Section 65 confers directly enforceable labour rights including the right to fair and safe labour practices and standards, fair remuneration, to form and join trade unions, to collective job action, to collective bargaining and to paid maternity leave of at least three months, while section 24 places a national objective on the State to secure full employment, eliminate forced labour and provide vocational guidance and training.

Where it stands today. In force since 22 May 2013. Section 65 has been the anchor for constitutional challenges to Labour Act provisions and for the reform agenda that produced Act 11 of 2023. Note that a separate Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 3) Bill, H.B. 1 of 2026, was before Parliament during 2026 and should be watched, though it is not primarily a labour measure.

The principal employment statute that declares the fundamental rights of employees, regulates contracts of employment, unfair labour practices, wages, termination, retrenchment, trade unions, employment councils, collective bargaining, employment codes of conduct, dispute resolution and the Labour Court.

Where it stands today. In force and repeatedly amended. The Veritas consolidation carries the amendment chain Acts 16/1985, 12/1992, 20/1994 (s. 19), 22/2001 (s. 4), 17/2002, 7/2005, 5/2011 (s. 18), 5/2015, 3/2016, 9/2022 and 11/2023. The Veritas consolidated text is stated as updated to 16 September 2025 and incorporates Act 11 of 2023.

The most important recent amendment to the Labour Act, which criminalises workplace violence and harassment, imposes a positive duty of equal pay for work of equal value, restricts the grounds on which an employer may terminate employment, overhauls retrenchment procedure and Retrenchment Board powers, liberalises maternity leave, regulates hourly work contracts, restores labour officer jurisdiction over disputes, requires five yearly review of employment codes of conduct, and raises child labour penalties from two years to ten years imprisonment.

Where it stands today. Gazetted 14 July 2023. Amends the Labour Act [Chapter 28:01]; it is an amending Act, so its provisions now live inside the principal Act. Key operative sections include 4A, 5(2A), 6(3), 11(5), 12(4a), 12C, 12CC, 18A, 26, 74(3)(o) and 93.

The legislative response to the Supreme Court decision in Zuva Petroleum, which curtailed termination of employment on notice and introduced a statutory minimum retrenchment package and compensation for loss of employment.

Where it stands today. Still part of the Labour Act consolidation but its retrenchment and termination provisions were substantially rewritten by Act 11 of 2023 and are now supplemented by SI 191 of 2024.

The historical chain of amending statutes that progressively converted the Labour Relations Act into the modern Labour Act, including the 2002 reforms that created the Labour Court and the 2005 reforms that restructured dispute resolution.

Where it stands today. These are listed in the header of the official Veritas consolidation of the Labour Act as the Acts by which the principal Act was amended. Individual short titles were not separately verified in this research, so treat the numbers as reliable and the descriptive attribution as indicative.

Amends the Health Service Act to restructure the health service and to restrict collective job action by health workers, including by limiting the duration of lawful strike action and creating criminal liability for inciting or organising unlawful health sector strikes.

Where it stands today. Gazetted 4 January 2023. It also appears as Act 9/2022 in the amendment chain of the Labour Act [Chapter 28:01], indicating consequential amendment of the Labour Act. It has been criticised in the Industrial Law Journal as inconsistent with ILO freedom of association standards.

Modernises the Children's Act in line with the Constitution and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including provisions bearing on protection of children from exploitation.

Where it stands today. Published by Veritas as Act No. 8 of 2023. The specific child labour clauses were not read from primary text in this research.

Governs the terms, conditions, discipline and grievance handling of civil servants, who are largely carved out of the Labour Act and instead regulated by the Public Service Commission.

Where it stands today. In force. Amended by regulation, most recently the Public Service (Amendment) Regulations, 2024 (No. 3) in SI 197 of 2024. A Public Service Amendment Bill (H.B. 8, 2025) remains before the National Assembly as at 18 July 2026, which is considering an adverse report from the Parliamentary Legal Committee.

Establishes the National Social Security Authority and empowers the Minister to create social security schemes, under which the national pension scheme and the accident prevention and workers compensation scheme operate.

Where it stands today. In force. Operationalised by scheme notices, principally the NSSA Pensions and Other Benefits Scheme and the NSSA Accident Prevention and Workers Compensation Scheme, both amended frequently by statutory instrument.

Provides for medical examination and certification of workers exposed to dust in mining and related occupations and for compensation of pneumoconiosis sufferers through a dedicated bureau and fund.

Where it stands today. Still in force as at July 2026. Clause 48 of the Occupational Safety and Health Bill (H.B. 6, 2025) would repeal it, but that Bill was only undergoing its Second Reading in the Senate as at 18 July 2026, so the repeal has not taken effect.

The main occupational safety and health statute, which requires registration of factories, regulates machinery guarding, welfare facilities, construction sites and the appointment of inspectors.

Where it stands today. Still in force as at July 2026. Clause 48 of the Occupational Safety and Health Bill (H.B. 6, 2025) would repeal it once that Bill is enacted. The year of original enactment was not independently verified in this research.

Establishes the Health Service Commission and governs the employment, conditions of service and discipline of health service staff outside the ordinary Labour Act framework.

Where it stands today. In force as amended by the Health Service Amendment Act, 2022. Veritas publishes a consolidation as at 1 June 2021 which predates that amendment.

Provides for national manpower planning, apprenticeship and industrial training, trade testing and certification, and the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund levy paid by employers.

Where it stands today. In force. Actively used, for example the Manpower Planning and Development (Information Communication Technology Industry) Regulations, 2024 in SI 141 of 2024, which designated three new ICT apprenticeship trades.

Gives effect to section 84 of the Constitution by defining categories of veterans of the liberation struggle, creating a Board and Chief Director, and providing for benefits to veterans and their dependants, which in practice include employment, training and welfare entitlements.

Where it stands today. In force. Chapter number and Act number confirmed from the Veritas text header, which reads Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Cap. 17:12 No. 3/2020.

Establishes the Zimbabwe Gender Commission with power to investigate and make recommendations on the removal of barriers to full gender equality, which extends to gender discrimination in recruitment, pay and conditions of employment.

Where it stands today. Gazetted 12 February 2016. In force. The specific employment enforcement powers were not read from primary text in this research. Its own staff conditions are set by the Zimbabwe Gender Commission (Conditions of Service) Regulations, 2023 in SI 127 of 2023.

Zimbabwe's data protection statute, which regulates the lawful basis for processing personal information and therefore governs how employers collect, store, transfer and use employee data, including biometric and health data, alongside the constitutional privacy right in section 57.

Where it stands today. Gazetted 11 March 2022. In force. POTRAZ is the Data Protection Authority. Note that some earlier circulated drafts were titled Data Protection Act [Chapter 11:12], which is not the enacted citation.

The new disability rights statute, which for employment purposes requires public institutions and parastatals with 50 or more employees to ensure that two per cent of their workforce are persons with disabilities within two years, and grants private employers a tax exemption of US$50 per month per employee with a disability capped at US$2,500 per year of assessment.

Where it stands today. Gazetted 21 November 2025. Confirmed by Veritas Bill Watch 2 of 2026 as having passed Parliament and been published as Act number 3 of 2025. It replaces the Disabled Persons Act of 1992 [Chapter 17:01], though the formal repeal wording was not read from primary text in this research. Commencement of individual provisions should be checked before reliance.

The child protection statute, which alongside section 11 of the Labour Act underpins the prohibition on employing children and on hazardous or exploitative child labour.

Where it stands today. In force as amended by the Children's Amendment Act, No. 8 of 2023. Note that the sharpest child labour sanction now sits in the Labour Act itself, where Act 11 of 2023 raised the penalty under section 11(5) to ten years imprisonment and a level 12 fine.

Controls the employment of foreign nationals through residence and employment permits, and is the gateway statute for expatriate hiring.

Where it stands today. In force, operationalised by the Immigration Regulations in SI 195 of 1998. Senior expatriate employment is also facilitated under the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency Act [Chapter 14:38]. Year of original enactment not verified.

Governs arbitration proceedings generally and is relevant to labour arbitration awards made under the Labour Act, including their registration and enforcement.

Where it stands today. In force. Year of enactment not independently verified.

Supports digitalisation of the courts including the Labour Court, enabling electronic filing and remote hearings.

Where it stands today. In force. Complements the Labour Court (Amendment) Rules, 2023 in SI 3 of 2023.