The new labour amendment repealed section 12(4a) of the Labour Act which allowed both employers and employees to terminate a permanent contract of employment or a contract for a period of two or more years upon giving three months’ notice. This previous position permitted employers to terminate contracts of employment without any fault on the part of the employee provided that a three months’ notice is given. In terms of the amendment only employees are allowed to terminate permanent contracts or contracts of two or more years on notice upon resignation or retirement.
The fact that employers are no longer permitted to terminate permanent contracts of employment on notice does not mean that such contract cannot be terminated. The following options are still available to the employer:
a. Termination of employment for misconduct. Such termination to be lawful must be done in terms of a registered employment code of conduct for that industry. In the absence of a registered employment code of conduct, then the model code must be used as a guide.
b. Mutual Termination can also be utilised by both parties. This is an agreement between an employer and an employee which sets out the terms of an amicable separation.
i. for the purposes of exporting lithium samples outside Zimbabwe for assaying; or
c. Retrenchment is also an available option. Retrenchment allows employers to terminate a contract of employment for the purpose of reducing expenditure/costs and adapting to technological change, among other things.
DISCLAIMER : This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. This article is not intended to create a legal practitioner – client relationship. You should not take action based on this information without consulting one of our legal practitioners.
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Read the original publication at Coghlan, Welsh and Guest.