Zambian Labour Laws on Verbal Contract

An employee can bring an action for discrimination, unlawful dismissal or breach of contract by the employer. In addition to implied legal provisions, depending on the nature of the contract, a number of implied common law clauses may also be included in employment contracts. One of these terms is the implicit concept of mutual trust between employer and employee (see Standard Chartered Bank Plc v. Nair [Appeal 14/2019], unreported). An employment contract does not require the written form. However, the employment contract must be in writing if it is valid for a period of six months or more. An employee`s employment contract terminates when the employee refuses to be transferred to another employer and that employee is entitled to severance pay; this is done in accordance with article 29 of the Labour Code Act. According to the common law, the amount of damages for the wrongful termination of the employment contract depends on the notice period. The indemnity is equal to the salary for the notice period.

However, there are exceptions. The case of Swarp Spinning Mills Limited v. Sebastian Chileshe and Others, cited by Mr Lukangaba, clearly shows what some of the exceptions are to the normal level of damage. Are there specific rules for the classification of employees/contractors? Article 73 of the Labour Code provides for the payment of bonuses at the end of a long-term employment contract amounting to at least 25 per cent of the employee`s basic salary. A long-term employment contract is defined as a contract that exceeds the period of twelve (12) months, or a contract for a specific task or project over a certain period of time with termination determined by the parties. The Employment Exemption Regulations exempt the employer from paying tips, as required by section 73 above: An employee who is employed by the same employer 24 months before the start of the leave is entitled to full pay if the maternity allowance is not payable under the contract. Due to the improved protection of workers` rights and, more generally, the improvement in conditions of employment 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. § 28 Abs. 1 of the Labour Code Act prohibits an employer from transferring an employment contract without the written consent of the employee, without informing the employee`s representative of the proposed transfer and without the consent of an authorized representative on the details of the transfer of the contract by another.

This position of the law was set out in Lazarous Munsanje And 63 Others v. Zambian Breweries PLC, Zambian Bottlers Limited & Copperbelt Bottling Company Limited-Appeal No. 91 of 2013, MAMBILIMA, C.J., as follows: There are various implicit legal conditions under the Labour Code. For example, an oral contract is automatically considered extended for the same period for a period of one month if an employee continues the employment relationship beyond the period of the initial month. If an employee is a party to an oral contract and there is no agreement to the contrary between the parties, the period of the employee`s oral contract is determined by the period on the basis of which the employee`s salary is calculated – for example, if the salary is calculated weekly, the contract is considered a weekly contract. However, unless otherwise agreed, the contract is deemed to be a daily contract if wages are calculated on the basis of a period of less than one day. 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 without further delay on the date of dismissal. .