An employer should not occupy his worker throughout the week and year. Each worker is entitled to a rest period in addition to the daily rest which he enjoys after working hours. Section 88 (1) of the Cameroon labour code makes weekly rest compulsory as it stipulates that it shall consist of at least 24 consecutive hours each week and shall as a rule fall on Sunday and may under no circumstance be replaced by a compulsory allowance.
There is however an exception to the rest rule as Order No. 14 of June 18th 1968 recognizes the exception for enterprises which by their very nature must operate round the week. In such a case, the weekly rest day is usually granted in a rotative manner as established by the employer. Examples of such enterprises include; bakeries, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, clinics, dispensaries, pharmacies on call, fueling stations etc.
PAID LEAVE
All workers need time to recuperate after a certain period. Leave is the period each year within which an employee is entitled to stay away from his employer. It is usually paid, that is making it a statutory right as illustrated in section 89 of the labour code. In the absence of more favourable provision in the collective agreement or individual contract of employment, paid leave at the employer’s expense shall accrue to the worker at the rate of one half days for each month of actual service.
SPECIAL LEAVE
This kind of leave include maternity leave, sick leave, state leave, exceptional permission etc. according to section 84(2) of the Cameroon labour code, “every pregnant woman is entitled to 14 weeks of maternity leave which may start 4 weeks before due date of confinement”. Such leave may even be further extended by 6 weeks in case of a duly certified illness resulting from the pregnancy of confinement.