Mutual assent, expressed by a valid offer and acceptance; adequate consideration; capacity and legality.
Contract may be oral or written.
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Trial Period
There is no explicit provision in the Employment and Labour Relations Act 2004 about probation period. However, this act implicitly requires a probationary period of 6 months by saying that a worker with less than 6 months of employment may not bring an unfair termination claim against the employer. Section 35 of Employment and Labour Relations Act 2004 provides for this.
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Hours Of Work
The maximum ordinary working hours that an employee is allowed under the law to work is forty-five (45) hours per week that is a maximum of nine (9) hours a day. The nine hours are exclusive of the one-hour daily lunch break. The lunch break is to be provided after five hours continuous working time. Lunch break is unpaid time and is the employee's own time because they are not paid for lunch breaks. Any hour (s) in excess of the forty-five hours must be compensated as overtime hours. It is also prohibited for an employee to work more than twelve hours in a day.
An employee is permitted to work six days in a week and the seventh day must be a resting day.
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Special Rules For Part-time Work
There are no special rules for part time workers in Tanzania
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Earnings
Every person without discrimination of any kind is entitled to remuneration commensurate with work and all persons working according to their ability shall be remunerated according to the measure and qualification for the work. Every person is entitled to just remuneration. (Article 22 of the Constitution). The wage rates are determined by Wage Boards constituted in accordance with Labour Institutions Order 2007. The minimum wage rates have been fixed under the Wages Order 2013.
Minimum wage is fixed according to sectors as follows:
- Health Services Tanzanian shillings 80,000/-
- Agriculture Tanzanian shillings 70,000/-
- Commerce, Industrial and Trading only one wage, Tanzanian shillings 80,000/-
- Transport and Communications has 4 types of wages as follows:
- Aviation Services Tanzanian shillings 350,000/-
- Clearing and Forwarding Tanzanian shillings 230,000/-
- Telecommunication Tanzanian shillings 300,000/-
- Inland Transport Tanzanian shillings 150,000/-
- Mining Sector also has 4 types of wages:
- Mining Licences/Prospecting Licences Tanzanian shillings 350,000/-
- Primary Mining Licences/Prospecting Licences Tanzanian shillings 150,000/-
- Dealers Licences/Lapidary Tanzanian shillings 250,000/-
- Brokers Licences Tanzanian shillings 150,000/-
- Marine and Fishing Tanzanian shillings 165,000
- Domestic Services including Hotels has 6 types of wages:
- Domestic servants employed by Diplomats and Potential Businessmen Tanzanian shillings 90,000/-
- Entitled Officers for domestic services provision Tanzanian shillings 80,000/-
- Other domestic servants Tanzanian shillings 65, 000/-
- Potential and Tourist Hotels Tanzanian shillings 150,000/-
- Medium Hotels Tanzanian shillings 100,000/-
- Restaurants, Guest Houses and Bars Tanzanian shillings 80,000/-
- Private Security Services has 2 types of wages:
- International or Potential security companies Tanzanian shillings 105,000
- Others Tanzanian shillings 80,000
While determining the minimum wage, the Wage Board takes into account all relevant factors including the cost of living, level of wages and income in the country, economic development, level of employment, the minimum subsistence level, ability of employers to carry on their businesses, operation of small, medium and micro enterprises, the remuneration and terms and conditions of employment of employees employed in the East African Community in the sector, any collective agreements providing for remuneration and terms and conditions of employment in the sector, alleviation of poverty and any other relevant matter. (Section 37 of the Labour Institutions Act, 2004).
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Holidays/Rest Periods
According to Tanzanian law, employers are responsible for all paid time off for their employees. Once they have worked at a company for six months, employees are entitled to 28 days of paid annual leave and 17 government holidays. Holidays falling on a weekend day are not generally compensated. Tanzanians are also entitled to sick time and personal leave. As long as a worker can prove that they're no longer able to work, they can receive up to 126 days of paid sick time in an 18-month period in addition to the 28 days of paid annual leave.
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Minimum/Maximum Age
Generally, the law prohibits employment of a child under the age of fourteen years. It further prohibits employment of a child under the age of eighteen years in a mine, factory, as a craw in a ship, or any other work site including non-formal settings and agriculture where work conditions may be considered hazardous by the Minister. The Constitution and The Employment and Labour Relations Act provides for minimum age.
However, the law permits employment of a child of fourteen years in light work which is not likely to be harmful to the child’s health and development and does not prejudice the child’s attendance at school, vocational orientation or a training programme. The general welfare of the child must not be prejudiced.
Maximum age of an employee in Tanzania is sixty years. The National Social Security Fund Act provides for pensionable age.
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Illness/Disability
Employees are entitled to sick time and personal leave. As long as a worker can prove that they're no longer able to work, they can receive up to 126 days of sick time in an 18-month period. The Employment and Labour Relations Act provides for sickness leave.
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Location Of Work/Mobility
An employer can station an employee anywhere in Tanzania; however, the employer has to move them from the point of recruitment.
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Pension Plans
Before 2018, the Tanzanian pension system comprised five mandatory defined benefit schemes operated under the pay-as-you-go principle. These funds were Parastatal Pension Fund (PPF), Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF), Local Authority Pension Fund (LAPF), Government Employees Provident Fund (GEPF) and National Security Social Fund (NSSF). In 2018, the parliament passed Act No. 2 of 2018 which consolidated the social security schemes by merging four public funds, PPF, PSPF, LAPF and GEPF, into one scheme which is the Public Service Social Security Fund (PSSSF). The main purpose of PSSSF is to collect contributions and make payments of terminal benefits to employees of public service. NSSF remained for private sector employees.
For Private sector employees, the governing Act is The National Social Security Act (R.E. 2008).
Retirement Pension shall be payable to an insured person who has attained pensionable age; In respect of whom not less than 180 monthly contributions have been paid and who has attained the age of 55 or above but before attaining pensionable age.
Benefit payable is commuted pension (Initial Lump sum) paid immediately before starting pension which is equal to 25% of calculated annual pension times 12.5; Old age special lump sum for non qualifying members i.e total contributions plus interest. Minimum Pension is 40% of the lowest Sartorial Statutory Minimum Wage while maximum Pension is 72.5% of the Annual Pensionable Emoluments.
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Parental Rights (Pregnancy/ Maternity/ Paternity/ Adoption)
Current labour laws in Tanzania have no specific and clear provision for working parents. There are, however, provisions for pregnant and breastfeeding working mothers.
The law prohibits pregnant women to work at night two months before the expected date of confinement or much earlier if the employee produces a medical certificate to confirm that she is no longer fit to perform night work. There is a very clear provision of the law requiring an employer to transfer any employee working night shift who becomes certified as unfit to do night work.
The law has no clear provision on time off to attend pre-natal and post-natal clinics. The practice has usually been that any pregnant or nursing mother wanting to attend clinic, or needing to seek medical treatment, has asked for some days from her sick leave days or annual leave. However, some companies have a collective bargaining agreement or workplace policy which provides for some days off for pre- and post-natal clinics.
A nursing mother is under the law entitled to two hours per day to feed her/breastfeed her child. The law does not say at what time of the day they should be utilized. It is therefore up to the employer and the breastfeeding employee to discuss and agree. Neither does the law provide for how long this right should proceed; it is therefore left up to the discretion of the employer and employee to agree.
In a leave cycle (period of 36 months) an employee is entitled to 84 days paid maternity leave if she gives birth to a single child or 100 days paid maternity leave if the employee gives birth to more than one child. These days include rest days and public holidays. However, if due to any birth/delivery complications the female employee requires extra days she can discuss this with the employer concerned, about using sick leave days or some days from her annual leave, or getting extra unpaid leave days.
The duration of paternity leave is three days in a leave cycle which is thirty-six months. The three days are the total number of days irrespective of the number of children that are born within the leave cycle.
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Compulsory Terms
Contracts of employment with an employee shall contain the following particulars in writing under section 15(2) of the Employment and Labour Relation Act;
- name, age, permanent address and sex of the employee
- place of recruitment
- job description
- date of commencement
- form and duration of the contract
- place of work
- hours of work
- remuneration, the method of its calculation and details of any benefits or payments in kind.
Section 15(3) of the Employment and Labour Relation Act the Law clearly stated that if an employee does not understand the written particulars the employer shall ensure that they are explained to the employee in a manner that the employee understands.
If an employer fails to produce a written contract or the written particulars the burden of proving or disproving an alleged term of employment shall be on the employer.
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Non-Compulsory Terms
All non other terms as long as they are not against any specifically provided law are permissible and they can be stated in a contract of employment.
A contract for a specified period of time for professionals and managerial cadre,
A contract for a specific task.
Every employer is at liberty to have a good recruitment and appointment policy indicating that the organization is an equal opportunity organization. That is, recruitment and appointment are made not only on merits but the organization administers all personnel actions without regard to race, age, color, tribe, religion, political opinion, marital status, gender, disability etc.
Realizing the expanding need of employing personnel from abroad, in March 2015 the Tanzanian Parliament passed the Non-Citizens (Employment Regulations) Act, The Act regulates the recruitment of non-citizens in Tanzania, complimenting the Immigration Act No. 7 of 1995 which addresses elements of labour influx. The Act, therefore, gives the Labour Minister (through the Labour Commissioner) wide powers in all matters relating to employment of non-citizens in Tanzania Mainland.
An employer can hire a specified category of individuals as they wish as long as there is no discrimination of any kind to other employees.
It is permissible under the laws to outsource/sub-contract or having temporary agency work and it is governed by the law of contract.