Employment
Employment Code Act 3 of 2019 consolidating contracts, leave and separation
The Employment Code Act 3 of 2019 repealed and consolidated several older statutes, standardising contract categories, introducing expanded maternity and paternity entitlements, and requiring gratuity on fixed-term contracts. Disputes go to the Industrial Relations Division of the High Court.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — The Labour Commissioner conciliates; the Industrial Relations Division of the High Court determines; appeals to the Court of Appeal.
- Deadline — Unfair dismissal complaint: within 3 years to the Industrial Relations Division
- Deadline — Redundancy: minimum 30 days' notice and statutory redundancy pay
Governing law
- Employment Code Act 3 of 2019
- Industrial and Labour Relations ActChapter 269
- Workers' Compensation Act 10 of 1999
In practice
The 2019 Code's gratuity requirement for fixed-term contracts significantly changed Zambian employment practice, since it removed the cost advantage of rolling short contracts that had been used to avoid permanent-employment obligations.