A transfer refers to lateral movement of employees within the same grade, from one job to another
A transfer may be initiated either by the employer or the employee.
Transfers are generally envisaged in contracts of employment, codes of conduct and employers’ policies. Transfers are affected tobuild up a more satisfactory work team and to achieve the following purposes;to increase the effectiveness of the organisation, to increase versatility andcompetence of key positions, to deal with fluctuations in work requirements, tocorrect incompatibilities in employee relations, to correct erroneousplacement, to relieve monotony etc.
Employees tend to loathe transfers for the obvious reason of wanting to maintain the status quo.
See the cases of; Huruva v Traffic Safety Council SC 30/08; Nkomo v RTG SC 47/15
At the same
It is imperative that the employment contracts or policies be developed at the workplace to deal with transferability of employees for uniformity purposes.
In most
By refusing to go where the employer’s work is to
Some employers actually view such conduct as failure to take lawful orders given by the employer which constitutes summary dismissal from employment if proven guilty of committing the
The law recognizes the employer’s right to shuffle and shift staff as it pleases.
The employer’s discretion in determining which employee should be transferred and to which point of the employer’s operations is not tobe readily interfered with except for good cause shown.
Good cause in the circumstances, while not easy to define, would include such matters as unfounded allegations, victimisation of the employee and any disadvantage.
The employee who undertakes to work for an employer whose business is carried out at different places takes the risk of being sent to perform services for the employer wherever such services are
In the Huruva case (supra) the Supreme Courtemphasized that although the employee has a right to be heard, and to makerepresentation against the transfer, the final decision still lies with the employer. Once it is shown that the employer gave consideration to the need to transfer an employee and gave that employee a hearing, the employer’s decision cannot be held to be improper.
The contents of this article are for general information purposes only and do not constitute our legal or professional advice. We accept no responsibility for any loss or damage of whatsoever nature which may arise from reliance on any of the information published herein.
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01 Comment
helene
very goood thanks