A client recently requested support in applying Zimbabwe’s leave policy. We examined the relevant legislation closely to provide them with details of the duration of leave and the rate of remuneration, with specific conditions attached to each category.
Sick leave, special leave, maternity leave, and annual leave have specific thresholds, pay treatment, and eligibility rules that employers need to manage correctly.
Annual leave accrues progressively and is linked to an employee’s qualifying service. Qualifying service means any period of employment following the completion of the employee’s first year of employment with an employer. Employees earn leave at a rate of one-twelfth of their qualifying service for each year of employment.
In practical terms, this equates to:
Several important conditions apply:
Sick leave in Zimbabwe is assessed over any one-year period of service and is divided into two distinct phases, each with different pay obligations.
An employee is entitled to:
Any application for sick leave must be supported by a medical certificate signed by a registered medical practitioner. Where an employee requires sick leave beyond the initial 90 days, additional certification is required to justify the extended absence.
From a payroll perspective, employers must monitor cumulative sick leave carefully to ensure the correct rate of pay is applied as the employee moves from full pay to half pay. Miscalculations at this stage are a common source of payroll disputes.
“Leave compliance requires precise tracking of pay, duration and eligibility.”Speak to a Specialist
Special leave provides employees with up to 12 days of paid leave per calendar year for defined circumstances that fall outside ordinary sick or annual leave.
Special leave may be granted when an employee:
Special leave is remunerated at full pay.
Maternity leave in Zimbabwe applies to employees who have completed at least one year of service. The statutory entitlement is 98 days of maternity leave, with remuneration determined by timing and frequency:
If an employee requires maternity leave more frequently than once every 24 months, subsequent periods are granted without pay. Payroll teams must therefore track historical maternity leave usage to ensure remuneration is applied correctly and in line with statutory limits.
Employers who fail to apply leave policies correctly risk non-compliance, payroll inaccuracies and employee dissatisfaction.
Clear policies, proper documentation and reliable payroll systems ensure that statutory leave entitlements are applied consistently and lawfully.
If this article raised questions or highlighted areas you’d like to understand better, let’s talk.Our team can walk through the details, implications, and practical considerations for your business.
