ZIMBABWE Law and Practice Contributed by: Ruvimbo T L Matsika and Tatenda Nyamayaro, Wintertons
will be held, at which the employee is entitled to be present with witnesses and a representative. A deter - mination and the imposition of a penalty will mark the conclusion of the proceedings. There is, in all cases, a right of appeal against the initial determination. The appellate body may be an internal appeals committee or authority or it may be external (eg, the labour court). There is also a right to seek a review of the disciplinary proceedings on the basis of procedural irregularities. A dismissal will be set aside if it was procedurally irregular or the appellate body finds that the act of misconduct was not proved or that the penalty was excessive. If the dismissal is set aside, an order for the reinstatement of the employee will be issued – with an alternative of damages for unlawful dismissal. In the case of a dismissal being set aside on the basis that the penalty was excessive, an alternative penalty will be imposed. Collective Redundancies An employer is entitled to retrench employees whose positions or duties have become redundant as a result of technological changes or the reorganisation or restructuring of the workplace. Employees may also be retrenched to reduce expenditure or costs or as a consequence of the closure of the enterprise in which they are employed. An employer who intends to carry out a retrench - ment exercise must give notice of such intent to the works council established for that undertaking. In the absence of a works council, the notice should be issued to the National Employment Council for the sector or industry. The notice should be copied to the retrenchment board and, where the retrenchment package has not been agreed by the employer and the affected employees, the notice must also be sent to the employees. The retrenchment board is required to issue a noti - fication certificate to the employer within 14 days of receiving notification of the retrenchment from the employer. The notification certificate will confirm the retrenchment on the basis of the minimum retrench -
ment package or an agreed retrenchment package (as the case may be). Retrenchment packages Section 12C of the Labour Act was amended by the Labour Amendment Act 2023 (No 11) to make provi - sion for four types of retrenchment packages – name - ly: • an agreed retrenchment package; • the minimum retrenchment package; • an enhanced retrenchment package; and • a retrenchment package that is less than the mini - mum package. An agreed retrenchment package refers to a package that would have been agreed between the employer and the employees being retrenched. It is a require - ment that an agreed package must be more favour - able than the minimum retrenchment package. The minimum retrenchment package refers to the package that is stipulated by statute. The minimum retrenchment package is defined in Section 5 of the Labour (Retrenchment) Regulations, 2024, SI 191/24 (which came into effect on 6 December 2024) as one month’s salary or wages for every year of service as an employee or the equivalent, lesser proportion (of one month’s salary or wages) for a lesser period of service. The retrenched employees may make an application to the retrenchment board or relevant employment coun - cil to compel the employer to pay a package which is above the minimum retrenchment package. Such a package is known as an enhanced retrenchment package. The retrenchment board or the employment council is required to call a hearing before making a determination on the employer’s capacity to pay an enhanced retrenchment package. The fourth type of retrenchment package is a reduced retrenchment package. An employer may apply to the retrenchment board or to an employment council for an exemption from paying a part of the retrenchment package due to financial incapacity. The maximum exemption that may be granted is 75% of the mini - mum retrenchment package.
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