Art. 17 al.1 of the EA. A contract of employment for a specified piece of work, without reference to time, or for a specified period of time shall, unless otherwise lawfully terminated, terminate when the work specified in the contract is completed or the period of time for which the contract was made expires.

No statutory limitation.

No maximum number specified in the legislation. However, under the Code of Good Practice, an employer who fails to renew a fixed-term contract, when a reasonable expectation that it will be renewed is held by the employee, is deemed to have dismissed the employee.

No statutory limitation.

Art. 20 EA : the probatory period can not exceed three months in the case of unskilled employees, and twelve months in the case of skilled employees.

See the art 20-2 EA. In the absence of specific provisions expressly stipulated in the contract, the probationary period may be terminated at any time without notice by the will of one of the parties.

Although there is no general provision in the EA on the obligation to give the employee the reasons for dismissal, this obligation is implied from several provisions of the Code of Good Practices on Dismissal.

See art. 25 al.2 EA. when an employer forms an intention to terminate contracts of employment for the purpose of reducing the size of his work force, he shall forthwith give written notice of that intention to the Commissioner and to every employee to be or likely to be directly affected by the reduction.

Art 19 (a) EA. If the employee is guilty of serious misconduct.
The art 26 al.4 of the EA provides that the term "serious misconduct"means:
wilful disobedience of lawful and/or reasonable orders given by the employer; wilful, express or implied, misrepresentation by the employee in respect of his skills or qualifications; habitual or wilful neglect of duties; acts of theft, misappropriation or wilful dishonesty against the employer, another employee, or a customer or client of the employer; acts of violence;
damage caused wilfully or by gross negligence to movable or immovable property of the employer; wilful disclosure of confidential information or trade secrets where such disclosure is or is likely to be detrimental to the interests of the employer; inability to carry out normal duties, due to the consumption of alcohol or habit-forming drugs; wilful refusal to obey or comply with any safety rules or practices for the prevention or control of accidents or diseases; consistent work performance below average despite at least two written warnings; offering or receiving bribes; persistent absence from work without permission provides that no contract of employment may be terminate arbitrarily, without due process and just cause.

See the art.23 of the EA. General prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of marital status; filing a complaint against the employer; race; colour; sex; political opinion; social origin; trade union membership and activities; fulfilling state duties; ethnic origin, age.

Art.116 EA. Prohibition of serving notice of termination of contract of employment during maternity leave.

The Code of Good Practice provides that harassment of an employee whether of a sexual nature or ortherwise, constitutes a form of discrimination.

Art. 116 LC. Prohibition of dismissal during maternity leave.

See the art. 18 al.5 of the EA : Notice of intention to terminate the contract shall be in writing. However, it may also be given orally by either party if he is illiterate.

Sec. 18 EA. Termination of contracts of employment for unspecified periods of time
"(...) (2) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the contract of employment, the minimum length of any notice referred to in subsection (1)(b) shall-
(a) where the wages are payable in respect of any period exceeding a day but less than a week, be one day; or
(b) where the wages are payable in respect of any period not less than a week, be equal in length to the period:
Provided that-
(i) where an employee whose wages are payable in respect of any period not less than a week but less than two weeks have been in continuous employment for two or more but less than five years, the minimum length of notice shall be two weeks;
(ii) where an employee whose wages are payable in respect of any period not less than a week but less than a month has been in continuous employment for five or more but less than 10 years, the minimum length of notice shall be one month; or
(iii) where an employee whose wages are payable in respect of any period exceeding a day has been in continuous employment for 10 or more years, the minimum length of notice shall be six weeks.
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), where the contract of employment provides for a minimum length of any notice such as is referred to in subsection (1)(b) which is longer than the appropriate minimum length prescribed by subsection (2), the minimum length of any such notice shall be that for which the contract of employment provides.
(4) Nothing in this section shall prohibit either party to a contract of employment from waiving his entitlement to notice in any particular case. (...)"

Art 19 a) of the EA. either party to a contract of employment may-
(a) terminate the contract without giving such notice by paying to the other party a sum equal to the amount of basic pay which would otherwise have accrued to the employee during the minimum lawful period of such notice.

See art.25 - 2 of the EA: when an employer forms an intention to terminate contracts of employment for the purpose of reducing the size of his work force, he shall forthwith give written notice of that intention to the Commissioner.

A "Commissioner" means in the EA the Commissioner of Labour referred to in section 3 or any person acting in or lawfully performing the functions of his office.

See the art. 25-2 of the EA : when an employer forms an intention to terminate contracts of employment for the purpose of reducing the size of his work force, he shall forthwith give written notice of that intention to the Commissioner.

See art. 25-1 of the EA: Where an employer terminates contracts of employment for the purpose of reducing the size of his work force, he shall do so in respect of each category of employee, wherever reasonably practicable, in accordance with the principle commonly known as first-in-last-out:Provided that in so doing the employer shall take into account (i) the need for the efficient operation of the undertaking in question; and (ii) the ability, experience, skill and occupational qualifications of each employee
concerned.

See art. 25 al.3 of the EA
Where contracts of employment have been terminated for the purpose of reducing the size of a work force, the employer shall, if he again seeks employees in the occupations to which those contracts related, give priority of engagement, to such extent as is reasonably practicable, to those persons whose contracts of employment were so terminated: Provided that this subsection shall not apply where the employer seeks such employees
more than six months immediately after the contracts in question were terminated.

Art. 27 al.1 EA provides that without prejudice to section 30, on the termination of a contract of employment, whether by reason of the death or retirement of the employee or for any other reason, the employer shall pay to an employee who has been in continuous employment with him for 60 months or more, a severance benefit.

The article "Amendment to Employment Act and potential impact" of the Botswana gazette of October 20, 2010 provides that "When an employee spends a certain amount of time with an employer, that time reflects as an investment in knowledge on the part of the employer. It is true that in the past many employees chose to remain with an employer mainly because they hoped to get severance benefit after some time. Now the need to delay exit based on this reasoning will cease to exist and employers will find themselves having to re-train and re-orientate people more often as people leave."
Note: Before, only an employee who has been in continous employment with an employer for 60 months or more was eligible for the severance pay. New: Now, the Amendment to Employment Act and potential impact of October 20, 2010 provides that an employee who has been in continous employment with an employer for less than 60 months can benefit from the severance payment, but this severance payment is proportional to the length of service.

The law provides for a right to severance pay (art. 27 al. 1 EA) for worker who has completed 60 months of continuous service. However, there are no statutory rules on the amount of SP.
New: The Amendment to Employment Act and potential impact of October 20, 2010 now provides that an employee who has been in continous employment with an employer for less than 60 months can benefit from the severance payment, but this severance payment is proportional to the length of service.