CDD regulados: No

Remarks

No regulation on the use of FTCs in the EA (reasons, duration, numbers). The only reference to FTCs is contained in art. 65 in relation to the definition of termination of employment. Art. 65(1)b) provides that termination shall be deemed to take place "where the contract of service, being a contract for a fixed term or tasks, ends with the expiry of the specified term of the completion of the specified task and is not renewed within a period of one week from the date of expiry on the same terms or terms not less favourable to the employee".

New in 2011
The Employment regulations of 2011 do not regulate the use of FTCs. They do however contain provisions on specific categories of temporary employees, namely casual employee, those performing work and task work. (Reg. 39, 40, 41 of ER 2011).
- Casual employees: max. 4 months. If engaged continuously for 4 month, a casual employee ceases to be a casual employee and all rights and benefits enjoyed by other employees shall apply to him/her (Reg. 39).
- Piece work: max: 3 months unless the person has a contract (Reg. 40)
- Task work: an employer may require an employee to perform his/her work on the basis of a daily task which shall be an amount of work, which can reasonably be performed in a day of not more than eight working hours.

Razones de utilización legítima de CDD: sin restricción

Remarks

No provision in the legislation reviewed.

Número máximo de CDD consecutivos: sin restricción

Remarks

No provision in the legislation reviewed.

Duración máxima acumulativa de CDD consecutivos: sin limitación

Remarks

No provision in the legislation reviewed.

Duración maxima del periodo de prueba (en meses): 12 mes(es)

Remarks

Art. 67(2) EA: max. 6 months, which may however be extended for a further period of not more than 6 months with the agreement of the employee.

Obligación de motivar el despido: Si

Remarks

If so requested by the employee, the reasons for termination may be indicated by the employer in the certificate of service which shall be delivered upon termination of the contract: art. 61 EA.

In addition, according to art. 66 EA, the employer must conduct a preliminary hearing with the employee and another person of his or her choice before reaching a decision to dismiss that employee on the grounds of misconduct or poor performance. During, this hearing, the employer shall explain to the employee the reasons for which he or she is considering dismissing him or her.

Motivos autorizados (despido justificado): cualquiera justa causa

Remarks

See art. 73 EA.
A dismissal is unfair if
1) it was made for prohibited reasons (see prohibited grounds) or
2) it was not "just and equitable" for the employer to terminate the contract of the employee.
In assessing whether termination was just and equitable, the labour officer shall consider: i) the code of discipline, ii) the procedure followed by the employer in reaching the decision, iii) the conduct and capability of the employee, iv) compliance with the statutory procedural requirements, v) the previous practice of the employer in dealing with similar circumstances.

Motivos prohibidos: estado civil, embarazo, licencia de maternidad, presentación de una queja contra el empleador, enfermedad o accidente profesional temporal, raza, color, sexo, religión, opinion política, origen social, nacionalidad, afiliación sindical y actividades sindicales, participación en una huelga legal, disfrute legal de licencias, estatus VIH

Remarks

Art. 75 EA sets out a list of grounds which shall not constitute fair reasons for dismissal or for the imposition of a disciplinary penalty, including: pregnancy; taking or proposing to take any leave entitlements; membership of a trade union; participation in trade union activities outside working hours or with the employer’s consent within working hours; seeking office or serving as an officer for a trade union; discrimination on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion or affiliation, national extraction, nationality, social origin, marital status, HIV status or disability; submission of a complaint or other legal proceedings against the employer; and legitimate temporary absence of work for up to 3 months.

On the organisation of and/or participation in a strike or other form of industrial action, see art. 76 EA.

Trabajadores que gozan de una protección particular (fuero): representantes de los trabajadores, mujeres embarazadas o con licencia de maternidad

Remarks

Limited protection consisting in mandatory prior consultation of the union branch before initiating disciplinary proceedings and penalties involving dismissal against an employee who is a union member: Art. 1 Disciplinary rules, § (6) of the Disciplinary Code, schedule 1 of the EA.

Art. 56(2) EA provides that a female employee who becomes pregnant shall have the right to return to the job which she held immediately before her maternity leave, or to a reasonably suitable alternative job on terms and conditions not less favourable than those which would have applied had she not been absent on maternity leave.

Forma de la notificación del despido al trabajador: escrita

Remarks

Art. 58(2) EA: establishes a requirement for written notice of termination, which must be in a form and language that the employee it relates to can be reasonably expected to understand.

In addition, according to Art. 66 EA, the employer must conduct a preliminary hearing with the employee and another person of his or her choice before reaching a decision to dismiss that employee on the grounds of misconduct or poor performance. During, this hearing, the employer shall explain to the employee the reasons for which he or she is considering dismissing him or her.

Plazo de preaviso:

Remarks

Art. 58(3) EA: Statutory minimum notice period are established according to the length of service, as follows:
- at least 2 weeks, for a period of service of more than 6 months but less than 1 year;
- at least 1 month, for a period of service of more than 12 months but less than 5 years;
- at least 2 months, for a period of service of more than 5 months but less than 10 years;
- at least 3 months, for a period of service of 10 years or more.

duración de servicio ≥ 6 meses:

  • Todos: 2 semana(s).

duración de servicio ≥ 9 meses:

  • Todos: 2 semana(s).

duración de servicio ≥ 2 años:

  • Todos: 1 mes(es).

duración de servicio ≥ 4 años:

  • Todos: 1 mes(es).

duración de servicio ≥ 5 años:

  • Todos: 2 mes(es).

duración de servicio ≥ 10 años:

  • Todos: 3 mes(es).

duración de servicio ≥ 20 años:

  • Todos: 3 mes(es).

Indemnización sustitutiva de preaviso: Si

Remarks

Art. 58(5) EA.

Notificación a la administración: No

Notificación a los representantes de los trabajadores: No

Remarks

No general obligation to notify the worker's representatives. However, prior to any dismissal on the grounds of misconduct or poor performance, the employer must explain the reason for the planned dismissal to the employee, and the employee is entitled to have another person of his/her choice present during the explanation. Before reaching a decision on the dismissal, the employer must hear and consider any representation the employee and the person chosen by him/her, if any, may make (sec. 66(1) and (2) EA).

Aprobación de la administración publica o de organismos judiciales: No

Acuerdo de los representantes de los trabajadores: No

Definición de despido colectivo (número de empleados afectados): Termination of at least 10 employees over a period of not more than 3 months for reasons of an economic, technological, structural or similar nature.

Remarks

Art. 81(1) EA.

Consultación previa con los sindicatos (representantes de los trabajadores): No

Remarks

The EA does not require the employer to consult with the worker's representatives. The employer is only required to inform them.
See art. 81(1)a) EA: An employer who intends to carry out collective terminations shall "provide the representatives of the labour union, if any, that represent the employees in the undertaking with relevant information, and in good time which shall be a period of at least four weeks before the first terminations shall take effect, except when the employer can show that it is not practicable to comply with such a time-limit [...]".

Notificación a la administración: Si

Remarks

Art. 81(1) b): notification to the Commissioner (in the Ministry of Labor) in writing of the reasons for the terminations, the number and categories of workers concerned and the period over which the terminations are intended to be carried out.
New in April 2011: Employment Regulations of 2011 specify in Reg. 44 (a) that the employer shall also indicate the age, sex, occupation, wages, duration of employment and the exact date of termination.

Notificación a los representantes de los trabajadores: Si

Remarks

See art. 81(1)a) EA: obligation to provide the representatives of the labour union, if any, that represent the employees in the undertaking with relevant information, at least four weeks before the first terminations shall take effect.

Aprobación de la administración publica o de organismos judiciales: No

Acuerdo de los representantes de los trabajadores: No

Reglas de prioridad para los despidos colectivos (consideraciones sociales, edad, años de servicio): No

Remarks

No statutory provision in the legislation reviewed.

Obligación del empleador de considerar solucionés alternativas al despido (transferencia, formación...): No

Remarks

No statutory provision in the legislation reviewed.

Reglas de prioridad para la re-contratación: No

Remarks

No statutory provision in the legislation reviewed.

duración de servicio ≥ 6 meses: 0 mes(es)

duración de servicio ≥ 9 meses: 0 mes(es)

duración de servicio ≥ 1 año: 0 mes(es)

duración de servicio ≥ 4 años: 0 mes(es)

duración de servicio ≥ 5 años: 0 mes(es)

duración de servicio ≥ 10 años: 0 mes(es)

duración de servicio ≥ 20 años: 0 mes(es)

Indemnización por despido por razones económicas:

duración de servicio ≥ 6 meses: 0 mes(es)

duración de servicio ≥ 9 meses: 0 mes(es)

duración de servicio ≥ 1 año: 0 mes(es)

duración de servicio ≥ 2 años: 0 mes(es)

duración de servicio ≥ 4 años: 0 mes(es)

duración de servicio ≥ 5 años: 0 mes(es)

duración de servicio ≥ 10 años: 0 mes(es)

duración de servicio ≥ 20 años: 0 mes(es)

Notas / Comentarios

Notas

The amount of severance pay is subject to negotiation between the employer and the workers or the trade union that represents them (art. 89 EA)

Severance pay is due in the following circumstances (art. 87 EA):
- unfair dismissal of the employee by the employer
- death of the employee at work not attributable to any misconduct of the employee
- termination by the employee due to physical incapacity not attributable to any misconduct of the employee
- termination by reason of the death or insolvency of the employer;
- termination by a labour officer following the inability or the refusal of the employer to pay wages
- other cases as provided by the Minister.

The law also lists circumstances where severance pay is not due (i.e summary dismissal) (art. 88 EA)

It seems that, in the event of ordinary fair dismissal (including collective dismissals for economic reasons), the dismissed employee is not entitled to severance pay.

Compensación por despido injustificado - libre determinación de la Corte: No

Remarks

Free determination (not by the Labour Cout but) by the Labour Officer:
Art. 78 EA provides that an order of compensation to an employee who has been unfairly terminated may include additional compensation at the discretion of the labour officer, while taking into consideration, a range of listed factors in each case.

Note: Labour officers in Uganda are legally empowered to engage in labour inspection activities including securing the enforcement of legal provisions relating to conditions of work, supplying technical information and advice to employers and employees and bringing to the notice of the Minister defects or abuses not specifically covered by existing legal provisions. According to the National Employment Policy for Uganda 2011, labour officers also arbitrate between workers and employers on undesirable working conditions. Much of a labour officer's time (particularly at the district level) is devoted to dispute resolution at the expense of labour inspection activities. Source: ILO Labour Adminstration Dep.: https://www.ilo.org/labadmin/info/WCMS_209370/lang--en/index.htm

Compensación por despido injustificado - límites legales (techo calculado en meses o método de calculo): Compensation for unfair dismissal includes a basic compensation of 4 weeks' wages + additional compensation at the discretion of the labour officer which shall not be less than one month's wages and more than 3 months' wages (= minimum 2 months' wages and maximum 4 months' wages in total)

Remarks

Art. 78 (1) EA.

Posibilidad de readmisión: Si

Remarks

Art. 71 (5) a) and (6) EA: in the event of unfair dismissal, the employee shall be reinstated or re-employed unless a) the employee does not wish to be reinstated, b) continuation of the employment relationship would be intolerable, c) it is not reasonable practical to do so, or d) the dismissal unfair only because the employer did not follow a proper procedure.

Conciliación previa obligatoria: No

Remarks

Conciliation is foreseen in the legislation; it is however not compulsory.
According to art. 93(2) EA, a labour officer is competent to hear and to settle by conciliation or mediation a complaint concerning infringement of the provisions of the Act, or breach of obligations owed under the Act by either party to an employment contract.
In addition, art. 8 of the Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act (2006) provides that one of the ways available to the labour officer to deal with a complaint is "to meet with the parties and endeavour to conciliate and resolve the dispute".

Corte o Tribunal competente: tribunal del trabajo

Remarks

- Pursuant to Art. 71(2) EA, a complaint of unfair termination shall be lodged to the labour officer within 3 months from the date of dismissal. The Labour officer is competent to order remedies for unfair dismissal (reinstatement or compensation)
According to art. 91 EA, appeals against the decisions of labour officer are heard by the Industrial Court.
- Disputes concerning unjustified summary dismissals are heard by the labour officer, as provided in art. 70 EA.
- In addition, any tort claim arising out of the employment relationship shall be brought before ordinary courts. (art. 93(6) EA)

Arbitraje: No

Remarks

No information found on separate alternative individual labour dispute resolution mechanisms. However, according to art. 93(2), the labour officer may settle by conciliation or mediation a complaint concerning infringement of the provisions of the Act, or breach of obligations owed under the Act by either party to an employment contract.

Notas / Comentarios

Notas

Complaints of unfair dismissals are only available to employees who have employed for at least 13 weeks before the date of the dismissal (art. 71 EA)