5 Things every Nigerian should know about the Labour Act (Part I)

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    Ebunlomo 3 years ago

    Recall there are several laws relating to labour in Nigeria, but one of them is called The Nigerian Labour Act which is the primary legislation which deals with the relationship between an employer and its employees. It contains quite a number of provisions which govern this relationship dynamic, and also all the regulatory processes applicable for employers. The Labour Act only covers employees engaged under a contract of manual Labour or clerical work in the private and public sector.

     

    1.    Forced Labour is illegal. The first (and in our opinion, most important) thing every Nigerian should know is that it is illegal to force anyone to work for you.

     

    2.    If a worker is at work for more than 6 hours a day, he/she must be given at least 1 hour of rest-interval on that day. Further, in every period of 7 days, a worker is entitled to at least 1 day of rest which must not be less than 24 consecutive hours.

     

    3.    All employees must have a written contract. The Labour Act states that an employer must give an employee a written contract within 3 months of the commencement of the employment. The contract must have the certain key terms – name of employer/employee, nature of employment, duration, wages etc.

     

    4.    Payment of wages. Any contract where the whole or part of the worker’s wages is made payable in any other manner apart from legal tender shall be illegal, null and void. Therefore, it is illegal for your employer to attempt to pay you with things other than money.

     

    5.    Salary Deductions. Employers are not allowed to deduct an employee’s wages for any reason, unless reasonable deduction for injury/loss caused to the employer by the employee, but only with prior written consent of an authorized Labour officer.

     

    Source: HR Leverage

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