Labor Law of Cambodia, Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 1

Scope of Application

Different Categories of Workers in the Kingdom of Cambodia

Article 1

This law governs relations between employers and workers resulting from employment contracts to be performed within the territory of the Kingdom of Cambodia, regardless of where the contract was made and what the nationality and residences of the contracted parties are.

This law applies to every enterprise or establishment of industry, mining, commerce, crafts, agriculture, services, land or water transportation, whether public, semi-public or private, non-religious or religious; whether they are of professional education or charitable characteristic as well as the liberal profession, associations or groups of any nature whatsoever.

This law shall also apply to every personnel who is not governed by the Common Statutes for Civil Servants or by the Diplomatic Statutes as well as officials in the public service who are temporarily appointed.

This law shall not apply to:

1. Judges of the Judiciary. `
2. Persons appointed to a permanent post in the public service.
3. Personnel of the Police, the Army, the Military Police, who are governed by a separate statute.
4. personnel serving in the air and maritime transportation, who are governed by a special legislation. These workers are entitled to apply the provisions on freedom of union under this law.
5. domestics or household servants, unless otherwise expressly specified under this law. These domestics or household servants are entitled to apply the provisions on freedom of union under this law.

Article 2

All natural persons or legal entities, public or private, are considered to be employers who constitute an enterprise, within the meaning of this law, provided that they employ one or more workers, even discontinuously.

Every enterprise may consist of several establishments, each employing a group of people working together in a defined place such as in factory, workshop, work site, etc., under the supervision and direction of the employer.

A given establishment shall be always under the auspices of an enterprise.  The establishment may employ just one person.  If this establishment is unique and independent, it is both considered as an enterprise and an establishment.

Article 3

‘Workers”, within the meaning of this law, are every person of all sex and nationality, who has signed an employment contract in return for remuneration, under the direction and management of another person, whether that person is a natural person or legal entity, public or private. To clearly determine the characteristics of a worker, one shall not take into account of neither the jurisdictional status of the employer nor that of the worker, as well as the amount of remuneration.

Article 4

“Domestics or household servants” are those workers who are engaged to take care of the home owner or of the owner’s property in return for remuneration.

Article 5

“Employees or helpers” are those who are contracted to assist any person in return for remuneration, but who do not perform manual labour fully or who do so incidentally.

Article 6

“Labourers” are those workers who are not household servants or employees, namely those who perform mostly manual labour in return for remuneration, under the direction of the employer or his representative.

The status of labourer is independent of the method of remuneration; it is determined exclusively by the nature of the work.

Article 7

“Artisans” are persons, who practice a manual trade personally on their own account, working at home or outside, whether or not they use the motive force of automatic machines, whether or not they have a shop with a signboard, who primarily sell the products of their own work, carried out either alone or with the help of their spouse or family members who work without pay, or with the help of workers or apprentices, but the entire workshop is solely under the direction of their own.

The number of non-family workers, who regularly work for an artisan, cannot exceed seven; if this number is exceeded, the employer loses the status of artisan.

Article 8

“Apprentices” are those who have entered into an apprenticeship contract with an employer or artisan who has contracted to teach or use someone to teach the apprentice his occupation; and in return, the apprentice has to work for the employer according to the conditions and terms of the contract.

Article 9

In accordance with the stability of employment, it is distinguished:

• regular workers
• casual workers, who are engaged to perform an unstable job.

Regular workers are those who regularly perform a job on a permanent basis.

Casual workers are those who are contracted to:

• perform a specific work that shall normally be completed within a short period of time.
• perform a work temporarily, intermittently and seasonally.

Article 10

Casual workers are subject to the same rules and obligations and enjoy the same rights as regular workers, except for the clauses stipulated separately.

Article 11

In accordance with the method of remuneration, workers are classified as follows:

• Workers remunerated on a time basis (monthly, daily, hourly), who are paid daily or at intervals not longer than fifteen days or one month.
• Workers remunerated by the amount produced or piecework.
• Workers remunerated on commission.

SECTION 2

NON-DISCRIMINATION

Article 12

Except for the provisions fully expressing under this law, or in any other legislative text or regulation protecting women and children, as well as provisions relating to the entry and stay of foreigners, no employer shall consider on account of:

• race,
• colour,
• sex,
• creed,
• religion,
• political opinion,
• birth,
• social origin,
• membership of workers’ union or the exercise of union activities.

To be the invocation in order to make a decision on:

• hiring,
• defining and assigning of work,
• vocational training,
• advancement,
• promotion,
• remuneration,
• granting of social benefits,
• discipline or termination of employment contract.

Distinctions, rejections, or acceptances based on qualifications required for a specific job shall not be considered as discrimination.

SECTION 3

PUBLIC ORDER

Article 13

The provisions of this law are of the nature of public order, excepting derogations provided expressly.  Consequently, all rules resulted from a unilateral decision, a contract or a convention that do not comply with the provisions of this law or any legal text for its enforcement, are null and void.

Except for the provisions of this law that cannot be derogated in any way, the nature of public order of this law is not obstructive to the granting of benefits or the rights superior to the benefits and the rights defined in this law, granted to workers by a unilateral decision of an employer or a group of employers, by an employment contract, by a collective convention or agreement, or by an arbitral decision.

Section 4

Publicity

Article 14:

The employer must keep at least one copy of the labor law at the disposal of his workers and, in particular, of the
workers' representatives in every enterprise or establishment set forth in Article 1 of this law.

Section 5

Forced labor

Article 15:

Forced or compulsory labor is absolutely forbidden in conformity with the International Convention No. 29 on the forced
or compulsory labor, adopted on June 28, 1930 by the International Labor Organization and ratified by the Kingdom of
Cambodia on February 24, 1969.
This article applies to everyone, including domestics or household servants and all workers in agricultural enterprises or businesses.

Article 16:

Hiring of people for work to pay off debts is forbidden.