Ethiopia’s parliament, the House of Peoples’ Representatives, approved a revised labour law on Thursday, 4 July 2019, replacing the labour proclamation of 2003. The new Labour Proclamation No. 1156/2019 gives female employees at least 120 days of maternity leave, including one month before birth and three months after, and extends the probation period for new hires from 45 to 60 working days, The Reporter and New Business Ethiopia reported.
Under the new rules, a probation period must be agreed in writing and may not exceed 60 working days from the first day of work. “Unless the law or work rules or collective agreement provides otherwise, the probationary worker shall have the same rights and obligations that a worker who has completed his probation period possesses,” the proclamation says, according to New Business Ethiopia. If a worker proves unfit for the job during probation, the employer may end the contract without notice and without paying severance or compensation.
Many employers had pushed for about three months. “Still 60 days is not enough to understand the skills and characters of an employee, especially in manufacturing related operations. In my opinion it should have been three months,” said Melaku Kinfegabriel, managing director of Premier Human Resource Supply and Investment Consultants.
The law also changes the rules on dismissal. The old proclamation let an employer dismiss a worker without notice after five consecutive days of absence. Under the new one, an employer may dismiss a worker without notice for arriving late without good reason on eight days within six months, or for five days of absence, even if the days are not consecutive. An employer may not dismiss a woman for lateness in the four months after she gives birth, New Business Ethiopia reported.
Abeba Yosef, who chairs parliament’s Women, Youth and Social Affairs standing committee, said the law guarantees the right of workers and employers to form their own associations and to deal with each other through elected representatives, and sets out a procedure for settling labour disputes quickly. She said it also defines the powers of the government body that inspects labour conditions, occupational safety, health and the work environment, and would help workers and employers “maintain industrial peace and work in the spirit of cooperation.” The new law repeals the 2003 labour proclamation, No. 377/2003, and three related proclamations.
In the same session, lawmakers unanimously approved a revised value added tax law, Proclamation No. 1157/2019, replacing a law in force for 17 years. Under the old law every registered VAT payer had to report monthly, even with no sales. Under the new one, only businesses with annual turnover above 70 million birr, or those importing capital goods, report every month; the rest report every three months. Members of parliament also sent the draft electoral and political parties law to a standing committee for revision, The Reporter said.
Sources: The Reporter, New Business Ethiopia