Wages, SMIG and the payslip in Morocco
The essentials in brief
The statutory minimum wage (SMIG) is the minimum value owed to the employee; it is calculated by the hour in non-agricultural sectors and by the day in agriculture [1]. Its amount is set by regulation, not by your contract [2]. Any agreement that drops below this floor is automatically void [3]. Wages are paid in Moroccan currency [4], at least twice a month for manual workers and once a month for salaried employees [5]. At each payment, the employer must hand over a payslip [6] and keep a pay book [7]. Failing this, fines in dirhams apply [8].
The SMIG: what the law really guarantees
The statutory minimum wage is not a favour. It is, according to the Labour Code, the minimum value owed to the employee, intended to ensure people on limited incomes a purchasing power that keeps pace with the evolution of prices while contributing to economic and social development and to that of the company [1].
The law also specifies its basis of calculation, and this is important: in non-agricultural activities, the SMIG is calculated on the remuneration paid for one hour of work; in agricultural activities, on the remuneration paid for one day of work [1]. In other words, a factory worker and an agricultural worker are not compared using the same unit of measurement.
Who sets the amount? Not you, not your employer. The statutory minimum wage may not be lower than the amounts set by regulation, for agricultural and non-agricultural activities, after consulting the professional organisations of employers and the most representative trade unions [2]. The exact figure therefore changes by way of regulation: always check the rate in force at the time you read your slip, rather than relying on an amount you heard two years ago.
The calculation holds a few subtleties. In the non-agricultural sector, tips and accessory payments, in cash or in kind, are taken into account when assessing the SMIG. In agriculture, on the other hand, benefits in kind are not taken into account for this calculation [9]. A detail that can make all the difference on the payslip of a waiter or a seasonal worker.
The message to remember: the SMIG is a moving floor set by the State, never an amount that can be whittled down by contract.
The floor is untouchable, even with your agreement
This is probably the most protective rule in the system. Any agreement, individual or collective, that tends to lower the wage below the statutory minimum wage is automatically void [3].
In concrete terms: even if you sign, even if a collective agreement provides for it, remuneration below the SMIG does not hold up legally. Your signature does not deprive you of the difference.
The case of piecework deserves a mention. An employee paid by the piece, by the task or by output is entitled to at least the statutory minimum wage. The only exception: a reduction in the work performed that cannot be attributed to a cause unrelated to the work and that is directly attributable to him, after confirmation by an approved expert; in that case, the employee is entitled only to the wage corresponding to the work actually performed [10]. Outside this precise and confirmed scenario, the floor remains due.
If you are offered a "flat rate" below the SMIG, you now know that this flat rate is worth nothing before the court.
How and when your wage must be paid
The law governs two simple but essential things: the currency and the rhythm.
The currency first. Wages must be paid in Moroccan currency, notwithstanding any clause to the contrary. Benefits in kind may be added in professions or companies where it is customary to grant them [4]. A wage denominated or settled in foreign currency does not comply.
The rhythm next. Wages must be paid at least twice a month, at intervals of no more than sixteen days, to manual workers, and at least once a month to salaried employees. Commissions owed to commercial and industrial travellers, representatives and agents must be settled at least once every three months [5].
An employer who pays you irregularly, or who lets more than sixteen days pass between two payments for a manual worker, is not respecting the legal cadence. Note the date of each payment: it is your first piece of evidence.
The seniority bonus: a quantified right
Unless the wage is already based on seniority through a clause in the contract, the internal regulations or a collective agreement, every employee must receive a seniority bonus. The Code sets the rates in black and white: 5% of the wage paid after two years of service, 10% after five years, 15% after twelve years, 20% after twenty years and 25% after twenty-five years [11].
This bonus is not a discretionary perk: it is triggered by seniority, full stop. And it is paid under the same conditions as the wage [12] - so according to the same frequency and the same currency seen above.
Do the calculation on your own slip: if you have passed one of these thresholds and the "seniority bonus" line is missing or undervalued, ask the question.
Payslip and pay book: the written proof
Every employer is required to give his employees, at the time wages are settled, a supporting document called a "payslip", which must compulsorily mention the items set by the governmental authority in charge of labour [6].
A point that is crucial for your rights: acceptance of the payslip, without objection or reservation, does not imply that you waive your wage and its accessories. This is true even if you sign off on the document with the wording "read and approved" followed by your signature [6]. Signing the slip does not settle your rights.
On the employer's side, there is a second register. Every employer must keep, in each establishment, workshop or part of an establishment, a book called the pay book, in line with the model set by the administration [7]. This book may be replaced, at the employer's request, by mechanographic or computerised accounting or any other means of control deemed equivalent by the labour inspector [13]. It must be kept for at least two years from its closure [14] and held at the disposal of the labour inspectors and the inspectors of the National Social Security Fund (CNSS), who may demand its production at any time [15].
Keep your payslips. They are what, in the event of a dispute, tell the real story of your remuneration.
When the employer does not follow the rules: the fines
The Code does not merely set out principles; it imposes sanctions. The amounts are in dirhams, and it is useful to know them.
A first set of sanctions concerns the wage itself. Punishable by a fine of 300 to 500 dirhams are, in particular, failure to pay the seniority bonus (or an underpaid or miscalculated payment), failure to pay the wage or payment of a wage below the statutory minimum, as well as incorrect payment of an employee paid by output [8]. The fine applies as many times as there are employees concerned, without the total exceeding 20,000 dirhams. In the event of a dispute, if the sums due have not been settled before the hearing, the court orders, at the employee's request, the restitution of the sums representing the SMIG wrongly withheld [8].
A second set concerns payment and documents. Also punishable by a fine of 300 to 500 dirhams are payment in non-Moroccan currency, failure to observe the conditions of frequency, place and times of payment, failure to deliver the payslip (or an incomplete payslip), and failure to keep, retain or make available the pay book [16]. Here too, the fine is multiplied per employee concerned, up to a limit of 20,000 dirhams [16].
The logic is clear: paying correctly, in dirhams, on time, with a properly drawn-up payslip, is not optional.
References
[1] Article 358 — Labour Code (Law No. 65-99) [2] Article 356 — Labour Code (Law No. 65-99) [3] Article 360 — Labour Code (Law No. 65-99) [4] Article 362 — Labour Code (Law No. 65-99) [5] Article 363 — Labour Code (Law No. 65-99) [6] Article 370 — Labour Code (Law No. 65-99) [7] Article 371 — Labour Code (Law No. 65-99) [8] Article 361 — Labour Code (Law No. 65-99) [9] Article 357 — Labour Code (Law No. 65-99) [10] Article 359 — Labour Code (Law No. 65-99) [11] Article 350 — Labour Code (Law No. 65-99) [12] Article 355 — Labour Code (Law No. 65-99) [13] Article 372 — Labour Code (Law No. 65-99) [14] Article 373 — Labour Code (Law No. 65-99) [15] Article 374 — Labour Code (Law No. 65-99) [16] Article 375 — Labour Code (Law No. 65-99)
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