Labour law

Labour law in Monaco is mainly governed by Law No.729 on employment contract of 16 March 1963, Law No.739 on salary of 16 March 1963, Law No. 845 of 27 June 1968 on dismissal or layoff compensation, Ordinance-Law No. 677 of 2 December 1959 on working time, Law No. 629 of 17 July 1957 on hiring and dismissal conditions, Law no. 711 of 18 December1961 on company internal regulations, and national collective employment agreements.

In procedural matters, Law no. 446 of 16 May 1946 creating a labour court and Law no. 473 of 4 March 1948 on conciliation and arbitration of collective labour disputes, apply.

In some ways, labour law in Monaco is very specific and is less regulated that in France. Employment contracts are mainly ruled by ordinary laws that applies to any contract, but also by some specific provisions arising out of Law No.729 on employment contract of 16 March 1963.

Work permit requirements and the hiring priority system are other important characteristics that apply to Monegasque employment contracts.

Overall, Monegasque labour law, compared to French law, offers more possibilities for contractual negotiations. Given the limited number of texts applicable in the discipline, case law holds an important place.

The Labour Court (Tribunal du travail) has jurisdiction over disputes arising from the performance or termination of employment contracts, also disputes arising between employees in the course of their work and on appeals against decisions made by the committee classifying employees in the various occupational categori (Comité de classement. .It is made up of an equal number of employees and employers.

Among the special features of Monegasque law, it may be noted that Law no. 1.421 of 1 December 2015 instituted an exceptional procedure for reopening a trial in the event that a decision of the ECHR found the Monegasque State to be in breach of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights or its additional protocols, in the context of a dispute falling within the jurisdiction of the Labour Court.

The Superior Court of Arbitration (Cour supérieure d'Arbitrage) is a special court that can be called upon to settle collective labour disputes. It is chaired by the first president of the court of appeal or by the magistrate acting as president, and also includes two magistrates from the judiciary and two senior civil servants. If it is necessary to rule on the merits, two employee representatives and two employer representatives chosen by the President of the Labour Court from among its members are also appointed.

There is first of all a compulsory conciliation phase for individual and collective labour disputes.

Labour litigations, as any other Monegasque litigations, face private international law matters since labour contracts often includes foreign elements.

The "Code DIP" (created by Law No. 1.448 of 28 June 2017 on private international law) determines the jurisdiction of the Monegasque courts for individual labour contracts, and the law applicable to them in the absence of choice made by the parties.

Monegasque labour law has undergone a wave of modernisation in recent years.

• Law No.1.429 of 4 July 2016 has modernised the Monegasque Labour Law, by introducing the teleworking. It could be applicable to nearly 83 % of employees in the Monegasque private sector (teleworking from Monaco, France or Italy).
• The concerted organisation of working time was introduced into Ordinance-Law No. 677 of 2 December 1959 on working hours (by Law No. 1.505 of 24 June 2021).
• Law No. 1.451 of 4 July 2017 has globally reformed the occupational health (Law No. 637 of 11 January 1958 relating to the creation and organization of the occupational health, Law No. 1.348 of 25 June 2008 on the reclassification of employees declared unable to work), in order to adapt it to the new realities of the prevention of occupational risks and the protection of the health of workers (“Office de la médecine du travail”, examination and medical follow-up, medical incapacity).
• Law No. 1.457 of 12 December 2017 expressly prohibited harassment, sexual blackmail and workplace violence in the private and public sectors, subject to disciplinary, civil and criminal penalties. The employer must prevent the occurrence of these behaviours and put an end to them.
• Law No. 1.410 of 2 December 2014 governs the status of disabled workers in accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of 13 December 2006.
• Law No. 1.471 of 2 July 2019 opened the possibility for retail stores to derogate from the principle of Sunday rest within the limit of 30 Sundays per year and per employee. The objective is to make the Principality more attractive and to enable the retail stores to face regional competition.
• Since Law No. 1.482 of 17 December 2019 for a Digital Principality and its application texts, the dematerialisation of pay slips is possible, unless the employee objects.
• Law No 1.481 of 17 December 2019 on civil solidarity contracts (CCS) [contrats civils de solidarité], which introduced the "common life contract" (CVC) [contrat de vie commune] and the "cohabitation contract" (CDC) [contrat de cohabitation] into Monegasque law, has implications in terms of employment and work (eligibility for the status of staff delegate, order of priority in hiring, exceptional absences, etc.).
• Law No. 1.544 of 20 April 2023 created the Monegasque Supplementary Pension Fund (Caisse Monégasque de Retraite Complémentaire) for private sector employees, replacing the French Agirc-Arrco supplementary pension contribution scheme.
• Law No. 1.547 of 22 June 2023 supplemented by Sovereign Order No. 11.492 of 29 September 2025, enables employees in the private sector to donate leave to a colleague faced with a death or a particularly serious family situation.
• Law no. 1.552 of 7 December 2023 extends the duration of paternity leave for employees.
• Law no. 1.558 of 29 February 2024 institutes maternity leave for self-employed women affiliated to the CAMTI scheme.
• Law 1.559 of 29 February 2024 (Part IV) (Moneyval) increases the criminal penalty for undeclared work.
• Law no. 1.569 of 12 December 2024 provides a framework for traineeship in the professional environment.
• Ministerial Order no. 2024-504 of 19 September 2024 (from 27 September 2025) sets out the conditions under which employers must provide emergency first aid to workers who have suffered an accident or are unwell (obligation to provide training, premises, etc.).

• Bill no. 987, tabled on 3 April 2019 (currently being examined by the Legislation Committee) aims to establish a general framework for the protection of whistleblowers in the context of employment relations (private and public sector).
• Bill no. 1108, tabled on 15 May 2025, provides for the introduction in Monegasque law of the conventional termination of open-ended employment contracts (CDI) and other updates.
• Parliamentary draft law no. 262, adopted on 27 November 2024, aims to extend the use of time savings accounts ("compte épargne-temps" CET) to all private sector employees (conversion into a Bill validated by the Government).
• Parliamentary draft law no. 260, tabled on 21 December 2023, contains provisions specifically strengthening the rights of disabled workers.
• Government Bill no. 1110, tabled in parallel on 25 June 2025, contains provisions concerning the status of disabled workers, the monitoring of their integration into the workforce, and the protection of parents who cease working and are faced with a career break.