Legal Advice - Minchin & Kelly (Botswana)

Navigating labour disputes in Botswana

Legal Perspective Dispute Resolution for Businesses and Organizations

Effective labour dispute resolution is essential for businesses operating in Botswana whether you are a local organization or an international company planning to enter this thriving market. At Minchin & Kelly (Botswana), we provide expert guidance on managing labour conflicts efficiently, protecting your business interests, and maintaining harmonious workplace relationships within Botswana’s evolving legal framework.

Botswana’s Labour Dispute Resolution Framework: A Structured Approach

Botswana offers a comprehensive, multi-tiered system to resolve labour disputes fairly and efficiently. The process typically begins with the Commissioner of Labour, who facilitates mediation aimed at resolving conflicts amicably before escalation. This early intervention helps reduce the burden on courts and fosters cooperative solutions.

If conciliation fails, parties may proceed to arbitration or industrial court, depending on contractual agreements and the nature of the dispute. These alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods provide faster, confidential, and cost-effective options tailored to business needs.

The Role of the Industrial Court in Labour Disputes

For more complex or unresolved matters, Botswana’s Industrial Court serves as the specialized judicial body with exclusive jurisdiction over labour disputes. The court handles cases involving:

Unfair dismissal
Wage and benefits disputes
Disciplinary actions
Collective bargaining conflicts

While the Industrial Court plays a vital role in delivering binding decisions, challenges such as resource limitations and case backlogs exist. Recent reforms, including court-annexed mediation and improved case management systems, aim to enhance efficiency and reduce delays benefiting employers and employees alike.

Alternative Dispute Resolution: Arbitration and Mediation

Private arbitration is increasingly popular as a flexible, confidential alternative to litigation. Often embedded in employment contracts or collective agreements, arbitration allows businesses to resolve disputes swiftly and preserve valuable commercial relationships.

Mediation, facilitated by neutral third parties, encourages collaborative problem-solving and can prevent costly, protracted legal battles.

Compliance and Prevention: The Best Defence Against Labour Disputes

Preventing disputes is always preferable to resolving them. Compliance with Botswana’s labour laws is critical and includes:

Adhering to statutory working hours and rest periods
Providing mandatory leave entitlements (annual, sick, maternity)
Following lawful termination procedures and severance pay requirements
Maintaining non-discriminatory employment practices
Keeping accurate employment records and reports

At Minchin & Kelly, we help businesses implement proactive compliance programs and internal grievance procedures that reduce the risk of disputes escalating.

Why Partner with Minchin & Kelly for Labour Dispute Resolution in Botswana?

With deep expertise in Botswana’s labour law landscape, Minchin & Kelly (Botswana) offers tailored legal solutions that balance rigorous compliance with practical business needs. Our services include:

Drafting and reviewing employment contracts with dispute resolution clauses
Representing clients before the Commissioner of Labour and Industrial Court
Advising on arbitration and mediation strategies
Conducting compliance audits and training sessions to mitigate risks
Conducting disciplinary hearings

Act: Protect Your Business with Minchin & Kelly’s Expert Labour Law Services

Don’t let labour disputes disrupt your operations or damage your reputation. Contact Employment – Minchin & Kelly (Botswana) today for expert advice and strategic support in labour dispute resolution and compliance in Botswana. Together, we will help you build a resilient, compliant, and productive workplace that supports your growth ambitions.

Minchin Kelly 02/07/2025 Labour, Legal Advice, Legal Updates

Minchin & Kelly (Botswana) advises Tshukudu Metals on the US$60 million finance facility uplift

Minchin & Kelly (Botswana) were the project finance legal advisors in Botswana for Tshukudu Metals Botswana (Pty) Ltd (Tshukudu) on the US$60 million finance facility uplift for the expansion of its Motheo copper project (Motheo), which is located in the Ghanzi District of Botswana. Tshukudu is a subsidiary of Sandfire Resources Limited, one of the largest copper-focused companies on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Minchin & Kelly (Botswana) also advised on the initial US$140 million finance facility executed in September 2022 for Motheo, which was officially opened in August 2023 by His Excellency Dr. Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi, the President of the Republic of Botswana.

Minchin Kelly 03/11/2023 Commercial Law, Legal Advice

Stanbic Bank Botswana Legal Awareness Day

Minchin and Kelly (Botswana) participated in Stanbic Bank Botswana’s legal awareness day held on 1 September 2023. The team was led by Mr. Terence Dambe, the managing partner of Minchin and Kelly (Botswana), and he was accompanied by Gape Khuwa, Victor Chilembwe and Razeena Moorad. Amongst other things, the team presented and offered legal advice on property law to Stanbic Bank Botswana’s staff and the general public.

Stanbic Bank Botswana’s legal awareness was a wonderful opportunity for Minchin and Kelly (Botswana) to collaborate with its stakeholders and the community at large.

Minchin Kelly 08/09/2023 Banking Law, Commercial Law, Family Law, Financial Law, Legal Advice, Legal Updates

Urgent for you, not urgent for me

In our normal daily lives, whenever a friend, relative or colleague asks us to assist them “urgently!”, we understand them to be asking us to assist them at once. As such, we usually assist them immediately. Sometimes we assist them as soon as possible, but not immediately. This is generally because we view urgency differently.

What they may view as urgent, we may not.

The situation is similar when it comes to urgency in the context of court proceedings. As with our normal day-to-day interactions, whenever we approach court on urgency, we are asking the court to attend to our matter immediately. Also as with our normal day-to-day interactions, what a litigant may see as urgent, the court may not. More on this point later.

What we must appreciate is that when approaching court on urgency, we are asking the court to disrupt its normal schedule, to allow us to jump the queue and have our matter heard first.

Disrupting the court schedule and allowing our matters to be heard first because they are “urgent” potentially prejudices those litigants who have been patiently waiting for their turn, and who may have more deserving cases. There are also those eager beavers who just don’t want to wait for their turn and therefore proceed on “urgency”. Undoubtedly, even in our normal day-to-day lives we are met with such abuses.

To guard against such prejudices and abuses, our courts require the party seeking to be heard urgently (“the applicant”) to set out:

firstly, the facts which render their matter urgent; and

secondly, the reasons why they cannot be afforded substantial redress at a hearing in due course.

The applicant must satisfy the court that their matter is urgent in their affidavit. Should they fail to do so, their case will not be heard by way of urgency and will get placed at the back of the line.

In terms of the first requirement, the applicant must appreciate that it is not enough to simply say that the matter is urgent. In the words of our learned former justice of appeal Gaongalelwe J.A, “mere lip service to the requirements of urgency can never suffice.”

An applicant must set out those facts which make the matter urgent and in doing so, the applicant is obliged to make full and frank disclosure. Therefore, even those facts which are averse to their case must be disclosed.

In terms of the second requirement, the applicant must demonstrate that they will suffer irreparable harm if their case is not heard urgently.

Based on the allegations made in their affidavit, the court will either hold the matter to be urgent or not. If the court decides that the matter is urgent, it will allow the matter to jump the queue and be heard immediately. If, however, the court decides that the matter is not urgent, the applicant will go to the back of the line.

One must therefore understand that in as much as they may see their matter as urgent, the court may not see it the same way. This is because the court considers the matter objectively; a perspective which can differ with that of the applicant.

Minchin Kelly 03/02/2023 Legal Advice

Announcement of new M&K partners

The Partners of Minchin & Kelly (Botswana) are pleased to announce the appointment of Tatenda Dumba and Nyaradzo Mupfuti as partners of the firm, effective from the 1^st May 2019.

Tatenda was previously a Senior Associate in the Corporate & Commercial Division. She has over nine years’ experience as a corporate commercial attorney. She specialises in debt and equity finance, capital markets, project and syndicated loan transactions, mergers and acquisitions, hedging transactions, mining and general corporate commercial transactions.

Tatenda holds a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) from Rhodes University and a Master of Laws degree (LLM) from the University of Cape Town.

Nyaradzo was previously a Senior Associate and Manager in the Financial Recoveries Division, where she focuses primarily on debt collection for banks, insurance companies and other clients. She is a certified trainer in the Trial Advocacy Course administered by the Law Society of Botswana, and facilitated in conjunction with the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (USA) and Justice Advocacy Africa.

Nyaradzo holds a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) from the University of Zimbabwe.

We congratulate Tatenda and Nyaradzo on their respective appointments and wish them all the best in their new roles.

For further information please contact partners@minchinkelly.bw

Minchin Kelly 04/06/2019 Banking Law, Financial Law, Legal Advice, Legal Issues

Treaty V Facultative Reinsurance

Treaty reinsurance is where an insurer enters into an agreement with a reinsurer to cover a “book” of risks. The book of risks is generally quite broad in that it will stipulate the various risks it will cover, i.e. motor, aviation, business, immovable property, etc. Treaty insurance is a long term contract that covers the primary insurer for various types of risk.

Facultative reinsurance is where an insurer wants to cover a specific type of risk or a block of risks with a reinsurer/s. It is generally a one-off specific type of insurance. Read more “Treaty V Facultative Reinsurance”

Minchin Kelly 23/01/2019 Legal Advice

Vicarious liability of motor vehicle owners

It is trite law that an employer attracts vicarious liability for the delicts of an employee committed in the course and scope of the latter’s employment.

In light of the above principle of law the question is, can the owner of a motor vehicle be held liable for the damage caused by the driver of his/her vehicle where no contract of employment exists between them? The short answer to the above question is a resounding ‘yes’! However, it all depends on the circumstances of the case. For example, the owner of a motor vehicle may lend their motor vehicle to a friend or a family member for their own purposes or they may send their friends or family member on an errand using their motor vehicle. (i.e., picking the owner from the airport or driving them to a hospital). Read more “Vicarious liability of motor vehicle owners”

Minchin Kelly 23/01/2019 Legal Advice