Notice periods and final pay in Ghana and Nigeria, side by side

When someone resigns or is let go, the questions are always the same. How much notice is needed? Can we pay them instead of having them work it out? What goes on the last payslip? If you employ people in both Ghana and Nigeria, the answers are different in each country.

The figures below are the statutory minimums. Contracts and collective agreements often set longer notice, and where they’re more generous to the employee, they apply.

Notice periods

The two laws measure notice differently. Ghana looks at the length of the contract. Nigeria looks at how long the employment has actually lasted.

Ghana (Act 651, section 17)

Type of contract	Minimum notice
Contract of three years or more	1 month, or 1 month’s pay in lieu
Contract of less than three years	2 weeks, or 2 weeks’ pay in lieu
Week-to-week contract	7 days
Contract terminable at will	None: it can end at the close of any day

Nigeria (Labour Act, section 11)

How long the contract has run	Minimum notice
Three months or less	1 day
More than three months, less than two years	1 week
Two years, but less than five	2 weeks
Five years or more	1 month

Small rules that cause disputes

• In writing. Ghana requires all notice to be in writing. Nigeria requires writing for notice of one week or more.
• Counting the first day. In Ghana, the day notice is given counts as part of the notice. In Nigeria, it doesn’t.

Pay in lieu of notice

Both countries let either side end the contract straight away by paying what would have been earned during the notice period.

• Ghana: either party can terminate without notice by paying the remuneration that would have accrued during the notice period (s.18).
• Nigeria: either party can waive notice or accept a payment in lieu (s.11). The payment is calculated on the money part of wages only, excluding overtime and other allowances.

What goes on the final payslip

In Ghana (s.18 and s.30)

1. All pay earned up to the termination date.
2. Any deferred pay owed.
3. Any compensation due for sickness or accident.
4. Annual leave in proportion to service in that calendar year, unless the employee was dismissed in circumstances that allowed dismissal without notice.
5. For foreign contracts, travel and repatriation costs.

Everything due must be paid by the date the notice expires. If no notice was required, it must be paid by the next working day.

In Nigeria (s.11 and s.18)

1. All wages due, paid on or before the end of the notice period.
2. For workers who leave after six to twelve months without having taken leave, a proportionate leave payment.
3. Any payment in lieu of notice.

Redundancy

Nigeria’s Labour Act (s.20) sets out a process for redundancy: inform the trade union or workers’ representatives of the reasons and scale, apply last in, first out within the affected category (taking skill, ability and reliability into account), and do your best to negotiate redundancy payments.

Ghana’s Act 651 (s.65) goes further on timing. Before major changes likely to lead to job losses, the employer must give the Chief Labour Officer and the trade union written notice at least three months ahead, with the reasons, the number and categories of workers affected and the timetable, and must consult the union on ways to avoid or reduce the job losses. Where a closure, merger or restructuring ends someone’s employment or worsens their terms, they’re entitled to redundancy pay.

If you’re planning redundancies in either country, take advice early. Mistakes here usually end up at the National Labour Commission in Ghana or the National Industrial Court in Nigeria.

A leaving checklist that works in both countries

1. Confirm the notice period from the contract, then check it’s at least the statutory minimum.
2. Get the resignation or termination in writing, with the last working day.
3. Work out final pay: salary to the last day, leave owed, any pay in lieu, and deductions such as loans.
4. Pay statutory deductions on the final pay as normal (PAYE, SSNIT or pension).
5. Recover company property, and close the employee’s system access on their last day.
6. Issue the final payslip and any certificate of service.

How Eban helps

Eban keeps each employee’s start date, contract and leave balance in one place, so the numbers for a final settlement are already there when someone leaves: how long they’ve served, which notice band they fall in, and how many leave days they’ve earned but not taken. Their last payroll run then carries the usual statutory deductions, like any other month.