Employer in Lesotho

The Labour Act 2024 replaced the Labour Code Order 1992 and applies to private and public employment, except for the Lesotho Defence Force, Lesotho Mounted Police Service, National Security Service and Lesotho Correctional Services. The Occupational Safety and Health Act 2024 also covers private and public workplaces, agriculture, informal-sector work and self-employed people, with the same four security services excluded. The national framework applies across Lesotho; no separate administrative or city-level employer system is evidenced here. An employment relationship usually exists where the company controls and directs the work, integrates the worker into its organisation, requires personal performance at a specified workplace and during specified hours, provides tools or materials, expects continuity and availability, and pays remuneration. Contracts may be for an indefinite period, a fixed duration or specific work or a journey. Probation may last up to four months, or up to one year for management and professional work. An extension beyond four months requires written leave from the Labour Commissioner. The contract must disclose the wage rate and the basis on which wages are calculated when employment starts. Employers must keep wage records in Sesotho or English for at least five years, pay wages in legal tender and must not charge workers for training. Sectoral minimum wages are set by statutory wage notices. The 2026 Wages (Minimum Wages) Notice took effect on 1 April 2026 and superseded the reported 2025 notice. The applicable sector rate must be checked in the current Gazette, and the notice must be displayed conspicuously at the workplace. Paying below the applicable rate is an offence and can create a back-pay claim. Unpaid wages receive priority for up to four months. Normal working time may not exceed 45 hours per week. After five continuous hours, the worker must receive at least one hour of rest. Overtime may reach 12 hours per day and must be paid at not less than 1.25 times the normal rate. A monthly calculation model uses 195 ordinary hours or 260 hours including overtime. Workers generally receive at least 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest. Work on a rest day or public holiday is generally paid at twice the normal rate. Annual leave is at least 12 working days per year. A public holiday is a paid day off. Sick-leave pay depends on service: the first six months may be unpaid; after six months, up to 12 days may be paid at full pay; after 12 months, up to 12 days may be paid at full pay and 24 days at half pay. Maternity, paternity and adoption leave, bereavement leave and nursing breaks also apply under the statutory rules. Paternity leave is 14 days, adoption and bereavement leave are five days, and a nursing worker receives one paid hour per day for six months. An employer must not discriminate because of race, colour, gender, disability, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, HIV/AIDS, religion, political affiliation or opinion, national extraction, social origin or age. Work of equal value must receive equal pay. Violence, harassment, sexual harassment, gender-based violence and bullying can constitute unfair labour practices, and the employer must prevent and respond to them. The employer must assess workplace risks and apply controls in this order: eliminate the hazard, substitute a safer method or substance, use engineering controls, use administrative controls and provide personal protective equipment. The employer must maintain a written occupational-safety-and-health policy and organisation, inform and train workers, supervise work, provide first aid and an emergency plan, maintain and test plant, communicate hazard information, arrange occupational-health surveillance, and provide and maintain protective equipment and clothing free of charge. Drinking water must be available. The employer must investigate workplace accidents and occupational diseases and keep the required register. A competent person must conduct an annual workplace safety and health audit, with the employer paying the cost and reporting the result to the Director of Occupational Safety and Health. Exposed workers require medical surveillance at least once every two months. A death must be reported to an occupational-safety-and-health officer within 24 hours and to the Director in writing within three working days. A non-fatal accident also requires written notice within three working days. Workers may not be punished for making a safety complaint or refusing work involving a serious and imminent risk. A worker representative may stop such work. A workplace with more than 15 workers must have a safety and health committee with equal employer and worker representation meeting at least quarterly. A workplace with more than 50 workers must have a full-time registered safety and health practitioner, although the Director may require one below that threshold. Freedom of association protects workers and employers. A representative trade union is a registered union representing more than 50 percent of the workforce. The employer must bargain in good faith, provide reasonable union facilities and access, and allow a workplace union representative to be elected. Union dues may be deducted only for a registered union where the union represents more than 35 percent of the workforce and the worker has given written authorisation or a collective agreement provides the basis. Interference, inducement or retaliation by the employer can be an unfair labour practice. Employers may also participate in an employer organisation or bargaining council. A safety and health committee remains a separate form of workplace representation. The Ministry of Labour and Employment provides the overall public framework. The Labour Commissioner administers labour matters and compliance. Labour inspectors may enter and inspect workplaces, subject to the applicable prior-notice rule, and issue compliance orders. The Director of Occupational Safety and Health handles occupational-safety compliance. The Director of National Employment Service licenses private employment agencies and handles work permits. The Directorate on Dispute Prevention and Resolution, commonly called DDPR, is a semi-autonomous legal tribunal. The Labour Court has exclusive jurisdiction over defined disputes, and the Labour Appeal Court handles appeals and review. The National Council for Labour, or NACOLA, and the Wages and Conditions of Employment Advisory Board also have statutory roles. A private employment agency needs a licence. The licence lasts for a maximum of 12 months and carries a Fourth Schedule fee of M2,000 per year. The agency must keep the required records, books, accounts and statistics. A non-citizen may work only with a valid work permit. The prospective employer submits the work-permit application to the Director of National Employment Service, and the application requires evidence that the labour is not available locally. The employer must produce permit evidence within four working days when required. An employer recruiting workers for service outside Lesotho also has repatriation and subsistence duties. A dispute of interest concerns a mutual-interest issue. It is referred to the DDPR in writing and normally proceeds to conciliation within 30 days. A lawful strike requires the statutory referral process, an unresolved statutory period and at least seven working days' notice to the other party and the DDPR; essential-service restrictions may apply. A lockout follows parallel conditions. Disputes of right follow different routes. The Labour Court handles unfair dismissal connected with industrial action or operational requirements and claims involving workplace injury, illness or death. Arbitration may handle contract, collective-agreement, wage-notice, underpayment and non-payment disputes and unfair dismissal cases other than those based on operational requirements. An unfair-dismissal referral generally has a three-month limit; other disputes generally have a three-year limit. Urgent relief from the Labour Court is possible, while court conciliation is normally required first. A dismissal may be based on capacity, conduct or operational requirements. The worker must have an opportunity to defend the case unless giving that opportunity would be unreasonable, and the employer must provide a written statement of the reason. For an indefinite contract, notice is at least one month after one year of service, two weeks after more than six months but less than one year, and one week after less than six months. Payment instead of notice is permitted. After more than one year of continuous service, severance is two weeks' wages for each completed year. A fair misconduct dismissal does not attract severance. A separate standalone redundancy or retrenchment procedure has not been evidenced. In a transfer of business, the new employer assumes the contracts, rights and duties, preserves continuity and may not worsen the overall terms. Formal employer arrangements are well established through legislation, public labour bodies, trade unions, employer organisations, bargaining councils, collective agreements and workplace codes. Small-scale or customary arrangements may also exist informally, but no separate independent institution representing the employer role has been evidenced. These rules have particular practical relevance in textiles and manufacturing, construction, mining, security, retail and wholesale, hospitality, domestic work and agriculture.