Hiring in Zimbabwe: the employment permit, the contract and what comes off pay, step by step

Move someone who is already in Zimbabwe

A temporary employment permit application is built on a contract of employment and the employing company's own documents. A foreign national moving to new employment applies on the new contract.

A Zimbabwean citizen needs no permit. Their move turns on the notice their current contract sets, which is three months on a contract without limit of time.

Check the role is open to a non-Zimbabwean

The application shows the local search first. The job is advertised in a local newspaper, and the shortlisted candidates' CVs and contact details go to the Department of Immigration.

The application also names the people identified to understudy the role, so the skills pass to someone in Zimbabwe. An extension is applied for with their CVs and qualifications again.

Set the contract up right

Anyone working for another person for pay is under a contract of employment, written or not. On engagement, the employer gives the employee written particulars. They cover the employer's name and address, any fixed period, any probation, the employment code, the pay and how often it is paid, sickness and pregnancy benefits, the hours of work, vacation leave and any other benefits.

A contract that sets no end date is one without limit of time, unless it is for casual, seasonal or specific work. A casual worker engaged for more than six weeks in any four months in a row becomes an employee without limit of time. A contract can provide in writing for one probation period only, of up to three months, with two weeks' notice during it.

Pay is in legal tender, never in vouchers or promissory notes, at regular intervals on working days. Each payment comes with a written statement of the pay, its period, any bonus or allowance, the deductions and the net amount. Deductions the Act allows stay within 25% of gross pay in any pay interval.

The Labour Act sets no working week of its own. Hours of work and overtime are left to the industry's collective bargaining agreement, or to regulations, and the written particulars state them. Each week brings at least 24 hours of rest in a row. A public holiday is a paid day off, and one worked by consent is paid at twice the day's pay at least.

Know the employee test before you engage a contractor

Zimbabwe's Labour Act treats as an employee anyone who performs work or services for another person for remuneration. That includes someone who supplies their own tools or works flexibly, where the hirer provides the substantial investment or carries the substantial risk of the undertaking. It also includes anyone whose position more closely resembles employment than that of an independent contractor.

A role that needs a temporary employment permit goes through employer of record.

Know what comes off pay each month

NSSA's Pension and Other Benefits Scheme takes 4.5% of the employee's earnings each month, and you pay 4.5% more. The earnings counted are capped at USD 700 a month, which can be paid in ZiG at the official interbank rate. Someone earning in a foreign currency pays the contributions in that currency. A non-Zimbabwean who is not ordinarily resident in Zimbabwe is exempt from the pension scheme. Contributions stop once the employee reaches 65.

NSSA also runs the Accident Prevention and Workers' Compensation Scheme. The employer funds it alone, at a rate set for its industry. The employee pays nothing towards it.

Income tax is withheld on monthly bands, on separate tables for pay in US dollars and in ZiG. On pay in US dollars, nothing is due on the first USD 100. Then 20% is due up to USD 300, 25% up to USD 1,000, 30% up to USD 2,000 and 35% up to USD 3,000. Pay above that is taxed at 40%. On pay in ZiG, the bands end at ZWG 2,800, ZWG 8,400, ZWG 28,000, ZWG 56,000 and ZWG 84,000, at the same rates.

An AIDS levy of 3% is added to the tax due. Income tax is paid by the 10th of the following month.

You also pay the ZIMDEF training levy, at 1% of the monthly gross wage bill.

Know the leave your people are entitled to

End employment on the law's terms

An employee ends a contract by resigning or retiring. An employer can end it only by mutual agreement in writing, or for a breach of the contract verified after due inquiry under an employment code, or in a manner agreed in advance.

Notice from either side is three months on a contract without limit of time, or one of two years or more. It is two months on a contract of a year or more, a month on one of six months or more, and two weeks on one of three months or more. On a shorter contract or casual work, it is a day. Where the employer ends the contract and notice is waived, the employee is paid for the notice period.

A dismissal is unfair unless it follows the employment code, or the model code where there is none. Making continued employment intolerable, so that the employee leaves, counts as unfair dismissal too. Where the Labour Court finds a dismissal unfair, it can order reinstatement, and it sets an amount of damages as the alternative.

A retrenchment starts with 14 days' written notice to the works council or employment council, the Retrenchment Board and the employees. Unless better terms are agreed, the employer pays at least the minimum retrenchment package. The Retrenchment Board is told within 14 days of the retrenchment. An employer that cannot pay the full package applies for an exemption, and employees who believe it can pay more can ask for an enhanced package.

A dispute reaches a labour officer within two years of arising. When employment ends, the wages and benefits due, outstanding vacation and notice among them, are paid as soon as reasonably practicable.

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