Forced Labour
Prohibition on Forced and Compulsory Labour
The legal provisions preventing slavery and forced labour are found in the Constitution and the Labour Act.
The Constitution has stipulated that no one can be held in slavery or forced labour. The Labour Act also prohibits forcing others to engage in forced labour.
The Labour Act defines forced labour as work performed under the threat of penalty without the person’s voluntary consent. However, certain forms of work are exempt from this definition. These include:
- compulsory military service,
- work or service in consequence of a conviction in a court of law under public supervision (not for private gain)
- work performed during emergencies such as war or natural disasters. minor communal services that benefit the local community, such as civic duties typically expected from community members, are not considered forced labour.
Any person who forces another person to engage in forced labour is subject to a fine of up to 20,000 maloti or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or both.
Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2011 prohibits as well as punishes all kinds of trafficking and entails protective measures for its victims.
Anyone convicted of trafficking a person faces a fine of one million Maloti or imprisonment of up to 25 years.
- If the victim is a child, the penalty increases to a fine of two million Maloti or life imprisonment.
- Anyone who forces another person into debt bondage can be imprisoned for 15 years.
- Aggravated trafficking, where a victim dies, suffers a serious injury, becomes disabled, or their health worsens due to a chronic disease, carries a fine of two million Maloti or life imprisonment.
Sources: §04 & 09 of the Constitution of Lesotho, 1998; §09 of the Labour Act, 2024 (Act No. 3 of 2024); §5, 7 and 9 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2011
Freedom to Change Jobs and Right to Quit
The law of Lesotho gives workers the freedom to change jobs and the right to quit. In accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, everyone has the right to work and freedom of work.
A worker who wants to terminate his employment contract must also give his employer a minimum period of notice, depending on the length of employment, which ranges between seven days and three months.
Source: §130 &131 of the Labour Act, 2024 (Act No. 3 of 2024)
Inhumane Working Conditions
Normal working hours are 8-9 hours a day and 45 hours a week. The general overtime work must not exceed 15 hours per week.
For more information on this, please refer to the section on working time.
Source: §186 of the Labour Act, 2024 (Act No. 3 of 2024)
Regulations on Forced Labour
- Constitution of Lesotho 1998
- Labour Act, 2024 (Act No. 3 of 2024)
- Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2011
