(1)Except as otherwise provided in this Act, this Act applies to all employees employed by an employer under a contract of service.

(2)This Act does not apply to—

(3)The Minister may, after consultation with the Board and after taking due account of all Conventions and other international instruments ratified by Uganda, by regulations exclude from the application of all or part of this Act, limited categories of employed persons in respect of whom special problems of a substantial nature arise.

(4)The Minister may, after consultation with the Board, by regulations exclude from the application of all or part of this Act, categories of employed persons whose terms and conditions of employment are governed by special arrangements, provided those arrangements afford protection that is equivalent to or better than the provisions of this Act from which those categories are being excluded.

(5)Except where the contrary is provided, nothing in this Act applies to employment outside Uganda.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

"affiliated union" means any Labour Union affiliated to a Federation of Labour Unions;

"Board" means the Labour Advisory Board established by section 20;

"business" includes any trade, profession, undertaking, operation or establishment, whether public, cooperative or private;

"casual employee" means a person who works on a daily or hourly basis where payment of wages is due at the completion of each day's work;

"child" means a person below the age of eighteen years;

"Commissioner" means the Commissioner in the Ministry responsible for labour;

"continuous service" means an employee's service with the same employer as defined in Part VIII of this Act;

"contract of apprenticeship" means a contract of service—

"contract of service" means any contract, whether oral or in writing, whether express or implied, where a person agrees in return for remuneration, to work for an employer and includes a contract of apprenticeship;

"currency point" has the value assigned to it in Schedule 1 to this Act;

"dependent relative" means a member of an employee's family who substantially depends on that employee for his or her livelihood;

"disability" means any permanent—

"disciplinary code" means the code set out in Schedule 2 to this Act;

"dismissal from employment" means the discharge of an employee from employment at the initiative of his or her employer when the said employee has committed verifiable misconduct;

"employee" means any person who has entered into a contract of service or an apprenticeship contract, including, without limitation, any person who is employed by or for the Government of Uganda, including the Uganda Public Service, a local authority or a parastatal organisation but excludes a member of the Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces;

"employer" means any person or group of persons, including a company or corporation, a public, regional or local authority, a governing body of an unincorporated association, a partnership, parastatal organisation or other institution or organisation whatsoever, for whom an employee works or has worked, or normally worked or sought to work, under a contract of service, and includes the heirs, successors, assignees and, transferors of any person or group of persons for whom an employee works, has worked, or normally works;

"forced or compulsory labour" means all work or service which is extracted from any person under the threat of a penalty, including the threat of any loss of rights or privileges and for which that person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily;

"HIV" means Human Immune Deficiency Virus;

"Industrial Court" means the Industrial Court established by the Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act;

"labour officer" means the Commissioner or a district labour officer;

"labour union" means a labour union registered under the Labour Unions Act;

"light work" means work that is not physically, mentally and socially injurious to a child;

"migrant worker" means a person who migrates or has migrated from one country to another with a view to being employed by another person and includes any person regularly admitted as a migrant worker;

"mine" means any undertaking, whether public or private, for the extraction of any substance from on or under the surface of the earth by means involving the employment of persons underground;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for labour matters;

"pay period" means the relevant period, whether of a day, week, fortnight or month by reference, to which an employee is entitled to receive his or her wages;

"parties" means the parties to a contract of service;

"President" means the President of Uganda;

"probationary contract" means a contract of employment, which is not of more than six months duration, is in writing and expressly states that it is for a probationary period;

"public service" means service by or for the Government of Uganda and includes persons employed in the public service, parastatal organisations and local authorities, but does not include a member of the Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces;

"qualified medical practitioner" means a Government medical officer or a registered medical practitioner;

"recruitment" includes all operations undertaken with the object of obtaining or supplying the labour of persons who do not continuously offer their services at the place of employment;

"regulations" means regulations made under section 96;

"termination of employment" means the discharge of an employee from an employment at the initiative of the employer for justifiable reasons other than misconduct, such as, expiry of contract, attainment of retirement age, etc.;

"termination" has the meaning given to it under section 64;

"union member" means a member of a labour union or other organisation representative of the interests of workers;

"wages" means remuneration or earnings, however designated or calculated, capable of being expressed in terms of money and fixed by mutual agreement or by national laws or regulations, which are payable under an oral or written contract of service for work done or to be done, or for services rendered or to be rendered but excluding any contributions made or to be made by the employer in respect of his or her employee's insurance, medical care, welfare, education, training, invalidity, retirement pension, post service gratuity or severance allowance;

"week" means a period of seven consecutive days.

A provision in an agreement, or a contract of service shall be void where—

(1)No person shall use or assist any other person in using forced or compulsory labour.

(2)The term "forced or compulsory labour" does not include—

(3)Any person who contravenes this section commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding forty-eight currency points or to imprisonment for a term of two years, or both and to a fine of four currency points for each day or part of the day on which the breach continues.

(1)In the interpretation and application of this Act, it shall be the duty of all parties, including the Minister, labour officers and the Industrial Court to seek to promote equality of opportunity, with a view to eliminating any discrimination in employment.

(2)Without prejudice to subsection (1), in the interpretation and application of this Act, it shall be the duty of all parties, including the Minister, a labour officer and the Industrial Court, to promote and guarantee equality of opportunity for persons who, as migrant workers, or as members of their families, are lawfully within the territory of Uganda.

(3)Discrimination in employment shall be unlawful and for the purposes of this Act, discrimination includes any distinction, exclusion or preference made on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin, the HIV status or disability which has the effect of nullifying or impairing the treatment of a person in employment or occupation, or of preventing an employee from obtaining any benefit under a contract of service.

(4)Any distinction, exclusion or preference in respect of a particular ob based on the inherent requirements of that particular job shall not be deemed to be discrimination.

(5)The Minister may, by regulations limit the range of jobs open to migrant workers.

(6)The Minister and the Board shall, in performing their duties, seek to give effect to the principle of equal remuneration for male and female employees for work of equal value.

(7)Every employer shall pay male and female employees equal remuneration for work of equal value.