Annual Leave and Holidays
Paid Vacation / Annual Leave
The Labour Act provides paid annual leave on completion of one year of service with an employer. An employee is entitled to vacation leave at the rate of one twelfth (30 calendar days; 22 working days) of his qualifying service in each year of employment, unless more favourable provisions are provided in the employment contract or collective agreement.
Vacation leaves provided by the Labour Act are paid; no further specification related to pay level is provided by the law.
Annual leave is subject to a maximum accrual of ninety days’ paid vacation leave only if an employee is granted a portion of the total vacation leave which may have accrued to him/her. The employee may be granted the remaining portion at a later date, together with any further vacation leave which may have accrued to him at that date, without forfeiting any such accrued leave.
All Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays falling within a period of vacation leave are counted as part of vacation leave. An employee who becomes ill or is injured during a period of vacation leave may cancel his vacation leave and apply for sick leave. Where an employee has no vacation leave accrued, he may be granted vacation leave without Pay.
Source: §14(A)(2) of the Labour Act 1985
Pay on Public Holidays
Workers are entitled to paid holidays during public and religious holidays. Employee is paid his/her current remuneration for that day if it occurs on a day on which he/she would otherwise have been required to work.
Public Holidays in Zimbabwe are 11 in number. They include: New Year’s Day (1 January), Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Monday, Independence Day (18 April), Workers’ Day (1 May), Africa Day (25 May), Heroes & Defence Forces Days (2nd week of August), Unity Day (22 December), Christmas Day (25 December), and Boxing Day (26 December).
Source: §14(C)(2) of the Labour Act 1985
Weekly Rest Days
Workers are entitled to 24 consecutive hours of rest per week. Weekly rest days can either be the same every week or as agreed by the employer and employee.
No provision could be located in law regarding rest breaks and the daily rest period.
Source: §14(C)(1) of the Labour Act 1985
Regulations on Annual Leave and Holidays
- Labour Act 1985, last amended in 2015
