Operation Decent Work in Angola: aligning employment records with workplace practice

The campaign context

MAPTSS announced the second Operation Decent Work campaign in September 2026, scheduled nationwide through December. Initial priorities include commerce, manufacturing, extractive industries, commercial agriculture and agro-industry. MAPTSS announcement.

Management’s practical response is to review operations before a specific request arrives. The following checklist is an internal preparation recommendation, not an official IGT document list or a guarantee of any inspection outcome.

Start with the people actually working

Compare personnel records with site access, active teams, payroll and contractors on site. Investigate differences: a new starter not yet reflected in the system, an employee working at another location, or someone labelled an independent contractor whose actual working arrangements require assessment.

For each person, identify the employer, who directs the work, who approves time records, who pays and who holds the documentation. This is particularly important where subcontractors, temporary labour arrangements or a commercially described EOR service are involved.

Six areas to review

Contracts and personnel files. Check that contracts, amendments, duties, dates and work locations align. Record missing documents and the appropriate corrective process. Never recreate signatures or give documents false dates.

Pay and working-time records. Reconcile attendance, additional hours, absences and leave with amounts processed and paid. Identify the reason, approval and required correction for each difference. A spreadsheet alone does not demonstrate that payment occurred.

Social security. Compare the workforce with applicable registration and contribution evidence. Separate completed obligations, discrepancies needing clarification and outstanding corrections. A provider’s general assurance should be supported by relevant evidence.

Occupational health and safety. Visit the workplace. Review observed risks, preventive measures, equipment, training, emergency arrangements and incident follow-up appropriate to the activity. Refer immediate risks to the competent team without waiting for the document review to finish.

Foreign workers. Check consistency between the contract, duties, entity, location, duration and applicable immigration documentation. Track expiry dates and outstanding matters. A commercial agreement or a submitted application should not be treated as proof of permission to work.

Service providers and responsibilities. Document each entity’s role and confirm the requirements of the chosen arrangement. Outsourcing a task needs a clear flow of information and evidence; it does not justify assuming that all statutory responsibilities have transferred to the provider.

The review should consider the General Labour Law and legislation made available by MAPTSS, including relevant sector or employment arrangements. MAPTSS identifies Presidential Decree 49/25 among the rules applicable to non-resident foreign workers. Official labour migration overview.

A review that finds operational problems

Consider an industrial team whose payroll matches its employment contracts. Reviewing shifts reveals additional work absent from payroll; a site visit identifies gaps in the availability of protective equipment.

In this illustrative case, tidying the archive would leave both problems unresolved. The appropriate response is to verify the facts, take safety measures, assess any amounts due and document corrective actions with named owners. The objective is to align records with practice while preserving an accurate history.

A ten-working-day preparation plan

Days 1–2: appoint a coordinator, identify sites and establish the full workforce list.

Days 3–5: compare contracts, working time, payments and supporting evidence; visit priority locations.

Days 6–8: address risks to people and matters requiring urgent intervention first; assign owners and dates to other corrections.

Days 9–10: test whether the team can retrieve evidence, explain differences and demonstrate the actions taken.

This is a suggested internal schedule. It is not a statutory grace period and does not justify delaying overdue obligations or responses to immediate risks.

Prepare the response and retain control

Decide who accompanies a visit, who answers questions and how requests and responses will be recorded. Preserve original documents and restrict personal data access to those who need it. If a notice is received, address its specific requirements and deadlines with appropriate support.

After the review, turn findings into monthly controls: workforce reconciliation, payment checks, contribution follow-up, expiry tracking and safety actions. This keeps the initial work useful beyond the campaign.

How AKIU can help

AKIU can assess requirements for personnel administration, payroll and EOR, alongside mobility and immigration. Operational support, specialist technical input and employer responsibilities should be clearly allocated in the agreed scope.

Request an assessment, outlining your sector, operating locations, workforce size and outstanding issues.

Information reviewed on 11 November 2026. General preparation guidance; not a substitute for applicable legislation or case-specific legal and technical advice.