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Establishment
The Industrial Relations Court of Malawi (IRC) was established by section 110(2) of the Malawi Constitution. It has original jurisdiction to hear and determine labour and employment disputes. Its composition, practise and rules of procedure are specified in the Labour Relations Act 1996 and Industrial Relations Court (Procedure) Rules 1999.

Source of the Law

Labour rights and obligations are found in the Constitution, Employment Act 2000, Labour Relations Act 1996, Workers Compensation Act 2000, Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare Act, Public Service Act 1994, international labour Standards especially ILO Conventions and case law (more).

Step 1: Time Limits

It is always important to complain to the relevant authorities as soon as possible when a dispute arises. If you are defending, you must also act promptly. Do not wait or ignore your rights.

Step 2: Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
District Labour Officers provide conciliation, mediation and arrange for arbitration in disputes. All cases must first go to District Labour Officers (DLO) for out of court settlement. If this fails, the DLO will within 30 days give parties a reference letter to take to the IRC.

Step 3: At the IRC Registries
Bring your reference letter to the IRC Registry in Blantyre or Lilongwe or any court circuit district where the court clerks will assist you to complete FORM 1. You must also bring offer and contract of employment if any, letter of termination if the complaint is about dismissal, warning letters, disciplinary hearing minutes, payslips and any other documents relevant to the case.

Step 4: Service of IRC Form 1
An Applicant must know what s/he wants (remedies). These must appear in the IRC Form 1. An Applicant will pay a fee of about K60.00 to register the Form. It is then sent by post or by hand to the Respondent (the sued party). The Applicant must wait 14 days in order to hear from the court whether there is a reply from respondent.

Step5: Default Judgment
If after 14 days from the date that the IRC Form 1 is sent to the Respondent there is no reply, the Applicant is given whatever s/he asked for in a default judgment.

Step 6: Reply to IRC Form 1
If a party is sued and receives the IRC Form 1, s/he must immediately reply in the IRC Form 2. A party can seek direction from any court on how to complete the IRC Form 2. The reply must reach the IRC Registry within 14 days from the date that the IRC Form 1 was sent.

Step 7: The Pre-Hearing Conference
A matter is ready for Pre- Hearing Conference when the IRC Form 2 is received at the court. Both parties are invited to come to court to try and settle the matter or to agree on how the matter should be conducted. Parties must agree on what they are claiming, if there is a defence and if there are any documents or witnesses. If the matter is complicated, it goes for full hearing.

Step 8: Full Hearing
Parties are invited for full hearing. The Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson sitting with assessors hears the case. The Applicant gives evidence after taking oath to say the truth. Then s/he is asked questions by the Respondent or lawyer or court. Then the Respondent also gives evidence on oath and s/he is asked questions by the Applicant or lawyer or court. Any party is allowed to bring witnesses or documents to support their case. A normal case takes one sitting (one day) to conclude.

Step 9: Judgment and Appeal
21 days after full hearing the court delivers a written judgment. A party who is not happy with the court’s interpretation and application of the law must within 30 days appeal to the High Court.

Representation in the IRC

A party can bring anyone to court to assist in his/her case. Lawyers are allowed to the IRC if the other party is a lawyer or has a lawyer. Otherwise if one party does not have a lawyer then the other party should also act alone to ensure equality. Trade Union Officials can represent their members and Employers Organization can represent their members. The Legal Aid Department, Malawi Law Society (MLS), Women Lawyers Association (WLA) and Civil Liberties Committee (CILIC) provide free legal representation and advice to deserving litigants. One of the conditions to qualify for legal aid is that person must be financially unable to afford legal fees.

Remedies

A successful party may get one or more of the following remedies: re-instatement (going back to work); re-instatement ( being re-employed by the same employer); restoration of any benefit or advantage (eg promotion, training, bonus etc); compensation (monetary award); injunctions (stopping employee or employer from implementing an action for example dismissal, strikes and lock outs).

Fines or Imprisonment

This is a sanction given to employers who are engaged in prohibited and criminal activities like employing children under 14 years old to do hard work, forced labour etc.

Execution

The IRC can award any amount of money that is just and equitable without limit. Execution on parties who fail to abide by IRC compensatory or other monetary orders is done by the Sheriff of Malawi.