Working in Mayotte: Labour Law, Minimum Wage, Contributions, Taxation, Civil Servant Transfers and the Economy

Mayotte is a French department: a French citizen has no work permit or visa to apply for, and their employee rights (working time, leave, termination of the contract, sick leave) are those of French law. CLEISS (the French centre for European and international social security liaison) indicates that the Labour Code has applied in Mayotte since January 2018 and that the nominative social declaration is, as on the mainland, the only way employers exchange information with the fund. The guide living in Mayotte recalls the settling-in formalities.

On social protection, the Mayotte social security fund (CSSM) covers sickness-maternity, invalidity-death, old age, work accidents, unemployment and family benefits (CLEISS). The condition for opening health insurance rights is detailed in the guide healthcare reimbursement in Mayotte. For a seconded employee or a teleworker attached to a mainland company, the sources consulted describe no rule specific to Mayotte: the social and tax attachment is to be confirmed with the employer, the CSSM and the tax authority.

The SMIC applicable in Mayotte is €9.56 gross an hour, i.e. €1,449.93 gross a month for 35 hours, against €12.31 an hour and €1,867.02 a month on the mainland (service-public.gouv.fr). The revaluation rules are the same as on the mainland: revaluation each year on 1 January and automatic increase if the price index reaches 2% since the last increase. The law of 11 August 2025 on programming for the rebuilding of Mayotte (article 25) also raises the net SMIC in Mayotte to 87.5% of the value applicable on the mainland from 1 January 2026, within a trajectory of economic and social convergence.

According to INSEE, the average monthly net salary in full-time equivalent in the private sector is of the order of €2,200, with lower levels for women than for men and markedly higher levels for managers. INSEE also finds more than half of jobs in the non-market tertiary sector, against 30% in France, and 9% in construction, against 7%.

The employer sends the pre-hire declaration within the eight days before the expected hiring date, online on the Urssaf website; a work accident is reported to the employer within 24 hours and to the CSSM within 48 hours (CLEISS, CSSM). The CSSM pages consulted publish no contribution rates: they are to be confirmed with the CSSM or the Urssaf.

The Ministry of Labour and Solidarity indicates that the general social contribution exemptions and the exemption scheme for overseas employers apply in Mayotte from 2026, and the report to the President of the Republic on the order of 22 July 2026 provides for a gradual reduction of the employee health contribution down to zero in 2036, as well as a convergence trajectory for the CRDS until 2035. Compulsory collective supplementary cover for employees in Mayotte is postponed to 31 March 2036: individual supplementary health insurance therefore remains very relevant for an employee.

• Sickness daily allowances: 50% of base salary, capped at 1.4 times the Mayotte SMIC, after a 3-day waiting period; conditions: contributions equivalent to 1,015 times the hourly SMIC over the last 6 months and 150 hours of work over 3 months; 360 allowances at most over 3 years (CLEISS).
• Maternity: 16 weeks (6 before and 10 after the birth) when fewer than 2 children are already dependent, 26 weeks (8 before and 18 after) from 2 dependent children; allowances capped at a daily amount revised each year (CLEISS).
• Unemployment (ARE-M): 182 days or 955 hours of work over the last 24 months, involuntary job loss, registration, active job search and residence in Mayotte (CLEISS).

All self-employed workers (craftspeople, shopkeepers, liberal professions, artist-authors, majority managers) come under the CSSM. The Urssaf took over collection of their contributions from 1 January 2025, with provisional flat-rate contributions and a gradual move towards the rates of the mainland and the other overseas territories. Craftspeople and shopkeepers receive daily allowances after at least one year of affiliation to CSSM health insurance, with contributions up to date. The auto-entrepreneur status and the collection of the associated contributions have been in place in Mayotte since 2020 (CSSM).

For businesses, the tax authority specifies that payroll tax is 2.55% in Mayotte and that VAT is provisionally not applicable. A contribution buy-back scheme allows self-employed workers active between 2012 and 2024 to validate pension rights (CSSM).

Article 197 of the General Tax Code reduces by 40%, within a limit of €4,050, the tax due by taxpayers domiciled in Mayotte. Domicile is assessed on 31 December of the year of income. The report to the President of the Republic mentions contribution and CRDS trajectories ending in 2035: social levies are therefore converging towards those of the mainland.

A State civil servant transferred to Mayotte consults their managing department for their pay. Service-public.gouv.fr cites, for Mayotte, a cost-of-living allowance of 40% of gross indexed salary within the framework of bonus leave (congés bonifiés); this leave (31 consecutive days at most, once every 2 years after 24 months of continuous service) depends on the employee's centre of material and moral interests and, for an employee from the mainland assigned overseas, is only open to State employees. The employee's health insurance is dealt with in the guide healthcare reimbursement in Mayotte.

The currency is the euro. According to INSEE, Mayotte's gross domestic product is the lowest of the French regions, with GDP per inhabitant and per job far below that of France. The employment rate of 15-64 year-olds is low and the unemployment rate very high (within the ILO definition); the employment rate of 15-29 year-olds is particularly low. Business start-ups are rising sharply, and more than 4,500 active units are recorded.

The IEDOM, in its annual report, describes a period of transition: the recovery after Cyclone Chido is driven by reconstruction sites, inflation remains moderate, the business climate improves, and deposits rise. The law of 11 August 2025 programmes investment over 2025-2031 in health (€407 million), water and sanitation (€730 million) and housing (€200 million over 2025-2029): this programme forms the framework for public investment in the coming years.