Uganda Enacts Landmark Employment (Amendment) Act, 2025, Ushering in Sweeping Worker Protections
KAMPALA — After nearly four years of legislative deliberation, President Yoweri Museveni has assented to the Employment (Amendment) Act, 2025, marking the most significant overhaul of Uganda’s labour laws in a generation. The new law, which amends the Employment Act Cap. 226 and related legislation, introduces far-reaching protections for employees while imposing substantial new compliance burdens on employers across the country.
Described by legal observers as “one of the 11th Parliament’s most significant farewell gifts to employees,” the Act fundamentally restructures the dispute-resolution role of Labour Officers, expands workplace harassment prohibitions, and extends sick leave from two months to six months.
Key Provisions Reshaping the Employer-Employee Relationship
Extended Sick Leave and Medical Termination Safeguards
Perhaps the most impactful change comes under amended section 54, which replaces the previous two-month sick leave framework with a six-month structure. Employers must now pay full wages for the first two months of sickness, followed by half wages for the subsequent four months. Only after the sixth month may an employer terminate a contract on medical grounds, and only after obtaining a medical doctor’s opinion on the employee’s condition.
New Distinction Between Termination and Dismissal
The Act draws a clear statutory line between termination and dismissal. Section 64 now governs termination, covering redundancy, prolonged sickness, and statutory compliance scenarios. Section 64A addresses dismissal, with narrower grounds including abscondment — defined as unexplained absence for more than 30 consecutive days — forgery of documents, and conduct that adversely affects the employer’s business.
Workplace Harassment Becomes a Criminal Offence
Under the new section 6A, workplace intimidation and harassment are no longer merely internal disciplinary matters. Contravention now constitutes a statutory offence, with prohibited conduct ranging from degrading public tirades and insults to withholding food or desecrating religious symbols. Employers are also required to display sexual harassment prevention measures conspicuously in the workplace.
Casual Employment Limited to Six Months
The Act caps casual employment at six continuous months, with layoffs and rehiring treated as continuous service — effectively preventing employers from circumventing the limit through artificial breaks. Domestic workers and piecework employees now receive explicit statutory recognition and protection.
Breastfeeding and Childcare Mandates
Section 56A requires every employer to provide time, space, or facilities for breastfeeding and childcare for children aged three to thirty-six months, with operational standards to be prescribed by the Minister. Pregnancy-based dismissal is expressly prohibited under new section 65C.
Severance Allowance Formula Standardised
Severance allowance is now statutorily set at one month’s salary — not gross salary — for each year worked, removing much of the uncertainty that previously left the matter to contractual negotiation.
Migrant Worker Employment Regulated
A new Part IXA empowers the Minister to declare certain jobs off-limits to migrant workers, with exemptions available only for specialised skills lacking among Ugandan citizens or under treaty arrangements.
Employer Compliance Challenges Ahead
With the commencement date yet to be gazetted, employers have a narrow window to prepare. Augustine Obilil Idoot, Partner at Kampala Associated Advocates, urges immediate action: “Employers should undertake an immediate review of their employment documentation, workplace policies and human-resource procedures.”
Key documents requiring revision include disciplinary codes, employment contracts, probationary templates, casual worker arrangements, redundancy procedures, sick leave policies, harassment prevention measures, and migrant worker onboarding controls.
The Act also extends probationary termination notice from seven days to one month, and requires employers to notify the Labour Commissioner and relevant unions at least thirty days before any collective termination or redundancy exercise.
What Remains Unclear
The final Act uses the term “salary” rather than “gross salary” in its severance formula — a distinction likely to generate litigation. Additionally, the Minister must still prescribe operational standards for breastfeeding facilities and regulations governing domestic workers and casual employees. The commencement date itself remains pending gazetting.
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