Working as a woman in Algeria: rights, the 150-day maternity leave, breastfeeding, discrimination (2026)

Women are the majority at university and a minority on the labour market: the National Statistics Office’s employment survey of October 2024 gives an unemployment rate of 25.4% among women against 9% among men, and a female employment rate of about 14%. Those who work are concentrated in health, education, administration, pharmaceuticals, banking and services. This guide gathers what the law guarantees every woman employee — at hiring, during pregnancy, on return, up to retirement — and the paperwork that goes with it. It complements the general guide to employee rights.

At hiring and on the payslip: what the employer cannot do

Law no. 90-11 of 21 April 1990 on labour relations applies to every employee without distinction. Its article 17 declares null and void any provision of an agreement or an employment contract that discriminates on the basis of sex, age, family or social situation, opinions or union membership. Its article 84 lays down the principle of “equal pay for equal work”. The Constitution revised in 2020 (art. 40) tasks the State with promoting parity on the labour market and women’s access to positions of responsibility. In practice the gaps open before the signature: the advert, the interview, the salary offered.

Maternity leave: 150 days at 100% since July 2025

Maternity leave is a social security benefit (law 83-11), not a favour from the employer. Law no. 25-08 of 19 July 2025 replaced the historical 14 weeks with 150 consecutive days paid at 100% of the salary subject to contributions. The leave can start at the earliest 42 days before the expected date of birth; if the child is born early, the duration is not shortened. The benefit requires stopping all paid work during the period. A 50-day extension, also at 100%, is provided when the newborn has a disability, a congenital malformation or a serious illness, on a medical file submitted at least 15 days before the end of the leave; further extensions exist depending on severity, under the conditions set by the text.

1. 1

   Declare the pregnancy when you decide to

   No legal deadline forces you to tell the employer in the first weeks. Inform them in writing when it becomes useful (job adjustment, schedule, leave): the date of the letter protects your rights. Keep a copy.

2. 2

   Open the file at CNAS

   Medical certificate of pregnancy with the expected date, employer’s certificate of work and salary, Chifa card, bank or CCP details. The qualifying conditions (minimum period of declared work) are those of daily benefits: an undeclared job gives no right at all — check your affiliation from day one.

3. 3

   Set the dates with your doctor

   The start can fall between 42 days before the expected date and the date itself; 150 consecutive days from the start. Give the dates to the employer in writing: the contract is suspended for the whole period (art. 64) and your job waits for you.

4. 4

   Receive the daily benefit

   100% of the salary subject to contributions, paid by CNAS after deduction of the social security contribution. Some collective agreements have the employer top up or advance it: check yours.

5. 5

   Extension for a difficult birth

   Submit the child’s medical file at least 15 days before the end of the 150 days to obtain the extra 50 days at 100%. Ask your CNAS agency (toll-free 3010): further extensions depend on the child’s health.

6. 6

   Prepare the return

   Return to the same or an equivalent job with the same pay; ask in writing for the breastfeeding hours (below) before coming back. A refusal to reinstate is handled as an unfair dismissal.

Breastfeeding, childcare, hours: what is provided and what is negotiated

Article 55 of law 90-11 guarantees maternity leave and refers, for the “facilities” granted to mothers, to the internal rules and collective agreements. In the civil service, the general statute (ordinance 06-03) sets paid breastfeeding absences of 2 hours a day for the first 6 months, then 1 hour a day for the next 6 months, taken at the start or end of the day. In the private sector, most branch agreements and internal rules copy this scheme; if yours does not, ask for it in writing before returning, relying on art. 55 and the practice of the branch. No law obliges an Algerian employer to open a nursery: some large companies and administrations offer one, others grant help through the works council; it is a point to negotiate at hiring, like partial remote work or shifted hours. During pregnancy, a strenuous or exposed job (loads, chemicals, prolonged standing) must be adapted on the occupational doctor’s advice; a sick leave prescribed before the maternity leave falls under health insurance.

Harassment and discrimination: what to do, in what order

Sexual harassment — pressure, threats or coercion to obtain sexual favours, by someone abusing their authority or not — is a criminal offence (penal code, art. 341 bis, created in 2004 and widened by law 15-19 of 2015, which also created the offence of harassment in public places, art. 333 bis 2). At work it often comes with discrimination: punitive transfer, bonus withdrawn, non-renewal. The reflex to have is to build a record before keeping quiet or leaving.

1. 1

   Write everything down, date everything

   Messages, e-mails, witnesses, times and places. Reply in writing to a verbal summons or sanction (“further to our conversation this morning…”). These writings are worth more than any memory.

2. 2

   Raise it internally

   Staff representative, union delegate, HR manager or management, in a written note that describes the facts without legal labels. Many companies have a procedure in their internal rules: use it.

3. 3

   Refer to the labour inspectorate

   For discrimination, unjustified sanctions, refused breastfeeding hours or reinstatement: a written complaint to the wilaya labour inspectorate, which summons the employer and attempts conciliation (law 90-04). It is free and interrupts the deadline for going to court.

4. 4

   Criminal complaint for the harassment

   File a complaint at the police station, the gendarmerie or directly with the public prosecutor; women’s support associations and the wilayas’ listening units accompany the process. A criminal complaint does not prevent proceedings before the social court for the consequences on the contract.

Retirement: 55 on request, and the reduction per child

Law 83-12 sets the legal retirement age at 60, but allows a woman worker to retire, on request, from 55 with at least 15 years of validated work (art. 6); it is an optional right the employer cannot impose. It also provides a one-year reduction per child raised for at least 9 years, up to 3 years. The pension is 2.5% per validated year of the average salary of the last or best five years, capped at 80%: leaving earlier also means leaving with fewer years — the detailed calculation and the traps of undeclared pay are in the CNR retirement guide. Paid maternity-leave years count for retirement; “undeclared” years never do.

Landing the job and moving up: three levers in your hands

Salary is negotiated at entry: gender gaps widen mostly because the first figure offered is accepted as is; ask for the grid, place the job in it, come back with a reasoned figure (5-step method). The interview is prepared: personal questions are deflected without conflict, technical questions repeat (frequent questions). Search filters help: on Chghol, filter jobs by wilaya and contract and set an alert; offers published by verified recruiters show the net salary when it is given. Finally, for those who start their own activity, self-employed status and the ANGEM and ANADE schemes remain open to all.

Frequently asked questions