Hiring: Written or Oral Contract?

I've just received a job interview invitation. Should I demand a written contract when I'm hired?

People told me that this company doesn't provide written contracts. However, they offer good working conditions, but I'm afraid of being fired one day without any proof of my employment.

A written employment contract is only mandatory if you work part-time or for a fixed term. However, if the employment contract is for an indefinite period, the employer is not required to give you a written employment contract: it is then oral.

According to article 15, only the classic fundamental conditions are required for the validity of the contract, namely consent, the capacity of the parties to contract, the object and the cause of the contract as defined by the law of obligations and contracts.

If there is something to fear, it is the proof in case of a sudden break in the employment relationship.
In this regard, the legislator provides the answer in article 18 of the Labor Code since it allows proving the existence of an employment relationship by any means, namely a work certificate, a leave certificate, a payslip, or even photos, which the judge can retain in some cases as proof of the existence of an employment contract.

However, if the employer is not obliged to give a written employment contract to the employee, he is, according to article 24, required to provide in writing, therefore a legal obligation, upon hiring:

• The collective bargaining agreement if it exists;
• The internal regulations;
• Working hours;
• The methods of applying the weekly rest;
• Legal provisions and measures concerning the preservation of health and safety, and the prevention of risks related to machinery;
• The date, time and place of payment;
• The registration number with the National Social Security Fund;
• The insurance body insuring them against work accidents and occupational diseases.

These documents will precisely constitute sufficiently probative evidence of the existence of an employment relationship, and will protect you from the risk of later having difficulty proving your employment relationship with your employer.

Failure to comply with these provisions exposes the employer to a fine of 2,000 to 5,000 dirhams. This fine is doubled in case of recidivism, more precisely if a similar act has been committed during the year following the year in which a final judgment has been rendered.

However, to initiate proceedings against your employer for non-compliance with these provisions, you can go directly through a denunciation to the labor inspector, or through a complaint to the King's prosecutor.

Mohamed Jamal Maatouk.

Posted online August 23, 2011.

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