▶ Since 2019, significant updates have occurred in Zambian labour legislation, particularly with the enactment of the Employment Code Act No. 3 of 2019 (ECA), which consolidated and replaced several prior laws, including the Employment Act, Chapter 268, the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Act, Chapter 276, and other related statutes.
▶ Statutory Instruments issued under the repealed Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Act (e.g., MWCEGO 2011, MWCESO 2011, and their 2012 amendments) remain in force where consistent with the ECA, until replaced.
▶ The Industrial and Labour Relations Act, Chapter 269, remains in force and has not seen significant amendments since 2017, based on available information.
▻ The most recent version of the Zambian Industrial and Labour Relations Act (consolidated) is also available on the National Assembly of Zambia's webpage: https://www.parliament.gov.zm/node/1224

▶ The ECA 2019 does not apply in relation to:
(a) persons in the Defence Force, except locally engaged civilian employees;
(b) members of the Zambia Police Service;
(c) members of the Zambia Correctional Service; and
(d) persons in the Zambia Security Intelligence Service.
(2) The Minister may, after consultation with the Tripartite Consultative Labour Council, by statutory instrument, exempt any person or class of persons, or any trade, industry or undertaking
from any of the provisions of this Act.
▷ Inclusion:
→ Under section 3 of the ECA 2019, "casual workers" are included in the definition of “employee” since the 2015 Amendment.
▻ "Casual employee" means a person employed to perform casual work and whose terms of engagement provide for payment at an hourly rate, including casual loading, payable at the end of each day, and is not engaged for a period exceeding 24 hours at a time."
▷ Exclusion:
→ Under section 3 of ECA 2019, independent contractors and piece workers are not considered employees as per the definition of employee.
▻ "Employee" means a person who, in return for wages, or commission, enters into a contract of employment and includes a casual employee and a person employed under a contract of apprenticeship made in accordance with the Apprenticeship Act, but does not include an independent contractor or a person engaged to perform piece work".
→ Provisions concerning bankrupt employers' exemption from paying a redundancy package do not apply to casual employees, temporary employees, employees engaged for a long term, and the redundancy coincides with the expiration of that term and employees on probation (§ 56(9) of ECA 2019).

▶ The Industrial and Labour Relations Act (ILRA) does not apply to:
(a) Defence Force;
(b) Police Force;
(c) Prison Service;
(d) Security Intelligence Service; and
(e) Judges, registrars of the court, magistrates and local court justices. (§ 2(1) of ILRA)

▶ The Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (General) Order 2010 [MWCEGO], which contains provisions on maternity leave, redundancy benefits and summary dismissals, does not apply to employees;
(a) of the Government of the Republic of Zambia;
(b) of a local authority;
(c) engaged in domestic service;
(d) in any occupation where wages and conditions of employment are regulated· through the process of collective bargaining conducted under the Industrial and Labour Relations Cap. 269 Act, or where employee-employer relationships are governed by specific employment contracts attested by a proper officer, and such conditions shall not be less favourable than the provisions of this Order;
(e) in management; and
(I) in a sector for which the Minister, by statutory instrument, has prescribed the minimum wage.

Since 2019, significant updates have occurred in Zambian labour legislation, particularly with the enactment of the Employment Code Act No. 3 of 2019 (ECA), which consolidated and replaced several prior laws, including the Employment Act, Chapter 268, the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Act, Chapter 276, and other related statutes.

→ Under section 3 of ECA 2019: “long-term contract” means a contract of service for—
(a) a period exceeding twelve months, renewable for a further term; or
(b) the performance of a specific task or project to be undertaken over a specified period of time, and whose termination is fixed in advance by both parties.

→ Under section 19 (1)of ECA 2019: A contract of employment may take one of the following forms:
(a) a permanent contract;
(b) a contract for a long-term;
(c) a contract for a specific task;
(d) a contract for a probationary period not exceeding 3 months.
(2) Subject to sections 52 and 53, a permanent contract may be terminated by either party.
(3) A contract for a specified period of time shall automatically expire on the date specified for its expiration and notice shall not be required for its expiration at that time, except that expiration before the specified period shall be done in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
(4) A contract to perform a specific task shall terminate on the completion of the task required without the requirement for a notice of termination by either party.
(5) A contract of employment may provide for a probationary period in accordance with this Act.

→ Sections 20 and 21 of ECA 2019 provide for "Oral contract"
§ 20 - In the absence of any agreement to the contrary, an oral contract of employment shall be a contract for the period by reference to which wages are calculated, except that where wages are calculated by reference to any period of less than a day, then, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, the oral contract shall be a daily contract.
§ 21(1) - A party to an oral contract of employment for a period not exceeding one month shall, where that person continues in employment after the expiry of the term of the contract, be presumed to have entered into a new oral contract for a further period of one month and be subject to the same terms and conditions as those of the expired contract.
(2) This section does not apply to a —
(a) contract expressed to be terminable without notice;
(b) contract specifically expressed to be a long-term contract and not renewable; and
(c) daily contract where the wages are paid daily.

⇔ Note that there is a thin difference between the categories of “casual employee”, “short-term” worker and “temporary employee”.

→ Under section 3 of ECA 2019:
▻ “Short-term” means a period not exceeding twelve months;
▻ “Temporary employment” means employment under a contract of employment where a person is engaged to do relief work in the absence of a substantive employee;
▻ “Casual employee” means a person employed to perform casual work and whose terms of engagement provide for payment at an hourly rate, including casual loading, payable at the end of each day and is not engaged for a period exceeding 24 hours at a time;
▻“Casual work” means work that—
(a) is not permanent in nature; or
(b) is capable of being carried out in a period of less than six months; and
▻“Seasonal employment” means employment under contract of employment where the timing and duration of the contract is influenced by seasonal factors including climate, agricultural or business peak cycle.

There is no maximum number of successive FTCS.
⇔ Note sec. 21 of ECA 2019 provides for the renewal of an oral contract not exceeding 1 month:
§ 21 (1) A party to an oral contract of employment for a period not exceeding one month shall, where that person continues in employment after the expiry of the term of the contract, be presumed to have entered into a new oral contract for a further period of one month and be subject to the same terms and conditions as those of the expired contract.
(2) This section does not apply to a —
(a) contract expressed to be terminable without notice;
(b) contract specifically expressed to be a long-term contract and not renewable; and
(c) daily contract where the wages are paid daily.

→ In addition, section 22 (1) of ECA 2019 requires written contracts: Where an employer engages an employee for a period of six months or more or for a number of working days equivalent to six months or more within a year, the contract of employment shall be in writing.

→ Under section 3 of the ECA 2019, “long-term contract” means a contract of service for a period exceeding twelve months, renewable for a further term (...).

→ under section 27 (1) of ECA 2019: An employee may be employed for a probationary period, not exceeding three months, for the purpose of determining that employee’s suitability for appointment.
→ Under section 27 (5) of ECA 2019: (5) A probationary period under subsection (1) may be extended for a further period not exceeding three months.

→ Under the ECA 2019, "independent contractors" and "piece workers" are excluded from the protection against dismissal (§§ 3 & 19 (4)). In addition, casual employees, temporary employees, employees engaged on a long-term contract or employees serving a period of probation may be excluded from "full protection" against dismissal (§ 54 (3)). Thus, these employees are still entitled to receive notice of termination (§ 53 (2) & § 27 (3)).

▷ Exclusions:
→ Under section 3 of ECA 2019, independent contractors and piece workers are not considered to be employees and thus lack protection against dismissal.
Under section 3 of ECA 2019, “employee” means a person who, in return for wages, or commission, enters into a contract of employment and includes a casual employee and a person employed under a contract of apprenticeship made in accordance with the Apprenticeship Act, but does not include an independent contractor or a person engaged to perform piece work.
→ This exclusion is further reflected under section 19 (4) of ECA 2019, which stipulates that "a contract to perform a specific task shall terminate on the completion of the task required without the requirement for a notice of termination by either party".
→ Exclusion from severance pay: Section 54 (3) of ECA 2019:The severance pay under this section shall not be paid to a casual employee, a temporary employee, an employee engaged on a long-term contract or an employee serving a period of probation.

▷ Partial protection:
→ Right to notification: section 27 (3) of ECA 2019: Where, during the probation period, an employer determines after an assessment that an employee is not suitable for the job, the employer shall terminate the contract of employment by giving the employee at least twenty-four hours’ notice of the termination.
→ under section 53 (2) of ECA 2019: An employer shall, where the contract of employment does not provide for a period of notice, give—
(a) twenty-four hours for a contract of employment not exceeding one month;
(b) fourteen days for a contract of employment of more than one month but not exceeding three months; and
(c) thirty days for a contract of employment of more than three months, except that notice to terminate a contract of employment of more than six months shall be in writing.

→ Section 43 of ECA 2019 expressly prohibits dismissal during pregnancy or 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".

→ Under section 52 of ECA 2019:
(...);
(2) An employer shall not terminate a contract of employment of an employee without a valid reason for the termination connected with the capacity or conduct of the employee or based on the operational requirements of the undertaking.
(3) An employer shall not terminate the contract of employment of an employee for reasons related to an employee’s conduct or performance before the employee is accorded an opportunity to be heard.
(4) An employer shall not terminate a contract of employment of an employee based on reasons relating to—
(a) union membership or participation in union activities outside working hours or, with the consent of the employer, within working hours;
(b) seeking office as, acting or having acted in the capacity of, an employee’s representative;
(c) the filing of a complaint or the participation in proceedings against an employer involving alleged violation of laws or recourse to administrative authorities;
(d) a discriminatory ground under section 5;
(e) family responsibilities relating to taking care of a member of an employee’s immediate family;
(f) absence from work during maternity or paternity leave; or
(g) temporary absence from work during sick leave or injury.

▶ See also Industrial and Labour Relations Act, 1993, (ILRA):
→ Section 5 of the ILRA prohibits the dismissal of employees for exercising the rights recognised under the Act.
(1): Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other written law, and subject to this Act,
(a) every employee shall, as between himself and his employer, have the following rights;
(i) the right to take part in the formation of a trade union;
(ii) the right to be a member of any trade union of his choice;
(b) every eligible employee shall as between himself and his employer, have the following rights:
(i) the right, at any appropriate time, to take part in the activities of the trade union including any activities as, or with a view to becoming, an officer of the trade union and the right to seek election or accept appointment and, if elected or appointed, to hold office as such officer; and
(ii) the right to absent himself from work without leave of the employer for the sole purpose of taking part in the activities of the trade union, including any activities as, or with a view to becoming an officer of the trade union, and the leave of absence though applied for was unreasonably withheld by the employer.
(2) No employer, or any person acting on his behalf shall-
(a) prevent, dismiss, penalise or discriminate against or deter an employee from exercising any of the rights conferred on him by subsection (1);
(b) refuse to engage a person, or dismiss, penalise or discriminate against any employee on the ground that, at the time of applying for an engagement, he was or was not a member of a trade union or of a particular trade union or other organisation of employees; or
(c) dismiss, penalise or discriminate against an employee on the grounds that such employee-
(i) has been or is a complainant or a witness or has given evidence in any proceedings, whether instituted against the employer before the Court or any other court;
(ii) is entitled to a reward, benefit or compensation against the association or the class of employers to which such employer belongs or against any other person, in consequence of a decision made by a Court in his favour or in favour of a trade union or the class of employees to which such employee belongs.

→ Other prohibited grounds for dismissal are enumerated under section 108 (1) ILRA which indicates: 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 social status of the employee.

→ Section 43 of ECA 2019:
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

→ Section 52 (4) of ECA 2019:
An employer shall not terminate a contract of employment of an employee based on reasons relating to—
(a) union membership or participation in union activities outside working hours or, with the consent of the employer, within working hours;
(b) seeking office as, acting or having acted in the capacity of, an employee’s representative;
(c)the filing of a complaint or the participation in proceedings against an employer involving alleged violation of laws or recourse to administrative authorities;
(d) a discriminatory ground under section 5;
(e) family responsibilities relating to taking care of a member of an employee’s immediate family;
(f) absence from work during maternity or paternity leave; or
(g) temporary absence from work during sick leave or injury.

→ Section 55 (2) of ECA 2019 indicates that: Where an employer intends to terminate a contract of employment by reason of redundancy, the employer shall—
(a) give notice of not less than thirty days to the employee or a representative of the employee of the impending redundancy and inform the representative on the number of employees, if more than one to be affected and the period within which the termination is intended to be carried out.

→ Under section 19 of the ECA 2019, some contracts terminate without notice:
(3) A contract for a specified period of time shall automatically expire on the date specified for its expiration and notice shall not be required for its expiration at that time, except that expiration before the specified period shall be done in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
(4) A contract to perform a specific task shall terminate on the completion of the task required without the requirement for a notice of termination by either party.

→ Under section 27 (7) of the ECA 2019: An employee on probation may terminate the contract of employment by giving the employer at least twenty-four hours’ notice of the termination.

→ Under section 53 (1) of the ECA 2019: An employee whose contract of employment is intended to be terminated is entitled to a period of notice, or compensation in lieu of notice, unless the employee is guilty of misconduct of a nature that it would be unreasonable to require the employer to continue the employment relationship.
(2) An employer shall, where the contract of employment does not provide for a period of notice, give—
(a) twenty-four hours for a contract of employment not exceeding one month;
(b) fourteen days for a contract of employment of more than one month but not exceeding three months; and
(c) thirty days for a contract of employment of more than three months, except that notice to terminate a contract of employment of more than six months shall be in writing.
(3) An employer shall not give a notice of termination—
(a) during a period of leave taken under this Act; or
(b) to run concurrently with any period of leave taken under this Act.
(4) An employer who does not give notice to an employee shall pay the employee the wages that the employee would have received if the employee had worked during the notice period.
(5) Where an employee refuses to work during the notice period under subsection (2), an employer may deduct, from any money due to the employee on termination, the amount that would have been due to the employee if the employee had worked during the notice period.

→ Under section 55 (2) of the ECA 2019: Where an employer intends to terminate a contract of employment by reason of redundancy, the employer shall—
(a) give notice of not less than thirty days to the employee or a representative of the employee of the impending redundancy and inform the representative on the number of employees, if more than one to be affected and the period within which the termination is intended to be carried out;

→ Section 55 (1) of the ECA 2019: An employer is considered to have terminated a contract of employment of an employee by reason of redundancy if the termination is wholly or in part due to —
(a) the employer ceasing or intending to cease to carry on the business by virtue of which the employees were engaged;
(b) the business ceasing or diminishing or expected ceasing or diminishing the requirement for the employees to carry out work of a particular kind in the place where the employees were engaged; or
(c) an adverse alteration of the employee’s conditions of service which the employee has not consented to.
(2) Where an employer intends to terminate a contract of employment by reason of redundancy, the employer shall—
(a) give notice of not less than thirty days to the employee or a representative of the employee of the impending redundancy and inform the representative on the number of employees, if more than one to be affected and the period within which the termination is intended to be carried out;

→ Section 55 (2)(b) the ECA 2019: Where an employer intends to terminate a contract of employment by reason of redundancy, the employer shall— (...); afford the employee or representative of the employees an opportunity to consult on the measures to be taken to minimise the termination and the adverse effects on the employee.

→ Under section 55 (2)(c) of ECA 2019: Where an employer intends to terminate a contract of employment by reason of redundancy, the employer shall— (...); not less than sixty days prior to effecting the termination, notify an authorised officer of the impending termination by reason of redundancy and submit to that authorised officer information on—
(i) the reasons for the termination by redundancy;
(ii) the number of categories of employees likely to be affected;
(iii) the period within which the redundancy is to be effected; and
(iv) the nature of the redundancy package.

→ Under section 55 (2)(a) of ECA 2019; Where an employer intends to terminate a contract of employment by reason of redundancy, the employer shall— give notice of not less than thirty days to the employee or a representative of the employee of the impending redundancy and inform the representative on the number of employees, if more than one to be affected and the period within which the termination is intended to be carried out;

→ Under section 55 (2)(b) of ECA 2019: Where an employer intends to terminate a contract of employment by reason of redundancy, the employer shall—afford the employee or representative of the employees an opportunity to consult on the measures to be taken to minimise the termination and the adverse effects on the employee;

▷ The procedure described in this section is applicable to any individual or collective termination.

→ Under section 3 of the ECA 2019:
▻ “severance pay” means the wages and benefits paid to an employee whose contract of employment is terminated in accordance with section 54.
▻ “gratuity” means a payment made to an employee in respect of a person’s service on the expiry of a long-term contract of employment based on basic pay earnings that have accrued to the employee during the term of service.

→ Under Section 54 of the ECA 2019:
(1) An employer shall pay an employee a severance pay, where the employee’s contract of employment is terminated or has expired, in the following manner:
(a) where an employee has been medically discharged from employment, in accordance with section 38(5);
(b) where a contract of employment is for a fixed duration, severance pay shall either be a gratuity at the rate of not less that twenty-five percent of the employee’s basic pay earned during the contract period or the retirement benefits provided by the relevant social security scheme that the employee is a member of, as the case may be;
(c) where a contract of employment of a fixed duration has been terminated, severance pay shall be a gratuity at the rate of not less than twenty-five percent of the employee’s basic pay earned during the contract period as at the effective date of termination;
(d) where a contract of employment has been terminated by redundancy in accordance with section 55, the severance pay shall be a lump sum of two months’ basic pay for each year served under the contract of employment; or
(e) where an employee dies in service, the severance pay shall be two months’ basic pay for each year served under the contract of employment.
(2) Where an employee dies before receiving the severance pay, the employer shall pay the severance pay to the employee’s estate in accordance with the Intestate Succession Act or the Wills and Testate Estates Act.
(3) The severance pay under this section shall not be paid to a casual employee, a temporary employee, an employee engaged on a long-term contract or an employee serving a period of probation.
(4) The Minister shall prescribe the formula for the minimum computation of severance pay.

▶ In addition, severance pay is equally due when a worker falls within the scope of the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (General) Order, 2010 ([MWCEGO) or the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (Shop Workers) Order, 2010 (MWCESO).
▻ In the event of termination on medical grounds, "as certified by a registered medical practitioner or a medical institution", the employee is entitled to a lump sum of not less than 2 months' basic pay for each completed year of service (MWCEGO: sec. 9 and MWCESO: sec. 10).
▻ The 2010 Minimum Wage Orders also foresee in their sections 12 (MWCEGO) and 11 (MWCESO) that in case of summary dismissal (where the employer dismisses the employee summarily and without due notice or payment of wages in lieu of notice), the Labour Commissioner or labour officer determines whether the circumstances of the case warrant summary dismissal of the employee. The employee so dismissed shall be entitled to severance benefits of no less than two months’ basic pay for each completed year of service.

→ Under section 3 of the ECA 2019:
▻ “Redundancy” means the termination of a contract of employment in accordance with section 55;
▻“Redundancy payment” means the sum that an employee, whose employment has been terminated due to redundancy, is entitled to receive from the employer and any applicable third party scheme.

▷ Redundancy:
→ Under section 55. (1) An employer is considered to have terminated a contract of employment of an employee by reason of redundancy if the termination is wholly or in part due to —
(a) the employer ceasing or intending to cease to carry on the business by virtue of which the employees were engaged;
(b) the business ceasing or diminishing or expected ceasing or diminishing the requirement for the employees to carry out work of a particular kind in the place where the employees were engaged; or
(c) an adverse alteration of the employee’s conditions of service which the employee has not consented to.
(2) Where an employer intends to terminate a contract of employment by reason of redundancy, the employer shall—
(a) give notice of not less than thirty days to the employee or a representative of the employee of the impending redundancy and inform the representative on the number of employees, if more than one to be affected and the period within which the termination is intended to be carried out;
(b) afford the employee or representative of the employees an opportunity to consult on the measures to be taken to minimise the termination and the adverse effects on the employee; and
(c) not less than sixty days prior to effecting the termination, notify an authorised officer of the impending termination by reason of redundancy and submit to that authorised officer information on—
(i) the reasons for the termination by redundancy;
(ii) the number of categories of employees likely to be affected;
(iii) the period within which the redundancy is to be effected; and
(iv) the nature of the redundancy package.
(3) Subject to section 57, an employee whose contract of employment has been terminated by reason of redundancy shall—
(a) unless better terms are agreed between the employer and the employee concerned or the employee’s representatives, be entitled to a minimum redundancy payment of not less than two months’ pay for every year served and other benefits the employee is entitled to as compensation for loss of employment; and
(b) be paid the redundancy payment not later than the last day of duty of the employee, except that where an employer is unable to pay the redundancy payment on the last day of duty of the employee, the employer shall continue to pay the employee full wages until the redundancy package is paid.

▷ The exemption from redundancy is provided for under section 56 of the ECA.
→ Under section 56 (1) of ECA 2019: Subject to the Constitution, an employer who is unable to pay an employee a redundancy payment in accordance with section 55 due to the employer’s financial incapacity, may apply to the Labour Commissioner for exemption from paying the redundancy payment—
(a) as a lumpsum; or
(b) on or before the date of expiry of the notice of redundancy.
(2) An application under subsection (1) shall be accompanied with—
(a) proof of the employer’s financial incapacity to pay the redundancy payment as a lumpsum or not later than the date of the expiry of the notice of redundancy; and
(b) where the employer is unable to pay the redundancy payment as a lumpsum, the employer’s proposed payment plan specifying the proposed instalments of the redundancy payment and dates of payment.
(3) Where the Labour Commissioner considers that the employer’s proposed payment plan under subsection (2), is not reasonable, the Labour Commissioner shall propose an alternative payment plan.
(4) The Labour Commissioner shall, within thirty days of receipt
of an application under subsection (1)—
(a) grant the exemption, with or without conditions; or
(b) refuse to grant the exemption, and give reasons for the refusal.
(5) The Labour Commissioner may revoke an exemption granted under subsection (4) if—
(a) the exemption was granted on materially incorrect or misleading information;
(b) there has been a material change of circumstances since the exemption was granted; or
(c) the employer exempted fails to comply with any condition on which the exemption was granted.
(6) The Labour Commissioner shall, where the Labour Commissioner proposes to revoke an exemption granted under subsection (4) give notice, in writing, of the proposed action to the employer to which the exemption was granted and request the employer to submit to the Labour Commissioner, within seven days of the notice, any representation which the employer may wish to make on the proposed revocation.
(7) An employer who fails to comply with a condition of exemption is liable to an administrative penalty; and
(8) An employer shall, where the employer pays an employee a redundancy package in accordance with this section, submit proof of the payment to the Labour Commissioner, within seven days of the payment.
(9) This section does not apply to—
(a) an employer who ceases to carry on business by reason of bankruptcy or compulsory liquidation;
(b) a casual employee;
(c) a temporary employee;
(d) an employee engaged for a long-term and the redundancy coincides with the expiration of that term; or
(e) an employee on probation.

▶ Also see Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (General) Order, 2010 (S.I. No. 2 of 2011), sec. 10 and MWCE (Shop Workers) Order 2010 (S.I. No. 1 of 2011), sec. 9: redundancy payment shall be not less than 2 months for each completed year of service.