ZAMBIA INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ACT
Arrangement of Sections
Section
PART I
PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS
1. Short title
2. Interpretation
PART II
THE ZAMBIA INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
3. Continuation and renaming of Zambia Institute of Human Resources Management
4. Functions of Institute
5. Constitution of Institute
6. President and Vice-President of Institute
7. Meetings of Institute
8. Council of Institute
9. Functions of Council
10. Registrar and other staff
PART III
REGISTRATION OF PRACTITIONERS AND ISSUANCE OF PRACTISING CERTIFICATES
11. Prohibition of practising without registration
12. Application for registration as practitioner
13. Determination of application for registration as practitioner
14. Certificate of registration as practitioner
15. Disqualification from registration
16. Title for registered practitioner
17. Change in details
18. Suspension and cancellation of registration
19. Re-registration
20. Prohibition of practising without valid practising certificate
21. Practising certificate
22. Display of practising certificate
23. Renewal of practising certificate
24. Suspension and cancellation of practising certificate
25. Maintenance of non-practising practitioner on register
26. Prohibition of transfer of certificate of registration or practising certificate
27. Duplicate certificate of registration or practising certificate
28. Surrender of cancelled certificate of registration or practising certificate
29. Human resource management firm
30. Registers
31. Publication of copies of registers
32. Offences relating to registration, etc.
PART IV
DISCIPLINARY MATTERS
33. Code of ethics
34. Professional misconduct
35. Initiation of disciplinary action
36. Professional Conduct Committee
37. Referring of matters to Professional Conduct Committee
38. Functions of Professional Conduct Committee
39. Proceedings of Professional Conduct Committee
40. Sanctions for practitioner by Professional Conduct Committee
41. Disciplinary Committee
42. Functions of Disciplinary Committee
43. Proceedings of Disciplinary Committee
44. Powers of Disciplinary Committee
45. Sanctions for professional misconduct by Disciplinary Committee
46. Reports by Disciplinary Committee
47. Rules relating to disciplinary proceedings
PART V
INSPECTORATE
48. Inspectors
49. Power of entry, search and inspection
PART VI
GENERAL PROVISIONS
50. Enforcement notice
51. False or misleading statement
52. Appeals
53. Jurisdiction over acts committed outside Republic
54. Prohibition of publication or disclosure of information to unauthorised persons
55. Offences by principal officers of body corporate or unincorporate body
56. Administrative penalty
57. Immunity
58. Guidelines
59. Regulations
60. Repeal of Act No. 11 of 1997 and savings and transitional provisions
AN ACT
to continue the existence of the Zambia Institute of Human Resources Management and rename it as the Zambia Institute of Human Resource Management and re-define its functions; promote and enhance the human resource management profession; provide for the registration of human resource management practitioners and regulate their practice and professional conduct; repeal and replace the Zambia Institute of Human Resources Management Act, 1997; and provide for matters connected with, or incidental to, the foregoing.
[12th April, 2022]
Act 3 of 2022.
PART I
PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS
This Act may be cited as the Zambia Institute of Human Resource Management Act.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
"associate" has the meaning assigned to the word in the Anti-Corruption Act, 2012;
"certificate of registration" means the certificate of registration issued under section 14;
"Chairperson" means the person appointed Chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee under section 41;
"chairperson" means a person appointed as chairperson of a Professional Conduct Committee under section 36;
"code of ethics" means the code of professional conduct and ethics adopted and published by the Institute for the purposes of this Act;
"constitution" means the constitution of the Institute adopted in accordance with section 5;
"Council" means the Council of the Institute constituted under section 8;
"council member" means a person elected or nominated as a council member under section 8;
"Disciplinary Committee" means the Disciplinary Committee of the Institute constituted under section 41;
"firm" has the meaning assigned to the word in the Registration of Business Names Act, 2011;
"Higher Education Authority" means the Higher Education Authority established under the Higher Education Act, 2013;
"higher education institution" has the meaning assigned to the words in the Higher Education Act, 2013;
"human resource management" means an application of a range of principles, practices, systems, processes, policies and procedures, tools and activities of managing human resource recognised by the Institute, including strategy and business management relating to people and organisation management, organisation design and development, workforce planning, talent resourcing, performance management, learning and development, compensation and benefits, employee and labour relations, human resource digital and analytics, human resource operations and administration, human resource audit, labour law compliance and risk management;
"Institute" means the Zambia Institute of Human Resource Management continued under section 3;
"Labour Commissioner" has the meaning assigned to the words in the Employment Code Act, 2019;
"Law Association of Zambia" means the Law Association of Zambia established under the Law Association of Zambia Act;
"legal practitioner" has the meaning assigned to the word "practitioner" in the Legal Practitioners Act;
"legally disqualified" means the absence of legal capacity as provided under section 4 of the Mental Health Act, 2019;
"member" means a person registered as a member of the Institute in accordance with the provisions of the constitution and "membership" shall be construed accordingly;
"practising certificate" means a practising certificate issued under section 21;
"practitioner" means a human resource management professional registered in accordance with this Act;
"President" means the person elected as President of the Institute under section 6;
"professional misconduct" means the conduct referred to under section 34;
"Professional Conduct Committee" means a Professional Conduct Committee constituted under section 36;
"register" means a register of the Institute referred to under section 30;
"Registrar" means the person appointed as Registrar under section 10;
"relative" has the meaning assigned to the word in the Anti-Corruption Act, 2012;
"repealed Act" means the Zambia Institute of Human Resources Management Act, 1997;
"Vice-Chairperson" means the person appointed as Vice-Chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee under section 41;
"vice-chairperson" means a person appointed as vice-chairperson of a Professional Conduct Committee under section 36;
"Vice-President" means the person elected as Vice-President of the Institute under section 6; and
"Zambia Qualifications Authority" means the Zambia Qualifications Authority established under the Zambia Qualifications Authority Act, 2011.
PART II
THE ZAMBIA INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
3. Continuation and renaming of Zambia Institute of Human Resources Management
(1) The Zambia Institute of Human Resources Management established under the repealed Act is continued as if established under this Act and is renamed as the Zambia Institute of Human Resource Management.
(2) The Institute is a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal, capable of suing and being sued in its corporate name and with power, subject to the provisions of this Act, to do all acts and things that a body corporate may, by law, do or perform.
(3) The First Schedule applies to the Institute.
(1) The functions of the Institute are to—
(a) advance the human resource management profession and promote its interest;
(b) register and regulate practitioners;
(c) issue practising certificates to eligible members;
(d) register students of human resource management;
(e) set and enforce professional standards of human resource management practice;
(f) develop, promote and enforce internationally comparable human resource management practice standards in the Republic;
(g) conduct learning programmes accredited by the Higher Education Authority in human resource management;
(h) provide continuous professional development by practitioners;
(i) encourage and promote research into a matter affecting the human resource management profession;
(j) investigate cases of professional misconduct under this Act;
(k) publish a journal of the Institute, and collect, collate and publish other information of service and interest to the Institute;
(l) promote public awareness in matters relating to the human resource management profession;
(m) promote awareness among practitioners in matters relating to human resource management education, practice and regulation;
(n) enforce continuing professional development requirements for practitioners; and
(o) collaborate with higher education institutions, Government departments and other institutions to improve the quality of the human resource management profession.
(2) The Institute may—
(a) determine the fees payable for an inspection conducted or other services rendered for the purposes of this Act; and
(b) determine what portion of any fee is payable in respect of any part of a year and the date on which the fee or portion of the fee is payable.
(1) The Institute shall, by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members voting at a general meeting of the Institute, adopt a constitution and may, in a like manner, amend it.
(2) Subject to this Act, the constitution shall regulate the conduct of the affairs of the Institute.
(3) The constitution may provide for the—
(a) meetings of the Institute, including the delivery of notices of the meetings, the quorum, voting, adjournments and other matters of procedure or conduct of the meetings;
(b) election and qualifications of the office of President, Vice-President and other office bearers of the Council;
(c) composition, functions, powers and procedures of the committees of the Institute;
(d) classes of membership and their rights, privileges and obligations; and
(e) any other matter that the membership may determine.
6. President and Vice-President of Institute
The members shall elect the President and Vice-President of the Institute in accordance with the provisions of the constitution.
(1) Subject to this Act, the Institute may regulate its own procedure.
(2) The meetings of the Institute shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the constitution.
(1) There is constituted the Council of the Institute which shall perform the functions of the Institute.
(2) The Council shall consist of the following council members nominated or elected in accordance with the provisions of the constitution—
(a) the President of the Institute;
(b) the Vice-President of the Institute;
(c) the Treasurer;
(d) the Honorary Secretary;
(e) a representative of the Law Association of Zambia;
(f) a representative of the Labour Commissioner; and
(g) three other practitioners.
(3) The President and Vice-President of the Institute shall be the chairperson and vice-chairperson of the Council, respectively.
(4) A person shall not be elected or nominated as a council member if that person is—
(a) found guilty of professional misconduct under this Act;
(b) convicted of an offence under this Act;
(c) an undischarged bankrupt;
(d) legally disqualified;
(e) convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty; or
(f) an employee of the Institute.
(5) The First Schedule applies to the Council.
(1) The functions of the Council are to perform the executive functions of the Institute.
(2) Despite the generality of sub-section (1), the functions of the Council are to—
(a) approve the policies, programmes and strategies of the Institute;
(b) approve the annual workplan, action plans, activities and reports of the Institute;
(c) approve the annual budget estimates and financial statements of the Institute;
(d) monitor and evaluate the performance of the Institute against budgets and plans; and
(e) advise the Minister on matters relating to human resource management practice.
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