(f) normal hours of work;
(g) any provision for the termination of the contract other than those
provided by this Act;
(h) any disciplinary rule applicable to the employee.
(4) For the purposes of this section, “employer” means any person, body
corporate, undertaking or body of persons who or which has in his
employment at least five employees. (Emphasis supplied)
111. The 1st Claimant argues that by limiting the requirement of employees
required to be given particulars of contract to five, most, if not all, domestic
workers are left without a written contract of employment.
112. The 1st Claimant argues that the said limitation breaches sections 13, 20, 30(3)
and 31(1) of the Constitution.
113. In finding that section 27(4) of the Employment Act is constitutional, we shall
not re-state the law which we have already discussed in relation to the
constitutionality of section 11 of the Pension Act, above.
114. Suffice to say that the general law of contract permits parties to enter into
contracts in writing, by word of mouth, even impliedly. See Brogden v
Metropolitan Railway Co (1877) 2 App Cas 666. This position applies with
equal force to employment contracts in Malawi. Under section 3 of the
Employment Act, an “Employee” means - ‘(a) a person who offers his
services under an oral or written contract of employment, whether express
or implied…’ (Emphasis supplied). See also Chisowa v Ibrahim Cash ‘n
Carry [2008] MLLR 385.
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