According to article 22, paragraph 1, of the Labour Code stipulates that an employment contract of six months or more must be in writing. However, oral contracts are recognized in accordance with article 18 of the Labour Code Act. Such provisions do not exist in labour law. In practice, employers have internal guidelines on whistleblowing. The High Court has jurisdiction to rule on labour and labour complaints. The complaint may be filed either with the Industrial Relations Department or with the Main Law Firm of the High Court. Depending on the nature of the claim, the claim may be filed with subordinate courts (see Zambia national Commercial Bank PLC v Musonda (2018) ZMCC 14, undeclared). Employers have one year from 10 May 2019 to comply with the Labour Code. All employment contracts negotiated and executed after this date must comply with the provisions of the Code. It is therefore crucial for people who intend to set up a business in Zambia to seek the advice of a legal expert to ensure compliance with the new law.

If an employer attempts to amend existing employment contracts in order to adapt them to the exceptions provided for in the Regulation, e.B. with regard to tips, overtime or leave, that employer should first obtain the consent of the workers concerned before implementing the amendment, as these benefits are already enshrined in their employment contracts. This position is based on the view that the exemption regulations do not apply retrospectively. The exemption regulations exempt foreign workers, workers in the agricultural sector, domestic employees and management employees with written contracts providing for remuneration from the application of this section. The application of this Section shall be limited to fixed-term contracts of more than twelve months` duration. Are there specific laws on the procedures that employers must follow with regard to disciplinary and complaint procedures? The recently promulgated Employment Act had improved the protection of workers` rights and generally provided for better working conditions for all categories of workers. This is a break with previous work arrangements, which offered „protected“ workers more favourable terms and conditions of employment than „unprotected“ workers. Thus, the Code a: Due to the improved protection of workers` rights and, in general, the improvement of employment conditions for all categories of workers introduced by the Labour Code, it may be difficult for employers to maintain employment contracts for long-term contract workers or permanent employees.

Employers are expected to prefer to perform short-term contracts or part-time work in order to reduce the costs associated with paying workers hired on a contract or permanent basis. Workers are entitled to family leave of seven days per year to enable them to care for their sick spouse, children or dependants, and in addition to three days of paid leave per year to cover tasks related to the care, health or education of their children, spouses or dependants. All employees are entitled to permanent, unpaid sick leave; However, after six months, the employer may dismiss the employee on the recommendation of a physician for medical reasons if the employee does not recover from the illness. The decision to dismiss the employee is discretionary and an employee may remain on sick leave after the six-month period has expired. Employees on short-term contracts are entitled to sick leave plus full pay for 26 days and then half the salary for the next 26 days. Workers with long-term contracts, on the other hand, are entitled to sick leave plus full pay for the first three months of leave and then half the salary for the next three months of sick leave. We assume that the exemption regulations exempt an employer who has been classified as financially distressed by the Labour Commissioner or an employment officer from the application of the termination periods (i.e., 60 days` notice to the employment office and 30 days` notice to the employee). The legal provisions on minimum wage and conditions of employment prescribe minimum benefits for sheltered workers. However, the statutory provisions on minimum wage and conditions of employment do not apply to workers working for the Government of the Republic of Zambia, a local authority, management employees and employees whose wages and conditions of employment are regulated through collective bargaining, or to workers whose employment contracts offer conditions better than the prescribed minimum conditions. There are no labour law regulations for a particular category of workers. In general, non-compete obligations are enforceable only if they are proportionate and are intended to protect trade secrets or links that are actually threatened (see Patel v. Patel (1985) ZM).

Such rules do not exist in labour law. However, the Zambian Constitution generally guarantees and protects the right to privacy and provides that a person may not be subjected to the search of his person or property or the entry of others into his premises without his consent. In addition, the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act protects employees` private communications from interception. (a) The Constitution of the Republic of Zambia. It is the supreme law of the land and all laws incompatible with the Constitution are null and void. The Labour Code Act provides for the circumstances of dismissal without notice and obliges the employer to pay the wages and other benefits accrued to an employee who has been dismissed for no further reason on the date of dismissal. The employer is also required to provide the placement agent with a written report on the circumstances that led to the dismissal and the reasons for the dismissal. The report must be submitted within four days of release. The implied provisions of the common law are applicable provided that they do not violate the provisions of labour law. 1.3 Do employment contracts require a written form? If not, do employees need to receive certain information in writing? The written contract is required for contracts of six months or more, or for contracts of the External Action Service or for certain tasks which should not be concluded within six months.

A written service contract contains all the information about an employee, employer, salary, workplace, etc. Employers are required to read the terms of the employment contract and explain it to the employee. Employees enter into the contract voluntarily and fully understanding the terms of the contract. The written contract must be signed by the employee or he gives the thumb/finger to signal his consent and consent to the conditions set out therein. This contract is enforceable after triple certification with the competent authority, one copy for each party and a third copy for the competent government body. A written employment contract should not bind an employee`s family. Labour legislation does not expressly provide for such rights. With regard to data protection and data protection, the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 21/2009 protects employees` private communications from interception.

In addition, the Constitution of Zambia generally guarantees and protects the right to privacy and provides that a person may not be subjected to the search of his person or property or the entry of others into his premises by other persons on his premises without his consent. In any case, the right to privacy may be restricted with the consent of the employee and depending on the agreement with the employer. The exemption regulations exempt expatriate employees with short-term contracts from a legal right to tips. In addition, it exempts executives with short-term contracts. According to the Labour Code Act 2019, there are only two types of contracts, namely oral and written contracts. The Labour Code does not require contracts to be in writing, unless required to do so by this Or any other Act. Even in the case of oral contracts, the law prescribes the preparation of a „certificate of service“ in duplicate, which must be given to an employee within one month of the beginning of the contract. The protocol to the contract contains: the name and sex of the employee and his nationality; the name, address and occupation of the employer; the date of recruitment of the worker and the quality at which he or she is to be employed; the nature of the contract; the place of engagement; the rate of pay and additional benefits in kind; and payment intervals.

However, an employer may adapt future employment contracts to the Court of Auditors as amended by the derogations. Zambian labour law prohibits casualisation. Casualization is defined as „an employment practice in which an employer hires or reinstates an employee temporarily or temporarily without good reason in order to perform permanent work that, without justifiable reason, results in a difference in the treatment of an employee compared to full-time employment or any other class of employees of the employer; or that result in the employer being able to evade its obligations or deprive an employee of its rights under this Act. If an employee is infected with the virus, he must use his sick leave in accordance with article 38 of the Labour Code Act. Employees on short-term contracts (12 months or less) have a total of 52 sick days, the first 26 days at full pay and the next 26 days at half pay. Employees with long-term contracts (12 months or more, or a specific task contract such as a project-related contract) have a total of six months of vacation days, the first three months at full salary and the next three months at half salary. .