< REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA EMPLOYMENT CODE ACT No. 3 OF 2019
33. Repatriation
Where an employee has been brought from a place within the Republic to a place of employment by an employer, or by an employment agency acting on behalf of the employer, the employer shall pay the prescribed expenses of repatriating the employee to the place from which the employee was brought, on the—
(a) expiry of the period of service that is specified in the contract of employment;
(b) termination of the contract of employment by reason of the inability, refusal or neglect of the employer to comply with all or any of the provisions of the contract;
(c) termination of the contract of employment by agreement between the parties, unless the contract otherwise provides; or
(d) termination of the contract of employment by reason of the inability of the employee to perform the normal duties under the contract by reason of illness or accident not occasioned by the employee’s own fault.
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34. Employer to provide transport on repatriation
(1) An employer may provide transport or pay for the cost of transport to repatriate an employee entitled to repatriation under section 33.
(2) An employer shall, where that employer provides transport to an employee, take all necessary measures to ensure that the vehicle or vessel provided by that employer is suitable for thenpurpose as prescribed.
(3) In the case of a long journey, an employer shall make necessary arrangements for the health, safety and welfare of the employee and the employee’s family during the journey.
(4) An employer who fails to comply with this section, or with a lawful order or direction of an authorised officer is liable to an administrative penalty.
35. Paid Public Holidays Cap. 272
(1) The Minister may, by statutory instrument, designate a public holiday under the Public Holidays Act as a paid public holiday and an employee shall be entitled to a holiday with full pay if the employee is not absent from duty without the permission of the employer or for a reasonable excuse, either on the day immediately preceding or on the day following the public holiday.
(2) Despite subsection (1), an employee or class of employees shall, where by virtue of any agreement or custom it is normal for an employee or class of employees to work on a day declared to be a paid public holiday, be entitled to payment of wages at a rate that may be agreed under a collective agreement, contract of employment or as prescribed.
36. Annual leave
(1) An employee, other than a temporary or casual employee, who remains in continuous employment with the same employer for a period of twelve consecutive months shall be granted, during each subsequent period of twelve months while the employee remains in continuous employment, annual leave on full pay at a rate of at least two days per month.
(2) The leave referred to under subsection
(1) is in addition to any public holiday or weekly rest period, whether fixed by any law, agreement or custom.
(3) An employer shall in consultation with an employee, at the beginning of each year prepare an annual leave plan specifying when the leave under this section is to be taken by employees inbthe undertaking.
(4) Where an employer does not grant an employee leave, or an employer grants the employee leave less than the total leave due under this section, the employer shall pay the employee wages in respect of the leave still due at the end of the period of twelve consecutive months.
(5) Despite subsection (1), an employer may, with the agreement of the employee, pay wages to the employee in lieu of any annual leave due to the employee under that subsection, and if any leave has been accumulated by an employee whose contract of employment has terminated or expired, the employer shall pay wages to the employee for the period of the accumulated leave.
37. Annual leave benefits formula
Subject to an agreement between the parties which is more favourable to an employee, an employee shall be paid annual leave benefits based on the formula as set out in the Fifth Schedule.
38. Sick leave and medical discharge
(1) An employee who is unable to perform that employee’s normal duties due to illness or injury not occasioned by the employee’s default shall notify the employer of the illness or injury and proceed on sick leave on production of a medical certificate from a health practitioner.
(2) Where an employee is incapacitated due to illness or injury not occasioned by the employee’s default, the employee is entilted to sick leave under subsection (1), and—
(a) an employee on a short-term contract shall be paid full pay for the equivalent of twenty-six working days of the sick leave and thereafter, half pay for the equivalent of the next twenty-six working days of the sick leave; or
(b) an employee on a long-term contract shall be paid full pay during the first three months of the sick leave and thereafter, half pay for the next three months of the sick leave.
(3) Despite subsection (2), this section shall not apply where the incapacity arises from an occupational related accident or disease as provided for under the Workers Compesation Act, 2019; and
(4) Despite subsection (2), the wages payable to an employee under this section shall be reduced by the amount of any compensation received by the employee during the period of incapacity under the Workers Compensation Act, 2019.
(5) An employer may, on the recommendation of a medical doctor, discharge an employee on medical grounds where the employee does not recover from the illness or injury, under subsection (1), after six months of the date of the illness or injury, and the employee’s entitlement to sick leave shall cease.
(6) An employee whose employment is terminated on medical grounds under subsection (4) is, in addition to any other accrued benefits, entitled to a lump sum of not less than three months’ basic pay for each completed year of service.
(7) Subject to the provisions of any other written law, an employer shall not terminate a contract of an employee while any of the provisions of this section apply unless otherwise agreed between the employee and employer.
(8) Despite subsection (6), an agreement between the parties to a contract of employment shall not be less favourable than the provisions of this section.
39. Compassionate leave
An employee is entitled to compassionate leave with full pay for a period of at least twelve days in a calendar year where that employee has—
(a) lost a spouse, parent, child or dependant; or
(b) a justifiable compassionate ground.
40. Family responsibility leave
(1) An employee who has worked for a period of six months or more, shall be granted leave of absence with pay for a period not exceeding seven days in a calendar year to enable the employee to nurse a sick spouse, child or dependant, except that the employer may, before granting that leave, require the employee to produce a certificate from a medical doctor certifying that the spouse, child or dependant is sick and requires special attention.
(2) An employee is entitled to three paid leave days per year to cover responsibilities related to the care, health or education for that employee’s child, spouse or dependant.
(3) The days taken as leave under this section shall not be cumulative or deducted from the employee’s accrued leave days.
41. Maternity leave
(1) Subject to an agreement between an employer and an employee which is more favourable to the employee than the provisions of this section or a written law providing for maternity benefits, a female employee is, on production of a medical certificate, entitled to fourteen weeks maternity leave to be taken—
(a) immediately preceding the expected date of delivery, except that at least six weeks maternity leave shall be taken immediately after delivery; or
(b) after the delivery.
(2) The maternity leave under subsection (1) shall, in the case of a multiple birth be extended for a further period of four weeks.
(3) Where a female employee remains in continuous employment with the same employer for a period of twenty-four months immediately preceding the beginning of leave under this section, the maternitynleave under subsection (1) shall be with full pay where the maternity benefits are not paid under a written law providing for maternity benefits.
(4) Where there is more than one employer from whom, or a third-party scheme from which, a female employee is entitled to claimmaternity benefits, an employer who pays the maternity benefit is entitled to recover from the other employer or third-party scheme, as a civil debt—
(a) in the case of another employer, a contribution which shall bear a proportion to the amount of the maternity benefit paid to the employee as the number of days the employee worked for the other employer; or
(b) in the case of a third-party scheme, the reimbursement of the maternity benefit as may be prescribed.
(5) Despite subsection (1), a female employee who gives birth to a premature child is entitled to an extension of the maternity leave for a period that shall be recommended by a medical doctor.
(6) A female employee who remains in continuous employment with the same employer for a period of twelve months and suffers a miscarriage during the third trimester of pregnancy or bears a still born child is entitled to six weeks leave on full pay immediately after the miscarriage or still birth, except that the miscarriage or still birth shall be duly certified by a medical officer.
(7) On expiry of a female employee’s maternity leave under subsection (1), the employee shall return to the job which the employee held immediately before the maternity leave or to a reasonably suitable job on terms and conditions not less favourable than those which applied to the employee before the maternity leave.
(8) Afemale employee may, immediately on expiry of maternity leave before resuming duties and with the approval of the employer, proceed on sick, annual, compassionate or other leave to which the employee is entitled.
(9) A female employee shall give notice in writing as may be reasonable in the circumstances, to the employer, of that employee’s intention to proceed on maternity leave on a specified date and to return to work thereafter.
(10) Afemale employee shall not forfeit that employee’s annual leave entitlement under section 37 because of having taken maternity leave.
(11) In this section, “premature child” means a child born before thirty-seven weeks of gestation counting from the first day of the last menstrual cycle.
42. Fitness to resume work
A female employee shall not resume work within six weeks of the date of the delivery of the employee’s child, unless a medical doctor certifies that the employee is fit to resume work.
43. Protection against dismissal connected with maternity leave Subject to section 50, an employer shall not, as a result of an employee’s pregnancy or maternity leave—
(a) terminate that employee’s employment;
(b) impose any penalty or disadvantage the employee; or
(c) adversely change a condition of employment in respect of that employee.
44. Protection from harmful work
(1) An employer shall not require a female employee tobperform work in excess of a normal day’s work, two months before the employee’s estimated date of delivery.
(2) Subject to a recommendation by a health practitioner, a female employee who is pregnant shall not perform duties—
(a) requiring continuous standing; or
(b) that may be detrimental to that employee’s health and that of the employee’s unborn child.
(3) An employer shall, where a pregnant or nursing employee performs work that is detrimental to the employee’s health or that of the employee’s child or unborn child, offer the employee suitable alternative employment, if practicable, on terms and conditions that are not less favourable than that employee’s terms and conditions of employment.
(4) An employer shall exempt a female employee from working at night, if the employee is—
(a) pregnant and in the third trimester of pregnancy; or
(b nursing a child who is aged six months or below.
45. Nursing breaks
(1) A female employee who is nursing that employee’s unweaned child, is entitled each working day, at a time convenient to the employee and having regard to the needs of the child, to at least—
(a two nursing breaks of thirty minutes each; or
(b) one nursing break of one hour.
(2) The nursing break specified in subsection (1), shall
(a) be for a period of six months from the date of delivery; and
(b) not be deducted from the number of paid hours of work of that female employee.
(3) Despite subsection (1), an employer and a female employee may enter into an agreement which is not less favourable than the provisions of this section.
46. Paternity leave
Subject to an agreement between an employer and an employee which is more favourable to the employee than the provisions of this section, a male employee who remains in continuous employment with the same employer for a period of twelve months immediately preceding the beginning of leave under this section is entitled to at least five continuous working days paternity leave, if —
(a) the employee is the father of the child;
(b) the employee has submitted to the employee’s employer a birth record of the child; and
(c) the leave is taken within seven days of the birth of a child.
47. Mother’s day
A female employee is entitled to one day’s absence from work each month without having to produce a medical certificate or give reason to the employer.
48. Forced leave
(1) An employer shall, where the employer sends an employee on forced leave, pay the employee basic pay during thebperiod of the forced leave.
(2) The Minister may, by statutory instrument, prescribe the circumstances under which an employee is required to be sent on forced leave.
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