EMPLOYERS MUST GIVE TIME TO WORKERS TO VOTE, BUT NOT TO INVESTIGATE WHO IS, OR NOT, VOTING AND WHERE

EMPLOYERS MUST GIVE TIME TO WORKERS TO VOTE, BUT NOT TO INVESTIGATE WHO IS, OR NOT, VOTING AND WHERE
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I have received a complaint of some employers asking employees whether they are registered to vote, where they will be voting from, so that they can prepare their work schedules. Some have even go as far as requiring proof of voter registration or confirmation that an employee has voted.

This is wrong, because voting is a constitutional right to citizens and it’s very personal.

Employers are overstepping their boundaries. It is not merely poor workplace practice, it is a dangerous misunderstanding of the limits of an employer’s authority.

An employment contract gives an employer the right to direct work. It does not give them the right to inquire into an employee’s exercise of constitutional freedoms.

The right to vote belongs to the citizen, not to the employer.

A democratic society rests on the principle that electoral participation is free from intimidation, surveillance, and undue influence. That freedom extends beyond the secrecy of the ballot itself. It includes the freedom to decide whether to vote, where to vote, and how to participate in the electoral process without having to report those decisions to one’s employer.

The moment an employer starts compiling lists of employees who are registered, requesting voter details, or tracking who has voted, they step outside the employment relationship and into territory that belongs exclusively to the individual citizen.

Some defend these practices by claiming they are necessary for operational planning.

That argument simply does not hold.

Operational planning does not require political information.

Collecting such information serves no legitimate employment purpose and creates an environment where employees may reasonably feel pressured to disclose political or civic matters that are none of their employer’s business.

The workplace must never become an extension of electoral administration.

That responsibility belongs to independent electoral authorities, in our case Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ).

Constitutional rights must be exercised without explanation.

No employee should feel compelled to justify why they are voting, why they are not voting, where they will vote, or whether they have voted.

Just as employers cannot demand to know how an employee intends to worship, what political opinions they hold, or which associations they belong to, they should not demand information about an employee’s participation in elections.

The Constitution protects citizens first. Employment comes second.


The only thing employers can do is to encourage civic participation, educate employees about their entitlement to time off for them to vote, and organise work schedules so that no employee is denied a reasonable opportunity to vote.

That is where their duty ends.

Election day should never require an employee to account to their employer for exercising a constitutional right.

The principle is both simple and profound: employers should open the gate to the polling station, not stand at its entrance asking questions.

I hope Govt will give further guidance on this.

TAYALI THE PUBLIC LAWYER OF THE PUBLIC COURT OF OPINIONS!!!

TAYALI THE POLITICAL ENGINEER!!!