Employment covers a wide range of involvements, nevertheless in this writing we are going to cover the employer-employee relationship (contract of service). Employment involves two sides which are the employer and the employee. This implies that there is contractual relationship between two parties where as one part offers skills, knowledge, energy, understanding etc to produce for the other part, and in return the other part pays for such production at agreed an sum.
The law in Tanzania has not left this relationship between the employer and employee unprotected. The labour law regime in Tanzania has extensively protected an employee from being abused by employer and employer from being misused by the employee. The regime is governed by two important laws. These are The Employment and Labour Relations Act No. 6 of 2004 and Labour Institutions Act No. 7 of 2004.
The Employment and Labour Relation Act provides for core labour rights, establishes the basic employments standards, provides a framework for collective bargaining, providing for mechanism of dispute settlement and other matters related to employment and labour issues in Tanzania. The labour Institutions Act provides for establishments of labour institutions, duties, functions and powers thereof, and other matters related to them.
The law has strictly prohibited an employer from discrimination, directly or indirectly against the employee on the grounds of colour, nationality, tribe or place of origin, race, national extraction, social origin, political opinion or religion, sex, gender, pregnancy, marital status or family responsibility, disability, HIV/AIDS, age and station of life (Section 7(4) of The Employment and Labour Relations Act No. 6 of 2004).
TYPES OF EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS
Under The Employment and Labour Relations Act No. 6 of 2004, there are three types of employment namely:
It is not mandatory to have a written contract of employment. However the law puts a mandatory requirement for a written contract if the contract provides that employee is to work outside Tanzania. Where there is no written contract provided, the employer must supply an employee with a written statement of particulars of employment.
An employer and employee are bounded by the law to honour the terms of the contract and other provisions of the law as provided by the Employment and Labour Relations Act No. 6 of 2004. The provisions of the law which governs hours of work, remuneration, leave, etc must be observed by both employer and employee, except those excluded by the by the Employment and Labour Relations Act No. 6 of 2004.
TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT
The law defines termination of employment to include:
Employment can be terminated by either employer or employees due to various reasons. Reasons recognized by law are:
NOTICE OF TERMINATION
The law requires that, employment should be terminated on notice. If termination notice is made in the first month of employment, then notice must be given in not less than seven days. If the employee is employed on a daily basis or weekly basis, then notice must be given in not less than four days. If the employment is on monthly basis, notice must be given in not less than 28 days.
The notice of termination must be in writing stating the reasons for termination and the date on which the notice is given. It should be noted that notice of termination cannot be given during any period of leave as taken under the law.
Payment in lieu of notice
Instead of giving an employee notice of termination, an employer may pay an employee the remuneration that the employee would have received if the employee had worked during the notice period.
ENTITLEMENTS ON TERMINATION
After termination of employment, an employee is entitled the following from the employer:
UNFAIR TERMINATION
Termination of employment is unfair when the employer fails to prove that the reasons for termination are valid and fair and that the employment was terminated in accordance with the fair procedure. Fair reasons must be based on employee’s conduct, capacity, or compatibility, or based on operational requirements. The law provides that, it shall not be fair reasons to terminate an employee on the grounds that: