance.

What Penalties Apply if Severance Is Not Paid Correctly?

If your company fails to pay severance correctly in Burkina Faso, you risk both financial and reputational consequences. Labor inspectors and courts can order you to pay outstanding severance plus interest, and in some cases additional damages for abusive or irregular dismissal. Non-compliance can also trigger administrative fines and closer scrutiny of your broader employment practices.

• Unpaid or underpaid severance can be claimed as salary arrears before the labor courts.
• Courts may award interest on late payments and, in some cases, moral or compensatory damages.
• Procedurally defective dismissals can lead to additional compensation for unfair termination.
• Repeated breaches can attract administrative sanctions and more frequent labor inspections.
• Disputes may damage your employer brand and complicate future hiring or union relations.

Does Outsourcing Employment via an EOR Change Severance Liability?

Using an Employer of Record (EOR) such as https://www.playroll.com/employer-of-record does not remove the underlying obligation to respect Burkina Faso’s Labour Code, but it can shift day-to-day compliance tasks. The EOR becomes the legal employer of record in-country, responsible for drafting compliant contracts, tracking seniority, and calculating statutory severance. Your company still drives business decisions, including when and why to terminate, while the EOR manages the legal process and payments. If severance is mishandled, local authorities will typically look first to the EOR as the formal employer, but your commercial agreement should clearly allocate financial and operational responsibility between you and the provider.

Be 100 Percent Compliant in Offering Severance with Playroll

Managing severance in Burkina Faso means juggling statutory rules, collective agreements, and individual contracts, all while handling sensitive terminations fairly. Playroll’s platform helps your team standardize this process by centralizing employee data, seniority records, and salary histories so severance calculations are consistent and auditable. You get clear visibility into estimated liabilities before you confirm a termination, reducing the risk of surprises or disputes.

When you partner with Playroll as your global employment solution, our local experts and Employer of Record network help you apply Burkina Faso’s Labour Code correctly in every termination scenario. We coordinate compliant notices, final pay, and severance disbursements, and we document each step so you are prepared if questions arise from employees, unions, or labor inspectors. That way, your company can focus on business decisions while staying fully aligned with local law.