津巴布韦 雇佣指南

In Zimbabwe, the employment contract can be open-ended or fixed-term. If the duration is not specified, the contract is deemed to be indefinite. Fixed-term contracts can only be used in cases of casual work, seasonal work or for the performance of a specific service. Hiring fixed-term contract workers for tasks of permanent nature is not allowed.

When a casual worker works for a particular employer for more than six weeks in four consecutive months, he or she is deemed to have entered into an indefinite employment contract.

There are no specific regulations on employee reference and background checks by employers. However, they are commonplace in many industries.

For a casual or seasonal worker, the probation period is one day. For other cases of full-time employment, the standard probation period is three months.

The law does not define normal working hours for adult employees but the common standard for professionals is eight hours per day and 40 hours per week.

Employees are entitled to 24 consecutive hours of rest per week. For non-shift employees, the 24-hour rest period is taken at the weekend (Saturday and Sunday).

When employees are required to work beyond their normal working hours, the minimum overtime rate is 150% of their regular wage. When employees work on a holiday, they are usually compensated 200% of their regular wage.

The minimum notice period requirement depends on the period of the contract:

• Indefinite or over two years: three months
• Over one year but less than two years: two months
• Over six months but less than one year: one month
• Over three months but less than six months: two weeks
• Less than 3threemonths/casual work/seasonal work: one day

An employment contract can be terminated by giving notice in the following scenarios:

• According to the terms of the employment code
• Mutual agreement in writing
• Employment of the employee based on a fixed-term contract
• Pursuant to retrenchment

An employer can dismiss an employee when the employee has committed an act of misconduct or when the employee has exceeded a total of 180 days of sick leave in one year.

In the case of dismissal for misconduct, the employer must adhere to certain procedures. In general, termination procedures typically require that employees be given a chance to be heard through fair disciplinary proceedings that are both procedurally and substantively just before their employment contract is terminated.

An employer may retrench its employees for business-related reasons such as restructuring, redundancy or technological advances. In the case of retrenchment, the employer is required to provide work councils or comparable organizations with written notification outlining the reasons and specifics of the affected employees.

There are no specific regulations prohibiting such covenants, but they must be reasonable in their scope and duration.

According to the Labor Act, only retrenched employees are eligible for severance pay. This consists of one month’s salary for every two years of service. Employees terminated due to misconduct or incapacity are not eligible for severance pay.

The Cyber and Data Protection Act is the main legal framework in Zimbabwe concerning data. In essence, the law requires all businesses to adhere to data protection and privacy principles when collecting data such as their customers’ or employees’ personal information. According to the law, employers must obtain written consent from their employees before collecting any sensitive personal information.

Unless otherwise specified, wages should be paid at regular intervals on working days at or near the place of employment directly to the employee. A cash-paying employee should not receive compensation in the form of promissory notes, vouchers, coupons, liquor, etc.

Generally speaking, employers are not permitted to deduct wages unless authorized by law. The total amount of permissible deductions from an employee’s compensation in any pay period cannot exceed 25% of the employee’s gross compensation for that period.

All remuneration must be accompanied by a written statement containing the following information:

• The name of the employer and employee
• The amount of remuneration and the period for which it is paid
• The portion of remuneration representing any bonus or allowance
• Any deductions
• The net amount received by the employee

Employees are entitled to 30 days or one month of leave after one year of continuous employment. The accrual is capped at 90 days. Weekends and public holidays are included in the vacation leave days.

Zimbabwe celebrates 10 national holidays. Typically, the Easter holiday spans four days. According to Zimbabwean law, the president retains the discretionary authority to declare one-time or recurring national holidays. When employees are required to work on official holidays, they are entitled to compensation equal to 200% of their regular salary.

An employee is entitled to 90 days of fully paid sick leave upon request, supported by a certificate signed by a licensed physician. If an employee has exhausted their 90 days of sick leave in a given service year, they may request an additional 90 days of sick leave at half pay. Again, the request must be accompanied by a certificate signed by a licensed medical professional.

During any 12-month service period, an employer may terminate an employee’s employment if his or her sick leave exceeds 180 days.

Female employees who have worked for an employer for a year are entitled to 98 days of fully paid maternity leave. They can start their maternity leave anytime between 45 to 21 days before their expected delivery date. Paid maternity leave is granted once every 24 months, calculated from the date of the last paid maternity leave. Furthermore, the law limits a female employee to take maternity leave no more than three times while employed by a single employer.

In addition to maternity leave, female employees are also entitled to paid nursing breaks for the duration of breastfeeding, or up to six months, whichever is shorter. These breaks must be at least one hour or two 30-minute breaks.

Employees are entitled to 12 calendar days of paid special leave for immediate family-related personal matters, such as the death of a spouse, parent, child, legal dependent or on any other justifiable compassionate ground.