Division 2 of Part VII of the Employment Act (Chapter 373) licenses employment agencies and regulates how they may operate. Two of its provisions — the ban on charging job-seekers and the ban on soliciting — matter to anyone looking for work.
Sections 110 to 112 — the licence
A person who carries on, or causes to be carried on, an employment agency without being licensed for that purpose under this Act is guilty of an offence. Penalty: a fine not exceeding K500.00.
- Section 111 — application for a licence or its renewal is made to the Secretary, in the form approved by him.
- Section 112(1) — the Secretary may grant or refuse the application.
- Section 112(2) — a licence may be issued subject to conditions, which must be endorsed on the licence.
- Section 112(3) — the annual fee is as prescribed.
- Section 112(4) — unless sooner cancelled or suspended, a licence runs until 31 December next following the date of issue.
- Section 112(5) — the licence shall be in the prescribed form and produced on demand to a labour officer.
Every licence expires on 31 December following issue, whenever in the year it was granted. A licence obtained in November lasts about six weeks.
Section 113 — a licence is issued to a person
(1) An employment agent’s licence shall not be issued in the name of any company, partnership or association.
(2) Where a company, partnership or association operating as an employment agent applies, it shall nominate a person to hold the licence on its behalf.
(3) Where the nominated person dies or ceases to be associated with the entity, the licence shall, on the entity’s request, be transferred by the Secretary to another nominated person.
(4) The request must be made within 14 days after the event giving rise to it.
Personal licensing is deliberate. It ties accountability to an individual who can be found unfit under section 114, rather than to a corporate shell. The 14-day deadline in subsection (4) is short and easily missed on a departure or a death.
Sections 114 and 115 — cancellation, and the appeal
(a) has been convicted of an offence against this Act; or
(b) has failed to perform a duty required under this Act; or
(c) is not a fit and proper person to continue to hold a licence; or
(d) has failed to comply with a condition of the licence.
On cancellation, the holder must return the licence to the Secretary within 14 days of receiving notice (s 114(2)).
Where an application is refused, a licence is cancelled or suspended, or conditions are endorsed, the Secretary shall notify the applicant in writing of the reasons.
A person aggrieved may, within 30 days of receiving that notification, appeal to the Minister, whose decision is final.
A statutory appeal decided by a Minister remains subject to the principles of natural justice under section 59 of the Constitution — the minimum requirement being the duty to act fairly and, in principle, to be seen to act fairly — and to section 41, which renders unlawful an act that is harsh or oppressive even where authorised by law. The obligation in section 115(1) to give reasons in writing is what makes any such review possible.
Section 116 — no fee may be charged to a worker
An employment agent who (a) charges an employee a fee, or (b) receives any remuneration from an employee, is guilty of an offence. Penalty: a fine not exceeding K300.00.
Both limbs matter. Paragraph (b) catches a payment however it is described — a “registration fee”, an “administration charge”, a “placement contribution”, a gift, or a share of the first pay packet. And “employee” includes a prospective employee under section 1, so it covers a job-seeker who is never placed.
Read it with section 91, which prohibits any deduction from wages as a reward for providing employment or for retaining the employee in employment, and with section 92, which forbids limiting how an employee spends their wages.
Section 117 — register and returns
An employment agent shall (a) keep detailed records and a register, and (b) submit returns to the Secretary, in connection with the agency, as prescribed.
See records that must be kept. Under section 137(1)(c), knowingly making a false entry or unauthorised alteration or erasure in books required to be kept is an offence.
Section 118 — soliciting and false information
(a) solicits, procures or entices a prospective employee to use the services of that agent in any manner other than by written advertisement; or
(b) knowingly deceives a person by giving false information; or
(c) makes, causes to be made, or knowingly allows to be made, a register, record or return which is false in any material particular,
is guilty of an offence. Penalty: a fine not exceeding K300.00.
Paragraph (a) confines an agent’s outreach to written advertisement. Approaching people at a market, a bus stop, a wharf or a village to sign them up is an offence, whatever is promised.
Other duties that bind agents
- Section 14 — an agent must inform the worker of the eight particulars of the employment.
- Section 75 — an employer may, by instrument, authorise an agent to perform its functions under Part V (wages). The employer’s liability remains.
- Section 46 — an employer may authorise an agent to perform its functions under Division 7 (repatriation).
- Section 135 — an offence for an agent to fail to take all reasonable steps to ensure the person who proceeds to the place of employment is the person engaged.
- Section 133 — fraud, misrepresentation, intimidation, coercion or undue influence for employment purposes is an offence carrying a fine up to K500.00.
The Employment Placement Service Act (Chapter 172) establishes the State’s own placement service and sits alongside this Division.
If an agent asks you for money
- Do not pay. Section 116 makes charging you an offence.
- Ask to see the licence — it is a personal licence, in an individual’s name, valid to 31 December following issue, and must be produced on demand to a labour officer.
- Note how you were approached. Anything other than a written advertisement engages section 118(a).
- Ask for the section 14 particulars in writing.
- Keep every message and receipt.
- Report it to a labour officer, and ask that the Secretary consider cancellation under section 114 and proceedings under section 145.
- Get advice — the Public Solicitor, or a firm from the law firms directory.
Sources
- Employment Act (Chapter 373) — ss 1, 14, 46, 75, 91, 92, 110–118, 133, 135, 137, 145; Part VII Division 2
- Employment Placement Service Act (Chapter 172)
- Constitution — ss 41, 59
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the Employment Act (Chapter 373) and check for later amendments. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.