Examples of misconduct in the workplace in Zimbabwe

One of the most common reasons for dismissal of an employee from employment is misconduct. Examples of misconduct in the workplace in Zimbabwe are determined by whether there is a registered Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in place which defines misconduct.

In the absence of a registered employment code, the Labour (National Employment Code of Conduct) Regulations, 2006 (‘the Model Code’) acts as a default.

The Model Code contains examples of misconduct in the workplace in Zimbabwe. An employee commits a serious misconduct in Zimbabwe if he or she commits any of the following offences:

• Any act of conduct or omission inconsistent with the fulfilment of the express or implied conditions of his or her contract; or
• Wilful disobedience to a lawful order; or
• Wilful and unlawful destruction of the employer's property; or
• Theft or fraud; or
• Absence from work for a period of five or more working days without leave or reasonable cause in a year; or
• Gross incompetency or inefficiency in the performance of his or her work; or
• Habitual and substantial neglect of his or her duties; or
• Lack of a skill which the employee expressly or implied held himself or herself out to possess.