By Own Correspondent

Four former employees of SOS Children’s Village Zimbabwe—three mother assistants and a cleaner—have been awarded US$85,847.08 in unpaid overtime after the Supreme Court dismissed the organization’s appeal.

The workers, Constance Sibanda, Norma Takaindisa, Nomsa Nkala, and Stella Mungoyo, were based in Bulawayo, with the first three serving as mother assistants responsible for round-the-clock care, while the fourth was employed as a cleaner.

Their contracts were terminated through retrenchment in August 2024 under section 12C of the Labour Act, and they each received standard termination packages. However, after their retrenchment, the four brought forward claims for unpaid overtime and public holiday work spanning from August 2022 to July 2024. Detailed evidence was submitted to the National Employment Council for Welfare and Educational Institutions (NECWEI).

The organization argued that by signing the retrenchment agreements, which included clauses suggesting a full and final settlement, the workers had waived the right to any further claims. SOS Children’s Village also relied on an internal policy that provided time off instead of monetary compensation for overtime. Arbitrator Jabulani Mandhla, however, ruled in the employees’ favor, stating that contractual agreements cannot override statutory entitlements and awarded them the cumulative overtime sum.

SOS appealed to the Labour Court in Bulawayo, but the appeal was dismissed. The Court emphasized that under section 13(1a) of the Labour Act, overtime and other benefits do not fall under retrenchment settlements. The case was further escalated to the Supreme Court, which upheld the lower court’s decision. The bench confirmed that retrenchment agreements cannot lawfully cancel accrued overtime and that statutory rights cannot be overridden by contractual waivers. Additionally, the court clarified that technical issues, such as not including the arbitrator as a respondent, are not necessarily grounds for dismissing a review.

The Supreme Court’s final order upheld the US$85,847.08 payout, to be paid in US dollars or the equivalent in local currency at the prevailing interbank rate. Each party will bear its own costs for the review appeal. This case sets a significant precedent, reinforcing employees’ rights to claim statutory benefits like overtime, even after signing retrenchment agreements.