Labor law in Namibia

The Ministry of Justice and Labour Relations, the Labour Commissioner, the Labour Inspectorate, the Labour Court, the Wages Commission, the Labour Advisory Council and the Social Security Commission perform different labour-law functions in Namibia. The Labour Act generally covers employers and employees in dependent work. It excludes the Namibian Defence Force, Namibian Police Force, municipal police, Namibia Central Intelligence Service and Correctional Service where special legislation applies. Regional differences were not identified in the reviewed material, so national rules, sector-specific Gazette notices and collective agreements determine the applicable standard. The Act prohibits forced labour and discrimination based on sex, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed, social or economic status, political opinion, marital status, disability or HIV/AIDS status. Sexual harassment is prohibited, and serious conduct can support a constructive-dismissal claim. Children under 14 may not work. Children aged 14 to 16 face restrictions, including no work between 20:00 and 07:00 and no dangerous or specified industrial work. The same night-work and danger restrictions generally apply from age 16 to 18 unless a ministerial exception applies. The Labour Act does not establish a general written-form requirement for every employment contract in the reviewed rules. Domestic workers must receive the prescribed DW1 written contract. Fishers require an FCE1 or FCE2 written contract, an explanation in a language they understand, a copy of the contract and five years of record retention. Payment in kind requires an agreement or collective agreement, and an employer may not use food, housing or allowances to reduce the national minimum wage. For most employees, working time may not exceed 45 hours per week, 9 hours per day where the employee works no more than five days per week, or 8 hours per day where the employee works more than five days. Security officers, emergency-healthcare employees and a designated class may reach 60 hours per week, with daily limits of 12 or 10 hours as applicable. Overtime requires agreement, normally stays within 10 hours per week and 3 hours per day, and may require approval from the responsible Permanent Secretary. Overtime pays at least 1.5 times the basic hourly wage. Ordinary Sunday or public-holiday work generally attracts at least twice the basic hourly wage where the statutory conditions apply. A meal interval of at least one hour follows more than five hours of work; a 30-minute interval requires agreement and written notice. The spread-over may not exceed 12 hours, and weekly rest must normally reach 36 hours. Night work between 20:00 and 07:00 attracts an additional 6% of basic wage, excluding overtime. Sunday work is generally prohibited, subject to exceptions such as urgent work, domestic service, care work, farming, continuous shifts and approved services. For a public holiday, the employee receives normal daily remuneration plus the basic hourly wage for each hour worked, unless an agreed alternative provides 1.5 times the basic hourly wage and equal time off. Pay can be arranged daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly, but the employer must pay no later than one hour after ordinary working hours. Payment may be made in cash or deposited into an account designated by the employee. On termination, final payment is due on the termination day. Unlawful deductions are prohibited. From 1 January 2026, the general national minimum wage is N$18.00 per hour, with sector rates of N$15.00 for domestic work, N$14.00 for agriculture and N$16.00 for security work. The rates are scheduled to be N$18.00 per hour in each listed category from 1 January 2027. The minimum-wage calculation uses monetary pay for ordinary hours and excludes allowances, payment in kind, tips, bonuses, overtime, Sunday, public-holiday and night premiums, pension contributions, medical benefits and insurance. The wage is reviewed every two years and includes an annual inflation clause. These rates also cover placements made through private employment agencies, but not the listed uniformed public services. Construction is also governed by sector instruments. Gazette Notice 156 of 2024 provided a collective agreement for the sector for two years from 6 June 2024. A new 2026-2028 agreement beginning on 1 September 2026 has been reported, including a possible N$20.43 rate for labourers and general workers, but the official Gazette text was not verified in the reviewed material. That rate should therefore be confirmed before it is used. Fishers have written-contract requirements, variable shifts of no more than 8 hours, special overtime limits of up to 35 hours in a seven-day period and 5 hours in a 24-hour period, commission rules, repatriation protection, occupational-safety requirements and union-access rights. Annual leave is four consecutive weeks per leave cycle: 24 days for a six-day working week, 20 days for a five-day week and 16 days for a four-day week. During a 36-month sick-leave cycle, the entitlement is generally 30 working days for a five-day week and 36 working days for a six-day week; in the first year, the calculation is one day for every 26 days worked. A medical certificate is required after more than two consecutive days of sickness. Compassionate leave provides five paid working days in a 12-month period for the death or serious illness of a family member. After six months of service, maternity leave lasts at least 12 weeks, normally four weeks before the expected confinement and eight weeks after birth. The employer pays remuneration excluding basic wage, while the Social Security Commission provides the prescribed basic-wage benefit. Pregnancy and maternity dismissal protection applies, and a medical certificate can support extended maternity leave for the greater of one month or the employee's accrued sick leave. Employers must provide a safe workplace, safe systems and equipment, protective equipment, training and supervision, report accidents and occupational diseases, and provide these protections without charging the employee. An employee must take reasonable care and cooperate with safety measures. An employee may leave a dangerous workplace after giving immediate notice and retain the same remuneration. A health and safety representative is required when the workplace has more than 10 but fewer than 101 employees, and at least one representative per 100 employees applies from 101 employees. A safety committee must be established on request where more than 100 employees work. Employees may join or form a registered trade union. When a union has majority support in the appropriate bargaining unit, it can become the exclusive bargaining agent. The employer must respond within 30 days; unresolved recognition disputes can go to the Labour Commissioner or arbitration. Workplace representatives have access rights, and written collective agreements may improve statutory minima. A collective agreement can therefore provide better pay, leave or other conditions than the Labour Act. Notice is at least one day for service of four weeks or less, one week for more than four weeks up to one year, and one month after more than one year. An employer must give written notice and the reason for termination. Notice cannot normally run during statutory leave or concurrent leave, although payment in lieu of notice is possible. A dismissal requires a valid and fair reason and a fair procedure. Once the employee establishes that a dismissal occurred, the employer bears the presumption burden. Union activity, exercising labour rights and discriminatory grounds are prohibited reasons. For redundancy, the employer must notify the Labour Commissioner and the union or workplace representatives at least four weeks beforehand, provide information, negotiate in good faith, consider alternatives and minimise and fairly select the affected positions. After at least 12 months of continuous service, severance is at least one week's remuneration for each completed year, subject to exceptions such as fair dismissal for misconduct or poor performance and an unreasonable refusal of reinstatement. Final pay includes accrued leave, and the employer must provide a certificate of service. An employee or employer normally starts a labour dispute with Form LC 21 and LG 36 through the Labour Commissioner or a Labour Office. An unfair-dismissal referral must generally be made within six months of dismissal; other labour disputes generally have a one-year limit from when the dispute arose. Conciliation normally precedes arbitration. Available remedies include an interdict, corrective order, declaration, reinstatement and compensation. An arbitration award is binding and can be enforced as a Labour Court order after filing. Labour Court appeal or review generally has a 30-day period. Legal representation in arbitration requires agreement or permission. An interest-dispute strike or lockout requires prior referral, conciliation, the applicable 30-day period and 48 hours' notice, and is prohibited for arbitrable or adjudicable disputes and in designated essential services. Labour inspectors may enter, inspect, question people, examine documents, recover wages and enforce awards. Employers must keep current records for five years, and offences can lead to fines or imprisonment. No statutory referral fee was verified in the reviewed material, but private legal-representation costs are separate.