Delta State Employment Protection Law

1. Citation and commencement. This Law may be cited as the Delta State Employment Protection Law, 2003 and shall come if to force on the 3rd day of November, 2004.

2. Interpretation. In this Law- "Appropriate Authority" means the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry; "Company" includes private and public limited companies, companies limited by guaranty, unlimited companies, enterprises, place of business etc; "Governor" means the Governor of Delta State; "Host Communities" includes communities in which offices, operational bases, and locations of companies are situated and right of ways of seismic operations situate; "Indigenes of Delta State origin" means person or persons whose paternal or maternal parents are of Delta State origin having a certificate of identification duly signed by the Chairman or Secretary of a Local Government Council in Delta State; "Junior Staff" includes any person employed in a company as messenger, cleaner, receptionist, clerk, driver, secretary, gateman, artisan, any unskilled and semi-skilled staff of whatever name called and persons employed in such other duties as the Commissioner may so specify; "Officer of Delta State" means any person in the service of the Government of Delta State its agencies and parastatals including the Governor, Deputy Governor, Members of the House of Assembly, Judges, Commissioners, et cetera; "Place of Business" include any place in which a company is carrying on business in Delta State; "Registrar" means the Registrar of employment appointed in accordance with this Law; "Registry" means the Registry of employment established in a Local Government Secretariat in accordance with this Law; "Senior Staff" includes any graduate employed in a company as skilled engineer and any other Profession; "State" means Delta State of Nigeria.

3. Establishment. (1) There is hereby established a Law making it mandatory for every company or place of business operating in Delta State to employ ninety percent of its junior staff and sixty percent of its senior staff from indigenes of Delta State, provided that such company or enterprise shall ensure that fifty percent of the junior staff and thirty percent of the senior staff positions be reserved for their host communities. (2) The appropriate authority shall establish an enforcement commission that will evenly distribute to the Local Government Areas the remaining percentage of employment opportunities accruing to the State.

4. Functions of Employment Registry in each Council. (1) There shall be established in each Local Government Council Secretariat in the State an employment registry. (2) The Employment Registry shall be headed by a Registrar who shall be an official of the Local Government Council pot below Grade Level 10. (3) The Employment Registry shall maintain a register for unemployed persons in the Local Government Area. (4) The Employment Register shall contain the name, address, qualification, skill and job requirement of every applicant registered within. (5) No person whose job description falls within the provision of this Law shall be employed except he is duly registered in the Employment Register of persons in the Council. (6) Placement in a company from the pool of registered unemployed persons shall be on the basis of first in time. (7) An indigene of Delta State origin who resides in a Local Government Area other than his Local Government Area of origin shall be entitled to register with the Employment Registry in the Local Government Area in which he resides. (8) Provided that in order to be registered as provided for by subsection (7) of this section, the Registrar in charge of registration at the Registry shall require from the person to be registered a certificate of identification duly signed by the Chairman or Secretary of his Local Government Area of origin. (9) There shall be no registration by proxy of any unemployed person by the Employment Registry.

5. Prohibition against double registration. It shall be an offence punishable with three months imprisonment for any person to register under the provisions of this Law in more than one Employment Registry in the State.

6. Submission of list of employed. (1) All companies or persons operating a place of business in the State shall, within three months from the commencement date of this Law, file with the Employment Registry in the Local Government Area of operation a list of junior and senior staff under their employ stating their names, state of origin, qualifications, skills, position held and date of employment. (2) Notwithstanding the provision of subsection (1) of this section, every company or person operating or having a place of business in the State shall file annually not later than the 31st day of December, a list of the affected staff in the Employment Registry within its area of operation. (3) Where a company or person has more than one place of business within the State, it shall file a list of the said staff in respect of each place of business if the places of business are not within the same Local Government Area.

7. Notice of intention to employ. (1) A company or person intending to recruit or employ the category of staff referred to in section 6 above of this Law, shall within a period of not less than thirty days prior to the date of such recruitment or employment, serve a notice of intention to do so in the manner prescribed in Form I in the Schedule to this Law on the Employment Registry within its areas of operation or place of business, and specify the vacancies sought to be filled and the requirement or qualification to be possessed by a person applying for the vacancies or positions. (2) The Registrar in charge of registration at the Employment Registry shall within three working days of the receipt of the notice of intention referred to in subsection (1) of this section, cause a list of unemployed persons whose names are on the register of unemployed kept by him and who fall within the category of staff and meet the requirement indicated on the notice of intention by the company to be sent to the company. (3) The Registrar shall also cause the notice of intention sent by the company and the list of unemployed persons sent to the company in accordance with subsections (1) and (2) of this section to be published on the public notice board within the Local Government Secretariat. (4) Any person whose name is in the list of unemployed persons published on the notice board shall be eligible to apply to the company giving notice of intention to employ for any position or vacancy in respect of which he is qualified as indicated in the notice of intention to employ. (5) Nothing in the foregoing sections of this Law shall be construed as affecting or limiting the right of a company to determine the terms of employment of its staff in so far as such terms are not inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Law.

8. Notification of compliance. (1) Where a company employs any person from the list of unemployed persons sent to it by the Registrar in charge of the Employment Registry, the company shall within one month of such employment, notify the Employment Registry, in the manner set out in Form 2 in the Schedule to this Law. (2) The Employment Registrar upon being notified by the company, shall indicate in the appropriate column of the register against the name of the employee, the date of his engagement and particulars of the company.

9. Issuance of certificate of compliance. The appropriate authority shall upon the recommendation of the Registrar, issue a certificate of compliance in the manner set out in Form 3 in the schedule to this Law, in favour of a company or such usual place of business that has fully complied with the provisions of this Law.

10. Power to demand for particulars of junior staff. The Registrar shall not recommend any company or usual place of business for a certificate of compliance, unless he is satisfied that such a company or usual place of business has fulfilled the requirements of this Law, and shall make a declaration to that effect as set out in Form 4 in the Schedule to this Law, in support of his recommendation to the appropriate authority.

11. List of persons in compliance with the provisions of the Law. A list of persons and companies which have complied with the provisions of this Law shall be kept by the Registrar at a place open to members of the public showing the particulars of compliance.

12. Any breach of the provisions. Any company or place of business found to have breached any of the provisions of this Law, shall be guilty of an offence and liable upon conviction to a fine of N100,000 (One hundred thousand Naira) for each day the company or place of business continue to be in breach.

13. Penalty for false declaration. A Registrar who makes a false declaration of compliance in favour of any company and the company in whose favour such declaration of compliance was made, shall be guilty of an offence and upon conviction be liable to N100,000.00 (One hundred thousand Naira) fine and in addition, the Registrar shall be dismissed from office.

14. Any pecuniary benefit for having or not having certificate of compliance. (1) Any person or company having a certificate of compliance issued in accordance with this Law, shall not enter into transaction conferring any pecuniary benefit or other advantage on any person or company not having a certificate of compliance. (2) The Government of Delta State and its statutory corporations, parastatals, companies and agencies shall not enter into any transaction conferring any pecuniary benefit or other advantage on any person or company which has failed to comply with the provisions of this Law or not having a certificate of compliance issued in accordance with the provisions of this Law. (3) No officer of the Delta State Government shall attend any event or ceremony at the instance of any person or company not having a certificate of compliance or shall confer any honour on such person or company. (4) Nothing in this section shall preclude the Government and its statutory corporations, parastatals, companies and agencies from deriving taxes, income or any other pecuniary benefit accruing to it from any person or company having a certificate of compliance.

15. Interest in land. The Government of Delta State and its agencies shall not grant, transfer or renew any interest in land involving any person or company not having a certificate of compliance or who is in breach of the provisions of this Law, neither shall it register nor consent to any transaction in immovable property involving any such person or company.

16. Unlawful recruitment. (1) As from the commencement of this Law, it shall be unlawful for any company or enterprise covered by this Law to enter into any form of contract with any person or company for the recruitment of workers on casual basis or for the supply of workers. (2) Any company or person acting in breach of the provision of sub-section (1) of this section, shall be guilty of an offence and liable upon conviction to a term of five months imprisonment with an option of fine of N500,000.00 (Five hundred thousand Naira).

17. Offence. (1) Any Company which shall entertain, deal with and or enter into recruitment matters with any organisation other than the council having jurisdiction over its areas of operation. (2) Any Company Officer or any person purporting to represent an organisation who contravenes the provisions of subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and liable upon, conviction to a term of six months imprisonment without an option of fine. DELTA STATE EMPLOYMENT PROTECTION LAW FORM 1: [Section 7(1)] NOTICE OF INTENTION TO EMPLOY To: Registrar of Employment Notice is hereby given........................................................................................by Company or enterprise to the Registrarof Employment in accordance with the law that we do intend to and will embark on recruitment of qualified persons to fill vacant positions in the junior cadre of our company with effect from thirty days hence. Dated this .........................................day of ..............................20............... Signed ............................................. Company's Secretary or Director FORM 2 : [Section 8(1)] NOTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE /EMPLOYMENT To: Registrar of Employment Notice is hereby given by ..................................................................................company or Enterprise that we have employed ....................................................................number or persons as follows (list names and position) from the list of unemployed persons registered with your registry and sent to our company. Dated this ..............................day of 20............................... Signed ..................................... Company's Secretary or Director FORM 3: [Section 9(1)] CERTIFICATE OF COMPlIANCE Pursuant to section 9 (1) of the Delta State Employment Protection Law 2004 and, all powers enabling me in that behalf; I do hereby testify that .. . . . . . . . .. . .. . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . Company (or enterprise) has duly and punctually complied with all the requirements imposed by the said law with regard to filing of list of its junior staff and employment of indigenes of Delta State. Given under the hand of the Honourable Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, this ...day of.................................................20............. Signed .............................. Hon. Commissioner FORM 4: [Section 9 (2)] DECLARATION OF COMPLIANCE I, being the Registrar of Employment in .............................................................. Local Government Council of the State do hereby solemnly declare that ................. company in respect of which, I have made recommendations to the appropriate authority in accordance with the provisions of section 9 (2) of the Delta State Employment Protection Law, 2004 for the issuance of a certificate of compliance has fulfilled all the requirements of the said law which entitles to the issuance of the certificate of compliance. And I make this declaration in good faith to the best of my knowledge and belief. Signed ... ... .. . . . . . . . . . ...... Registrar Declaration made this ......................................day of ................................20............... BEFORE ME: COMMISSIONER FOR OATHS (OR NOTARY PUBLIC)