Employment contract checklist for Lagos

Most of what goes wrong in a Lagos job was in the contract, or was missing from it. Go through this before you sign, and ask about anything that is not there. A good employer will answer; one that will not is telling you something.

Your rights as an employee

Pay

• The gross, monthly and annual, and that the two agree
• The split: basic, housing, transport and anything else. Your pension is charged on basic, housing and transport, and the National Housing Fund on basic alone. Two offers with the same gross can put very different sums into your pension
• Whether the figure is gross or net. “Take-home” offers hide the tax and pension arithmetic; ask for the gross
• The pay date, and what happens when it slips
• Any thirteenth month, bonus or commission, and whether it is contractual or “at management’s discretion”
• Pay reviews: when, and on what basis

Salary calculator

Statutory deductions

• Pension: that the employer runs one, pays its own share on top, and remits to your RSA monthly
• PAYE: deducted and paid to the LIRS if you live in Lagos
• NHF: whether it is deducted at all

Pension calculator

Time

• Working hours and days, including Saturdays
• Overtime, and whether it is paid or “part of the role”
• Annual leave: how many days, from when, and whether untaken days carry over or are paid out
• Sick leave and what proof it needs
• Maternity and paternity leave, and on what pay

Health

• Health cover: which HMO, which plan, which hospitals, and whether it covers a spouse and children
• Group life insurance, which the Pension Reform Act requires employers to carry

Health insurance

Starting and leaving

• Start date and job title, and who you report to
• Probation: how long, on what notice, and whether confirmation is automatic or needs a letter
• Notice period on each side after confirmation
• Pay in lieu of notice: whether either side may use it
• What counts as gross misconduct, and the disciplinary procedure

Resignation letter template

Clauses that bite later

• A bond or training repayment: how much, for how long, and whether it reduces over time
• Non-compete and non-solicitation: how long and how wide. A clause that stops you working in your field at all is unlikely to be enforceable, but it can still be used to frighten you
• Confidentiality that reaches after you leave
• Deductions from pay for losses, damage or lateness
• Place of work: whether you can be moved to another city

Before you sign

• Get every promise made at interview into the letter itself
• Keep a signed copy, not only a scan the HR team holds
• If anything here is missing, ask for it in writing before your first day

Finding a job in Lagos