Every employee has the right not to be unfairly dismissed. A dismissal is unfair unless the employer can show it was done under a registered employment code of conduct, and where there is no code the employer must follow the national model code.

Section 12B(1) states the right in those words. Under 12B(2) the dismissal is unfair if the employer cannot show it dismissed in terms of an employment code, and in the absence of one the model code made under section 101(9) applies. Section 12B(3) also treats an employee as unfairly dismissed where they resigned because the employer deliberately made continued employment intolerable, which is what constructive dismissal means in Zimbabwe. Being told to go without a hearing is therefore not a lawful dismissal, whatever the letter says.

Applies to: Every employee covered by the Labour Act