HiiL’s Employment Justice Programme was implemented in partnership with the Tunisian Presidency of the Government, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and the Tunisian Bar Association to address Tunisia’s most pressing employment-related justice challenges.
The JNS data laid the foundation for the four-year programme Employment Justice topic. According to HiiL’s Justice Needs and Satisfaction (JNS) survey, 19% of Tunisians cite employment-related disputes as their most serious justice problem. The data served as a basis for the development of the Employment Justice Guidelines, co-created with national experts to offer a practical framework for improving employment justice in Tunisia. Stakeholders dialogues were launched to create and strengthen the enabling environment around access to justice, and ensure collaboration, bringing together public institutions representatives, legal professionals, and civil society actors.
Building on this foundation, HiiL convened Justice Innovation Labs to co-design solutions to the most urgent Employment challenges.Moreover, the Justice Accelerator also contributed to advancing employment justice in Tunisia by supporting innovative solutions through ideation, incubation, and acceleration programmes.
Our highlight is the governmental platform “Monde de Travail”, a digital tool that helps employers, employees, and labor inspectors access employment related legal information, contributes to resolving disputes, and connects with labor inspectors.
Context: Our Work in Tunisia
HiiL has been active in Tunisia since 2017, when we conducted the first Justice Needs and Satisfaction (JNS) survey. This study provided a foundational evidence base on how people experience justice in their daily lives—highlighting gaps, barriers, and opportunities for reform.
In 2021, HiiL launched a new multi-year programme to support Tunisia’s efforts toward a more accessible, innovative, and people-centred justice system. The programme is grounded in robust data and implemented in partnership with key national stakeholders to ensure sustainable, locally embedded change.
In 2023, a second JNS survey was carried out with a representative sample of 5,008 individuals, including follow-up interviews with participants from the 2017 study. This unique longitudinal approach enabled a deeper understanding of how justice needs have evolved over time. One of the key findings: employment-related issues emerged as the most common legal problem, affecting 17% of people who experienced at least one serious legal issue.
🔗 Access the Justice Needs and Satisfaction studies
From Data to Impact
Building on the insights from the 2023 Justice Needs and Satisfaction (JNS) Survey in Tunisia, HiiL has prioritised improving access to employment justice—the most frequently reported legal problem in the country. Our approach is structured around a three-step methodology: understand the problem, develop solutions, and scale impact.
1. Understanding the Problem
To address the complex challenges facing workers and employers, HiiL conducted in-depth research and facilitated co-creation sessions with labour law experts, judges, lawyers, and civil society representatives. This collaborative process informed the development of Tunisia’s first Employment Justice Guideline, launched in 2024.
These guideline offer practical, evidence-based recommendations and step-by-step interventions to help justice practitioners and policymakers improve outcomes in employment-related disputes. Drawing on data, behavioural insights, and conflict resolution strategies, the guideline identifies “what works” to enhance fairness, accessibility, and resolution pathways in the employment justice system.
🔗 Read the Employment Justice Guideline
2. Developing Solutions
In 2023, through its Justice Innovation Lab, HiiL brought together a diverse group of Tunisian stakeholders—including representatives from the Presidency of Government, the Labour Inspection, the Tunisian Bar Association, justice innovators, and civil society actors. This collaborative design process aimed to co-create practical, people-centred solutions to improve access to employment justice.
By combining local expertise with innovation methodology , the Lab identified the most pressing barriers within the employment justice system and prototyped user-friendly tool and intervention to address them—ensuring that the solution was not only effective, but also relevant to the Tunisian context.
3. Scaling Impact
The idea and prototype developed during the Justice Innovation Lab laid the groundwork for an ambitious next step: the development of a national digital solution. Building on the momentum of this collaborative effort, HiiL successfully partnered with the Tunisian Ministry of Social Affairs, the Labour Inspection, and the Presidency of Government to transform this concept into a concrete, scalable tool for advancing employment justice in Tunisia.
In 2024, this collaboration led to the launch of Tunisia’s first digital platform for employment justice—a concrete response to the justice needs identified in the 2023 JNS and the co-designed interventions from the Lab. The platform empowers individuals and businesses to resolve labour disputes more efficiently, while promoting transparency, legal certainty, and public trust in the justice system.
The employment justice platform has been developed, but it is not yet publicly accessible.
Read more about our work in Tunisia
