DRC Law and Practice Contributed by: Serge Nawej Tshitembu, Xavier Huberland, Daniel Yamba and Katerina Papachristou, ProximA International
• Gross misconduct ( faute lourde ) allows imme - diate dismissal. In such cases, written notice must be provided within 15 business days of the employer becoming aware of the breach, with the reason clearly stated. • Other valid grounds include resignation, retirement, force majeure or mutual agree - ment, the last of these requiring a written and signed agreement. For fixed-term contracts, termination is only allowed upon expiry, unless there is gross mis - conduct or force majeure. Any clause allowing early termination by notice is considered void. All dismissals must be notified in writing. If initi - ated by the employer, the notice must specify the grounds. Both parties are generally subject to a notice period, the duration of which varies according to professional category and length of service. Employees may be entitled to: • severance pay; • damages for unfair dismissal; • compensation for unused leave; and/or • other accrued entitlements and benefits. Collective Redundancies Collective redundancies are permissible but subject to strict procedural safeguards and reg - ulatory oversight. Dismissals must be justified by serious and legitimate reasons, such as: • economic difficulties (eg, sustained financial losses or operational cost reduction); • technological changes; • organisational restructuring (eg, mergers or acquisitions); or • events of force majeure.
Before implementation, employers must: • inform and consult employee representatives (staff delegates or recognised trade unions); • notify the Labour Inspectorate; and • in some cases, obtain prior authorisation from the competent Labour Administration. Dismissals must observe a fair selection process, typically prioritising employees with lower quali - fications or shorter service. Affected employees are entitled to the same protections as in indi - vidual dismissals and benefit from priority rehire rights if similar roles become available within a defined timeframe. 4.5 Employee Representations Trade union delegations play a crucial role in employee representation in the DRC, with struc - tured rights and duties ensuring consultation, participation, and protection of workers’ inter - ests within companies. The representation of workers in Congolese companies is ensured through an elected trade union delegation, in accordance with the provi - sions of the Labour Code. Election is the sole means of accessing the role of employee rep - resentative. Any company employing at least ten workers is required to set up a trade union delegation. The minimum number of delegates is determined as follows: • from 10 to fewer than 20 workers: 1 delegate; • from 20 to fewer than 100 workers: 3 del - egates; • from 100 to fewer than 500 workers: 5 del - egates; • from 500 to 1,000 workers: 9 delegates; and
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