Annual leave

A full-time worker's monthly paid leave obligation is two days. The monthly obligation adds to 24-days of annual paid leave. 

Maternity Leave

Maternity leave is encompassed in the Employment Code Act. Female employees are allowed 14-week maternity leave and can receive a mandatory 6-weeks paid leave post-birth. For multiple births, females are eligible for 18-week maternity leave.

Paternity Leave

Fathers receive a seven-day paid paternity leave for family-related reasons.

Sick Leave

Workers are eligible for paid sick leave based on the employment contract type.

For workers that sign short-term contracts:

• First 26 working sick leave days - Full compensation.
• After the 26 days - half compensation.

Termination

Companies are not permitted to terminate the contract of an employee for reasons, such as maternity or paternity leave or union membership. Unless they have perpetrated extreme misbehavior, workers are usually eligible for termination notice or money instead of notice.

Notice Period

Companies should disclose termination and payment within the notice duration if the worker is not involved in misconduct or criminal activities. The duration is established in the job agreement. A termination notice of a deal of six months and above a contract of employment of more than six months should be written. If the notice duration is poorly described in the agreement, the notice period should be as follows: 

• Short-term agreement of less than a month - 24 hours 
• Short-term agreement of one to three months - 14 days 
• Short-term agreement of more than three months - 30 days. 

Severance

Employment Code Act stipulates severance pay. Workers are allowed severance pay after two years of employment. The compensation amount is based on:

• Employment contract dismissal of a specific-set period - 25% of the worker's ordinary compensation rate throughout the agreement duration.
• Employment dismissal as a result of redundancy - two months' ordinary compensation for every finished employment year.
• Worker's death during agreement period - two months' ordinary compensation for every finished employment year.
• Clinical discharge - three months' ordinary compensation pay for every finished employment year.

Probationary Period

In Zambia, the probation period is three months but extends to six months, as per the Employment Code Act.