There are two main laws that govern employment in Zambia - the Employment Act and the Industrial Labour Relations Act. The Employment Act covers employment relationships and terms while the Labour Act covers employer-employee relations, remuneration, and industrial relations. Discrimination is prohibited based on attributes such as race, sex, religion, and political views. The Factories Act provides for workplace safety and health standards that employers must implement. Collective bargaining and union representation are regulated by the Industrial and Labour Relations Act, which requires workplaces with over 25 employees to recognize unions.

1. Employment discrimination and workplace safety-Zambia
There are two pieces of legislations which regulate employment relations in Zambia.
The employment Act1 and the Industrial Labour relations Act2. The Employment Act
is a piece of Legislation which among other things prescribes the employment
relationships. While the labour Act prescribes employer/employee relations,
remuneration and industrial relations.
Discrimination is explicitly outlawed in the Labour relations Act. The Act states that,
“No employer shall terminate the services of an employee or impose any other
penalty or disadvantage on any employee, on grounds of race, sex, marital status,
religion, political opinion or affiliation, tribal extraction or status of the employee”.3
Workplace safety Zambia
The Factories Act4 provides for occupational safety and health working environment
for Zambian employees in employment. The employer is responsible for the safety of
employees at the workplace. The Act lays out the general rules and regulations that
every employer in Zambia has to implement at their workplaces. This concept is very
important and a special department under the Ministry of Labour and Social Security
has been created – the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) – the
OSHA focus on the safety and wellbeing of employees in the workplaces.
Governance, relationships employers/employees and Collective Bargaining
The legislation for the governance of employee and employer relationships is
provided in the Industrial and Labour Relations Act. The Act also provides the legal
framework for establishing labour unions. The Act makes provision for collective
bargaining, industrial relations and the establishment and operation of the Industrial
Relations Court. Conditions of service for sectors and categories of workers without
trade union representation including wage determinations are covered under the
Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Act5 through statutory instruments.
The Industrial and Labour Relations Act provide the process of Collective bargaining.
The legislation provides that every employer with more than 25 employees require
having labour union representation. The employer and the workers representation
are required to enter into a recognition agreement. The recognition is the legal
document recognising the labour union as the employees bargaining partner. The
agreement regulates the collective relationship of the employer and the labour
unions.
1 Cap 268 of the laws of Zambia
2 Act No. 8 of 2008
3 Labour Act Chapter 269
4 Factories Act Cap 441
5 Minimum wages Chapter 276

2. Law / Regulation Description Perceivedtobe in
favour of
Perceivedtobe
against
MinimumWagesAct of
2011 / 2012
Stipulatesthe minimum
wage payable to
protectedworkerswho
have no Union
representation
Employees&
Government
Employers,whose
argumentisthat the
amountis toohigh
and increasesthe cost
of doingbusiness
National Pension
Scheme Act40 of 19966
All workersare
requiredbyLaw to
make 5% of theirgross
salaryto NAPSA,an
equal amountshould
come from the
employer
Employees&
Government
Employers,whose
argumentisthat the
paymentincreasesthe
cost of doingbusiness
Workers’
CompensationActNo
10 of 19997
Employerspayassessed
chargesto WCFCB.
Aimedatcompensating
employeeswho
contract diseasesorget
injuredwhileonduty
Employees&
Government
Employers,whose
argumentisthat the
obligationincreases
the cost of doing
business
FactoriesActNo 2 of
1966
Focusof occupational
Healthand Safety
standardswhich
employersare
expectedtoobserve in
the work place
Employeesand
Government
Employers,whose
argumentisthat the
obligationincreases
the cost of doing
business
Employment
(Amendment) ActNo
15 of 2015
No employee shouldbe
dismissed without
givingreasonsforthe
action
Employees Employersnotat
libertytoterminate an
employee’s
employmentcontract
for certainattitudes
whichare difficultto
documentorinclude
inthe Code of
Discipline.
Employee Hiring Training and Termination
6 NPS Act 1996
7 Compensation Act 1999

3. Section 12 of the employment Act prescribes the minimum age for employment. It
states that it is a criminal offence to employ a person who is below the age of fifteen
years. In addition, every employee who has worked for six months continuously is
entitled to a vacation with full pay at a rate of two days for one month’s service
(Section 15(1)). Section 15A provides that every female employee who has worked
for at least two years continuously is entitled to maternity leave of three months with
full pay. An employer is not allowed to terminate an employee’s services just
because she is pregnant (Section 15B). To do so would be an offence punishable by
law. The law recognizes oral contracts of service (Section 17). This means that a
contract of employment can be entered into verbally. That notwithstanding, Section
24 obliges every employer in this section.
References
1. Employment Act, Cap 268 of the Laws of Zambia
2. Factories Act, Cap 441 of the laws of Zambia
3. Industrial and Labour Relations Act, Cap 269 of the Laws of Zambia
4. Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Act Cap 276 of the Laws of
Zambia
5. National Pension Scheme Act No. 40 of 1996
6. Workers Compensation Act No. of 1999 Cap 271
.