memorandum 1. policy and principles · employer’s dependent relatives and members of the updf and...

THE EMPLOYMENT (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2019

MEMORANDUM

1. POLICY AND PRINCIPLES

The object to the Bill is to amend the Employment Act to operationalize the provisions of

Article 40 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda to all categories of workers in

Uganda specifically make provision for the regulation of employment of domestic workers

in Uganda so as to improve their working conditions, to provide for the protection of rights of

domestic workers; to provide for the welfare, protection and security of domestic workers, to

provide for compulsory registration and licensing of recruitment agencies for domestic

workers, to provide for and explicit formula for calculation of severance pay; to remove the

conditions attached to payment of severance pay; to provide for the recruitment and

employment of Ugandan migrant workers abroad; to provide for the protection of working

breast feeding mothers; to require employers to put in place policies and facilities for breast

feeding mothers; to prohibit employment of persons as casual employees for more than three

months with the same employer and to provide for conversion of casual employment

Although the Employment Act, 2006 does not exclude its application to domestic workers

and casual employees, the lack of express provisions in the law has led to casualisation of

labour and severe exploitation of domestic workers including depriving domestic workers of

their wages, more than 16-18 hours of work per day, sexual, verbal physical abuses by their

employers and family members of the households where they work as well as violation of the

their constitutional rights including right to worship, freedom of association as they are often

prohibited from having contact with the outside world by their employers.

Despite the Employment Act 2006 having defined a casual worker and the subsequent

regulation of domestic worker in the Employment Regulations 2011, the Act lacks principles

which the regulations would ordinarily being regulating. This has resulted into exploitation of

casualisation of workers depriving such workers of the rights of employees enshrined in the

Employment Act 2006 and social protection which in the long term increases Government

Expenditures on such workers especially in their old ages.

The purpose of this amendment is to expressly recognise domestic workers and casual

employees under the Act and clearly provide for their regulation. This is especially important

due to their vulnerability and susceptibility to exploitation and the fact that employers of

domestic workers and casual employees have been reluctant to comply with the implied

provisions of the Act.

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2. DEFECTS IN THE EXISTING LAW

2.1 Domestic workers.

Domestic work in general is one of the most common and traditional forms of work in Africa

generally and Uganda in particular employing all categories of people most of whom are

children or young persons. A good number of Ugandans, the vast majority women and young

people, are employed in private homes as domestic workers.

They carry out essential tasks for

the household, including cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping, and caring for children and

elderly members of the employer and contribute substantially to Uganda’s socio-economic

development through providing vital services in the family. In addition, in the recent times,

as a result of innovativeness, households have converted into work places and business

premises for skilled young people carrying out activities such as bakery, catering services,

making and packaging of snacks, tailoring, farming especially rearing of chicken for

commercial purposes, knitting of wool carpets to mention but few. This new wave has

created a new category of workers “household employee” who are not necessarily domestic

workers but working in house hold. There is an increase in demand for household employees

both within Uganda and other countries around the world and yet they still remain

unrecognized and invisible labour force, vulnerable and subject to abuse and their work is

undervalued yet they contribute substantially to Uganda’s socio-economic development

through providing vital services to families

The Employment Act, 2006 is the primary law governing individual employment

relationships and governs employee-employer relationships, in particular, for employment

under contracts of service. The Act provides for protection from forced labour, protection

from discrimination in employment, and protection of employees from sexual harassment by

the employer. The Act provides for the right to written particulars of the contract, the right to

fair hearing before dismissal, and the right to reinstatement or compensation in case of unfair

dismissal. The Act creates the office of the labour officer and gives the officer powers to

inspect places of work for purposes of securing enforcement of legal provisions relating to

conditions of work. The Act also gives the labour officer powers to investigate and dispose of

complaints, prosecute civil or criminal matters before the Industrial Court.

The Employment Act, 2006 therefore has broad application, covering all employees

employed by an employer under a contract of service (apart from exceptions for an

employer’s dependent relatives and members of the UPDF and their civilian employees

It should however be noted that the Act has a very narrow scope on the regulation of

domestic work, domestic workers, employers of domestic workers and recruitment and

placement of domestic workers. For instance section 38(3) is to the effect that no permit is

required for a person or company to recruit and place a domestic servant and non manual

laborers.

In addition, the Act under section 3 (2) (a) also clearly states that the Act does not apply to

employers and their dependent relatives when the dependant relatives are the only employees

in a family undertaking..’ Majority of the women and young persons working as domestic

workers are somewhat related to their employers and this limits the applicability of the law

on domestic workers.

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The only special categories expressly mentioned in the Act are persons with disabilities

apprentices and yet domestic workers and casual employees are equally recognized as being

among vulnerable by the National Employment Policy of 2011. For instance, section 34

empowers the minister to make regulations governing the employment of persons with

disabilities, apprentices and other categories of employees, who in his or her opinion, are in

need of special protection.

Further, while the Act recognizes “domestic servant”, it does not recognize the category of

workers known as “domestic workers” because homes are considered private premises and

therefore cannot be inspected by labour officers to enforce the Act. This lack of express

provisions in the law has led to severe exploitation of women and young person which

include depriving domestic workers of their wages, working for longer hours about16-18

hours of work per day, absence of proper food and living or sleeping condition, forced labour

and being totally cut off from their family members, bounded labour , sexual exploitation by

their employers or by the agent during transit, at the office of agency and at the work place in

houses of employers, the list of exploitation is endless.

In this regard, the Uganda Law Reform Commission in their study report on the Employment

Act also noted that although the application of the Employment Act, 2006 does not exclude

domestic workers or casual employees, their low bargaining power and fragility in their job

cannot be sufficiently catered for solely by the general provisions of the Employment Act,

2006.

2.2 Protection of breastfeeding working mothers.

There is also need to amend the Act to clearly prohibit discrimination against breastfeeding

mothers in employment and to ensure that breast feeding mothers are given breaks to

breastfeed at least for first three months after maternity leave. Although Article 40 (4) of the

Constitution provides for the protection of every female worker during pregnancy and after

birth in accordance with the law, the Employment Act, 2006 does not contain comprehensive

and explicit provision promoting the rights of breastfeeding mothers. There is therefore need

to expressly protect breastfeeding rights of working women and establish means for its

enforcement.

Maternity protection at the workplace is a legal and social recognition of the duo role of

working women as mothers and as active participants in the production and development of

the economy. The International Labour Organization (ILO) first recognized the importance of

maternity protection in 1919 in its third convention (C3). In 1952, a second ILO maternity

protection convention was adopted (C103), and in 2000 a third (C 183). During the 20th

Century, most countries of the world including Uganda have enacted some maternity

protection legislation at national level. There are several key elements to maternity protection

in general including scope, leave, benefits, health protection, job protection and

nondiscrimination, breastfeeding breaks and breastfeeding facilities. Although some of these

elements have been incorporated into our laws including maternity leave, nondiscrimination

and other benefits, the issue of breastfeeding breaks and facilities are not catered for in the

Act.

In 2001 and again in 2002, the World Health Assembly recommended as a public health

policy, that babies be exclusively breastfed for six months, and that they continue to

breastfeed until age two years or more, with timely introduction of locally prepared

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indigenous complementary foods. Thus, for the majority of mothers, who return to work after

a maternity leave of less than six months, and for those who have hardly any leave at all,

breastfeeding breaks or reduced work hours are essential to the maintenance of exclusive

breastfeeding. Where practicable, employers should make provision for the establishment of

facilities for nursing under adequate hygienic conditions at or near the workplace.

There is therefore need to amend the Employment Act, 2006 to operationalize article 40 (4)

by clearly providing for the protection of the rights of breastfeeding mother at work places

and to encourage employers, where possible, to provide breast feeding facilities for working

mothers.

2.3 Casual Workers

Whereas the Employment Act 2006, under section 2 defined a casual employee, this is only

provision on casual employees in the entire Act. The Act therefore does not legislate or make

provisions on employment of casual employees. In addition the provisions of Section 3(2) (a)

also affect casual employees who are sometimes dependant relatives of the employers.

Despite the 2011 Employment Regulations, regulating casual employment, the Act lacks

substantive provisions to support the enforcement of the regulations on casual employment

and thereby creating a defect in the law. The practioners and enforcers of the Act have found

challenges and difficulties in remedying the legal defect where the regulations are creating

provisions which are not in the parent Act. This has resulted into exploitation of the labour

force depriving such workers of the rights as employees enshrined in the Employment Act

2006 and social protection which in the long term increases Government Expenditures on

such workers especially in their old ages.

2.4 Migrant Workers

The Employment Act 2006 lacks comprehensive provisions regulating recruitment,

employment and monitoring of the Migrant Workers both in Uganda and Ugandan Migrant

workers abroad. Section 37 of the Act only prohibits the illicit movements of migrant

workers in and out of the country. There are no provisions regulating the employment of

migrant workers in Uganda. This has resulted into exploitation of migrant workers and abuse

of their rights. The Employment (Recruitment of Migrant Workers) Regulations, 2005 came

into force a year earlier than the Employment Act of 2006. The lack of comprehensive

provisions regulating the recruitment and employment migrant workers has resulted into

reports of Uganda migrant workers ending up in conditions indicative of human trafficking,

limited monitoring and protection to migrant and in the worst scenarios losing lives.

3. REMEDIES PROPOSED TO DEAL WITH THE DEFECTS.

The object of the Bill is therefore to address the gaps that have been identified in the current

law by amending the existing law to specifically make provision for the regulation of

domestic workers in Uganda so as to improve their working conditions, to provide for the

protection of rights of domestic workers; to provide for the welfare, protection and security of

domestic workers, to provide for compulsory registration of recruitment agencies, to prohibit

discrimination against breast feeding mothers, to encourage employers to put in place policies

and where possible facilities for breast feeding mothers and to provide for the conversion of

casual employment to contract of service.

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The Bill therefore provides for-

(a) the definition of domestic worker, domestic work, household employee, work

place and recruitment agency;

(b) explicit application of the Act to domestic workers and casual employees;

(c) the requirement for all employers to put in place measures to prevent sexual

harassment at the workplace;

(d) Empower the Minister to prescribe model contracts for domestic workers

casual workers and or household employees;

(e) to prohibit the employment of persons below the age of sixteen years as

domestic workers;

(f) to specifically mention domestic workers and casual employees as special

categories of employees;

(g) to require a written contract of service for migrant worker who is recruited in

Uganda for work in another country, before departure, receive a written job

offer or contract of employment that is enforceable in the country in which the

work is to be performed containing the terms and conditions of employment

prescribed under the Act;

(h) to require recruitment agencies of domestic workers and casual employees to

obtain a permit before operation and empower the Minister to put in place

measures for the regulation of the agencies;

(i) to require recruitment agencies to keep records of both domestic workers

recruited and their employers and contact details;

(j) to provide for the protection of the rights of breastfeeding mothers;

(k) to introduce special provisions relating to domestic workers and casual

employees including the responsibility of recruitment agencies and employers,

the rights of domestic workers and casual employees, benefits during sickness,

accommodation and food, right to protective clothing, conversation of casual

employment to term contracts and prohibition of abuse, harassment or

violence against domestic workers or causal employees; and

(l) to empower the Minister to make regulations relating to domestic workers,

casual employees and breastfeeding mothers.

(m) to provide for explicit formula for the calculation and payment of severance

allowance

HON Agnes Kunihira

Workers Member of Parliament

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THE EMPLOYMENT (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2018

ARRANGEMENT OF CLAUSES

Clause

1. Commencement.

2. Amendment of section 2 of Act 6 of 2006.

3. Amendment of section 3 of the principal Act.


5. Insertion of new section 7A to the principal Act.





10. Substitution of section 34 of the principal Act.








18. Insertion of new Part VIA to the principal Act.

19. Amendment of Section 87 of the Principal Act.

20. Amendment of Section 89 of the Principal Act.


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A BILL for an Act

ENTITLED

THE EMPLOYMENT (AMEDNMENT) ACT, 2018

An Act to amend the Employment Act, 2006 to specifically make provision for the

regulation of employment of domestic workers in Uganda so as to improve their

working conditions, to provide for the protection of rights of domestic workers; to

provide for the welfare, protection and security of domestic workers, to provide for

compulsory registration and licensing of recruitment agencies for domestic workers, to

provide for and explicit formula for calculation of severance pay; to remove the

conditions attached to payment of severance pay; to provide for the recruitment and

employment of Ugandan migrant workers abroad; to provide for the protection of

working breast feeding mothers; to require employers to put in place policies and

facilities for breast feeding mothers; to prohibit employment of persons as casual

employees for more than three months with the same employer and to provide for

conversation of casual employment.

BE IT ENACTED by Parliament as follows-

PART I - PRELIMINARY

1. Commencement.

This Act shall come into force on a date to be appointed by the Minister by statutory

instrument.

2. Amendment of section 2 of Act 6 of 2006.

The Employment Act, 2006, in this Act referred to as the principal Act is amended in section

2 –

(a) by substituting for the definition of “contract of service” the following new

definition-

““contract of service” means any contract, whether oral or in writing, whether

express or implied, where a person agrees in return for remuneration to work

for an employer and includes a contract of apprenticeship or domestic work

or casual work;”

Definition: casual employee” means a person the terms of

whose engagement provide for his payment at the end of each

day and who is not engaged for longer periods that twenty four

hours at a time

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(b) by inserting immediately after the definition of “dismissal from employment”, the

following new definitions-

““domestic work” means work performed in or for a household or

households;”

““domestic worker” means a person employed to do domestic work for

remuneration for one or more employers by staying at the household or

otherwise and includes casual, temporary, contractual or migrant domestic

workers;”

(c) by substituting for the definition of “employee”, the following-

““employee” means any person who has entered into a contract of service or

an apprenticeship contract, including, without limitation, any person who is

employed by or for a household or the Government of Uganda, including the

Uganda Public Service, a local authority, a parastatal but excludes a member

of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces;”

(d) by substituting for the definition of “employer”, the following new definition-

““employer” means any person or group of persons, including, a company or

corporation, a public, regional or local authority, a governing body of an

unincorporated association, a partnership, parastatal organization or other

intuitions or organizations whatsoever or a household, for whom an

employee works or has worked, or normally worked or sought work, under a

contract of service, and includes the heirs, successors, assignees and

transferors of any person or group of persons for whom an employee works,

has worked, or normally works;”

(e) by inserting immediately after the definition of “ HIV” the following new definition-

“household employee is an individual who is paid to provide service within

their employer’s residence;”

(f) by inserting immediately after the definition of “recruitment” the following new

definition-

““recruitment agency" means any agency, bureau, contractor or person

registered which provides or engages in employment of workers or which

facilitates the placement of workers for prospective employers and includes an

agency or person offering services through any print, electronic or any form of

communication;”

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(g) by inserting immediately after the definition of “week”, the following new definition-

““workplace” means all places of work and all sites and areas where work is

carried out including not only the permanent, indoor, household, stationary

places of work such as offices and shops but also temporary places of work

such as civil engineering sites, open air places such a fields, forests, roads, oil

refineries, and mobile places of work such as cabs of trucks, seates of tractors

and excavators, ships, galleys, freight decks of air craft, and without

exception, places where workers are found as a consequence of their work.


Section 3 of the principal Act is amended-

(a) by substituting for subsection (1), the following-

“(2) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, this Act applies to all employees

employed by an employer under a contract of service, including domestic

workers and casual employees.”

(b) by repealing subsection (2) (a).


Section 7 of the principal Act is amended by substituting for subsection (4), the following-

“(4) Every employer shall put in place measures to prevent sexual harassment

from occurring at their workplace.”

Section 7 of the principal Act is amended by inserting immediately after subsection (4), the

following new section-

(5) The measures to prevent sexual harassment from occurring at the workplace

referred to under subsection (4) shall include;

(a) a sexual harassment policy which may contain any term the employer

considers appropriate for the purposes of this section and shall contain

i. The definition of sexual harassment

ii. A statement explaining how sexual harassment may be brought to the

attention of the employer

iii. The disciplinary measures as the employer may deem appropriate

against any person under employers direction who subjects any

employee to sexual harassment

iv. Explaining how complaints of sexual harassment may be brought to

the attention of the employer;


The principal Act is amended by inserting immediately after section 7, the following new

section-

“7A. Prohibition of abuse, harassment or violence against employee.

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(1) An employer shall not mistreat, cause or permit an employee to be mistreated by

any other person.

(2) Mistreatment under subsection (1) include-

(a) physical;

(b) intimidation;

(c) the employer or other person does or causes an employee to do any act which

causes or is likely to cause injury to health or safety of the worker;

(d) the employer or other person who neglects or abandons an employee in

circumstances which cause or is likely to cause injury to health or threatens

the safety of the employee;

(e) the employer of other person commits an act that is detrimental to the welfare

of the employee;

(f) causing grievous harm to the employee;

(g) wrongful confinement;

(h) assault;

(i) insulting the modesty of an employee; or

(j) withholding food and other basic necessities.”


Section 11 of the principal Act is amended by inserting immediately after subsection (2), the

following new subsections-

“(2a) For the avoidance of doubt, a labour officer may, subject to article 27 of the

Constitution and subsection (2b), enter into and inspect a household premise where a

domestic worker or casual employee is employed for purposes of enforcing the

provisions of this Act.

(2b) The Minister shall, by regulations, prescribe conditions under which access to

household premises may be granted, having due regard to respect for privacy.”


Section 12 of the principal Act is amended by inserting immediately after subsection (2) the

following new subsection-

“(3) The Minister may, by statutory instrument, prescribe a simplified and accessible

complaint handling mechanism for workers with disabilities, domestic workers,

casual employees and other categories of employees that he or she determines may

require special protection.”

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Section 22 of the principal Act is amended in subsection (4) by inserting immediately after

paragraph (e), the following-

“(f) the formulation and development of policies for the regulation and protection of

domestic workers and casual employees.”


The principal Act is amended in section 32-

in subsection (2), by substituting for the word “fourteen”, with the word “sixteen”;

(b) in subsection (3) by substituting for the word “fourteen”, the word “sixteen”

10. Substitution of section 34 of the principal Act.

The principal Act is amended by substituting for section 34, the following-

“34. Special categories of employees.

Without prejudice to the generality of the preceding sections of this Part, the Minister

shall, on the recommendation of the Labour Advisory Board, make regulations

governing the employment of persons with disabilities, domestic workers, casual

employees, apprentices and other categories of employees, who in his or her opinion,

are in need of special protection.”


The principal Act is amended by substituting for section 37 the following-

“37. Migrant workers.

(1) A migrant worker who is recruited in Uganda for work in another country shall,

before departure, receive a written job offer or contract of employment that is

enforceable in the country in which the work is to be performed containing the

terms and conditions of employment prescribed under section 59.

(2) A person employing a migrant worker in Uganda shall undertake to-

(a) ensure that the employment is in accordance with this Act, the standard

contract of service and other applicable laws, regulations and collective

bargaining agreements;

(b) provide the migrant worker orientation on the terms and conditions of

employment and other relevant information including the their rights and

duties under their contracts of employment prior to or in the process of

engagement;

(c) ensure that the Migrant worker has a valid work permit issued by the

Ministry of Internal Affairs;

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(d) keep a register of migrant workers and periodically file returns to the district

labour officer of area in which the work place is located.

(3) The Minister may, by regulations, specify conditions under which migrant

workers are entitled to repatriation on the expiry or termination of the employment

contract of which he or she was recruited.

(4) A person who contravenes this section commits an offence and liable on

conviction to a fine not exceeding ten thousand currency points or imprisonment

not exceeding three years or both.”


Section 38 of the principal Act is amended-

(a) by inserting immediately after subsection(1) the following new subsection-

(1a) for the avoidance of doubt, the recruitment permit referred to in subsection (1)

shall be required for recruitment agencies and or recruiters recruiting for foreign or

internal labour market.

(b) by inserting immediately after subsection (2), the following new subsection-

(2b) A recruitment agency granted a permit under subsection (1) shall undertake due

diligence on the employer before arranging for that employer an employee.

(2c) A recruitment agency granted a permit under this Act for the purposes of

recruitment for external labour market shall undertake to-

(a) provide to the Ugandan migrant workers orientation on recruitment

policies and procedures, terms and conditions of employment and other

relevant information including their rights and duties under their contracts

of employment prior to or in the process of engagement;

(b) ensure that any Ugandan migrant worker recruited or deployed by the

agency is qualified and holds the documents necessary for the job

concerned;

(c) ensure that contracts of employment are in accordance with this Act, the

standard contract of service and other applicable laws, regulations and

collective bargaining agreements;

(d) assume full and complete responsibility for all claims and liabilities which

may arise in connection with the use of the license and provide a list of all

its employees involved in the recruitment and placement including their

contracts of appointment, bio-data and two copies of their passport size

photographs; and

(e) provide individual income tax returns of the proprietor, partners, or board

of directors as the case may be, for the past one year;

(2d) The following persons are not eligible to be licensed to engage in the

business of recruitment and placement of Ugandan migrant workers-

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(a) a travel agency or sales agency of an airline company;

(b) an officer or member of the board of any company or partner in a

partnership engaged in the business of a travel agency;

(c) a company whose members of the board are engaged in the business of a

travel agency;

(d) a partnership whose partners are engaged in the business of a travel

agency; and

(e) a political, religious or tribal organization.

(c) repealing subsection (3);

(d) by inserting immediately after subsection (5) the following new subsection (6)

“A recruitment agency shall ensure that recruitment fees charged by the agency is not

deducted from the remuneration of the worker”

(e) by substituting for subsection (6) the following-

“(7) The Minister shall, by statutory instrument regulate the operations of recruitment

agencies.”

(f) by substituting for subsection (7), the following-

“(8) A person who contravenes this section commits an offence and is liable on

conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand currency points or imprisonment

not exceeding five years or both.”


The principal Act is amended by inserting immediately after section 38 the following-

“38A. Records to be kept by recruitment agencies.

(1) A recruitment agency issued a permit under section 38 shall maintain at their

place of business up to date records relating to their transactions with employers and

employees that they have connected for employment.

(2) The records referred to under subsection (1) shall include-

(a) in respect of the employer-

(i) the name, physical address and contact details including telephone

numbers and email address;

(ii) the nationality and country of permanent residence;

(iii) the occupation; and

(iv) any other information that the minister may require;

(b) in relation to an employee-

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(i) the name, address and contact details including telephone numbers and

email address;

(ii) the date of birth;

(iii) the name, address and telephone number of next of kin in Uganda;

(iv) highest education level attained;

(v) health records; and

(vi) any other information that the Minster may determine.

(3) Where the recruitment agency arranges for employment of Ugandan citizens out

of Uganda, the agency shall put in place measures for obtaining at least quarterly

updates from the employers and employees outside Uganda in relation to employees

sent to work outside Uganda.

(4) A person who contravenes this section commits an offence and liable on

conviction to a fine not exceeding ten thousand currency points or imprisonment not

exceeding five years of both.”


The principal Act is amended in section 39 by inserting immediately after subsection (4),

the following new subsection-

“(5) Notwithstanding any provision of this Act or any other law, all domestic workers

or casual employees employed in region or district where he or she does not reside

shall be entitled to repatriation under this section upon termination of employment.”


The principal Act is amended in subsection (2), by repealing paragraph (b).


The principal Act is amended by inserting immediately after section 56, the following new

section-

“56A. Protection of breast feeding women from discrimination.

(1) A female employee shall not be discriminated against on account of breast feeding.

(2) A female employee shall be provided with the right to one or more daily breaks or a

daily reduction of hours of work to breastfeed her child following sixty working days

prescribed under section 56.

(3) The period during which nursing breaks or the reduction of daily hours of work are

allowed, their number, the duration of nursing breaks and the procedures for the

reduction of daily hours of work shall not exceed more than one hours in aggregate.

(4) The breaks or the reduction of daily hours of work referred to under subsection (1)

shall be counted as working time and remunerated accordingly.

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(5) The breaks or the reduction of the daily hours of work referred to under sub section

(1) shall only be granted for consecutive three months upon the return of the female

employee after the sixty working days prescribed under section 56.

(6) The employer shall provide the female breast feeding employee with breast feeding

facility under adequate hygienic conditions within or near the work place for purposes

of breast feeding, bottle feed or expressing milk.”

(7) In recognition of the well documented health advantages of breastfeeding for infants

and mothers, employers shall put in place a breastfeeding policy and provide a

supportive environment to enable breastfeeding employees to express their milk

during work hours.

(8) The Minister may, by statutory instrument prescribe additional requirements and

privileges for breastfeeding mothers.”


The principal Act is amended in section 59-

(a) by inserting immediately after subsection (1), the following-

“(1a) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), a contract of service for

domestic workers shall in addition contain the following-

(a) the provision of food and accommodation, if applicable;

(b) the use of basic utilities for normal domestic use;

(1b) The Minister may, by statutory instrument prescribed a model contract for

domestic workers.”

(b) by inserting immediately after subsection (5) the following new subsection-

“(6) Where in any legal proceedings, an employer fails to produce a written

contract or the written particulars prescribed under this section, the burden of

proving or disapproving an alleged term of employment stipulated under this Act

shall be on the employer.”

18. Insertion of new Part VIA to the principal Act.

The principal Act is amended by inserting immediately after Part VI the following new Part-

“PART VIA- SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO DOMESTIC WORKERS AND

CAUSUAL EMPLOYEES

61A. Application of Part.

(1) This Part applies-

(a) to all domestic workers and casual employees;

(b) recruitment agencies; and

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(c) to every person employing one or more domestic workers throughout

Uganda;

(2) For the avoidance of doubt, this Part applies in addition to all the other provisions of

this Act in relation to domestic workers and casual employees.

61B. Responsibility of Government.

(1) The Government shall put in place measures to ensure the effective promotion and

protection of the human rights of all domestic workers and casual employees as

prescribed under this Act.

(2) The measures referred to under subsection (1) included-

(a) measures to respect and promote-

(i) freedom of association of domestic workers and effective recognition of the

right to collective bargaining;

(ii) the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour;

(iii)effective abolition of child domestic workers; and

(iv) the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation of

domestic workers;

(b) measures to ensure that domestic workers and casual employees enjoy effective

protection against all forms of abuse, harassment and violence;

(c) measures to ensure that domestic workers and casual employees, like workers

generally, enjoy fair terms of employment as well as decent working conditions

and, if they reside in the household, decent living conditions that respect their

privacy;

61C. Rights of domestic workers and casual employees.

(1) Every domestic worker or casual employee has the right to-

(a) a safe and healthy working environment in accordance with the

Occupational Safety and Health Act, 2006 and any other applicable law;

(b) work and earn livelihood, free from all forms of forced or compulsory

labour;

(c) earn wages in accordance with this Act, including allowances for overtime;

(d) access appropriate benefits under a social protection that may be put in

place by the Government;

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(e) redress of grievances through such appropriate mechanism as may be

prescribed;

(f) the right to practice his or her religion;

(g) organise and bargain collectively through associations, co-operatives or

union of workers;

(3) An employer shall not retain or withhold any personal documentation, identification

or work permit belonging to a domestic worker or casual employee.

61D. Benefits during sickness.

(1) An employer shall take reasonable steps to provide immediate treatment for illnesses

or injuries sustained by a domestic worker and casual employee in the course of

employment.

(2) Deductions shall not be made from the wages of an employee for any medical

attention provided by the employee.

61E. Conversion of casual employment to term contract.

(1) Notwithstanding any provisions of this Act, where a casual employee-

(a) works for a period or a number of continuous working days which amount in the

aggregate to the equivalent of not less than one month; or

(b) performs work which cannot reasonably be expected to be completed within a period,

or a number of working days amounting in the aggregate to the equivalent of three

months or more, the contract of service of the casual employee shall be deemed to be

one where wages are paid monthly.

(2) A casual employee whose contract has been converted into a term contract shall be

entitled to a written contract of service and shall cease to be a casual employee and all

rights and benefits enjoyed by other employees under this Act shall apply to him or her.

(3) In calculating wages and the continuous working days under subsection (1),

a casual employee shall be deemed to be entitled to one paid rest day after a continuous six

days working period and such rest day or any public holiday which falls during the period

under consideration shall be counted as part of continuous working days.

(4) An employee whose contract of service has been converted in accordance with

subsection (1), and who works continuously for two months or more from the date of

employment as a casual employee shall be entitled to such terms and conditions of

service as he would have been entitled to under this Act had he not initially been

employed as a casual employee.

(5) Notwithstanding any provisions of this Act, in any dispute before the labour officer on

the terms and conditions of service of a casual employee, the labour officer shall have

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the power to vary the terms of service of the casual employee and may in so doing

declare the employee to be employed on terms and conditions of service consistent with

this Act

(6) A casual employee who is aggrieved by the treatment of his or her employer under the

terms and conditions of his or her employment may file a complaint with the labour

officer in accordance with section 12 and section 13 shall apply.

(7) All casual workers provided by a recruitment agency to an employer are presumed to be

working for that employer for the period under contract of service.

(8) Where a casual employee is laid off by an employer and rehired the service shall be

regarded as continuous.

(9) Section 67 relating to probationary contracts shall not apply to a casual employee who

has been given a contract of service in accordance with section 61E or this section.

(10) For the avoidance of doubt, a person who receives their wages at the end of the month

shall not be considered a casual worker.”

19. Amendment of Section 87 of the principal Act

The Principal Act is amended in Section 87-

(a) by repealing paragraph (a)

(b) by substituting for paragraph (a) the following-

“(a) the employee is terminated by notice or payment in lieu of notice”

20. Amendment of Section 89 if the Principal Act

The Principal Act is amended in section 89-

(a) by substituting for subsection (89), the following-

“(89) (1) The Severance allowance payable shall be one month’s pay of the current

employee’s salary per year worked by the employee with and for the employer”.

“(89)(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) an employee who has been

in continuous service for a period of six months but less than twelve months, the

severance allowance payable shall be 75% of the employee’s one month’s pay.


Section 97 of the principal Act is amended in subsection (2)-

(a) by substituting for paragraph (f) the following-

“(f) employment of persons with disabilities, domestic workers, casual

employees, apprentices and other categories of employees;”

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(b) by inserting the following new paragraphs immediately after paragraph (f)-

“(fa) schemes for the benefit and welfare of domestic workers and casual

employees including social security, health, insurance, education and other

beneficial schemes;

(fc) minimum standards for decent conditions of work;

(fd) the regularisation of casual employees.”

Cross References

The Constitution of the Republic of Uganda.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act, 2006, Act 9 of 2006

Workers Compensation Act, Cap. 225

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