Resume rules in Sierra Leone
What employers in Sierra Leone expect on a Curriculum Vitae, what the law lets them ask for, and where the two disagree.
Call it a CV for Sierra Leone or a resume for Sierra Leone: it's the same document. Employers there usually want it written in English.
This is research, not legal advice. Law changes, federal countries have state and provincial rules, and practice varies by industry and seniority. Each entry shows when it was looked up and how confident we are, and says Not found where nothing reliable was published.
Law and practice, side by side
The label on the right is what local hiring expects. The two lines under it are the law and the habit, which often disagree.
Photo: Optional
Optional; not standard practice
What the law says: No legal requirement found
Date of birth: Optional
Optional; can omit
Marital status: Optional
Optional; can omit
Sex or gender: Uncommon
Uncommon; avoid unless relevant
What the law says: Equal pay for equal work per Employment Act 2023
Nationality: Optional
Optional
National ID number: Optional
Optional
The rest of the entry
- Local name of the document
- Curriculum Vitae
- Language to submit in
- English
- Typical length
- Not specified; 1-2 pages typical
- Signature and date
- Not required
- Religion, ethnicity or caste
- Protected under Employment Act 2023
- Health, disability or pregnancy
- Not found in employment law
- Other customary attachments
- For work permits: valid passport, proof of qualifications, police clearance and medical reports where requested
- Employer may not ask for
- Sexual orientation (banned since 2023), race, religion, gender, marital status, disability
- Named statutes
- Employment Act 2023; Industrial Relations and Trade Union Act 2024; Work Permit Act 2023 (all in English)
- Anti-discrimination statutes
- Employment Act 2023
- Local language source
- English only
Where this came from
Looked up 2026-08-15. Independently checked 2026-08-15. High confidence. Result of that check: Confirmed.
Notes: Krio is lingua franca but English is official language. Employment Act 2023 is very recent (May 2023). Sexual orientation discrimination banned as of 2023. Limited published guidance on CV format conventions.
Researched with AI assistants working from a written checklist, then independently checked. How we researched this
4 sources we opened
- https://iclg.com/practice-areas/employment-and-labour-laws-and-regulations/sierra-leone/
- https://www.atlashxm.com/countries/sierra-leone/
- https://www.playroll.com/global-hiring-guides/sierra-leone
- https://sierralii.gov.sl/articles/2024-02-16/Dannyy/building-a-fairer-world-one-workplace-at-a-time-combating-discrimination-and-harassment-for-social-justice-in-sierra-leone