Workers who thought justice had finally come after losing their jobs are now facing fresh uncertainty, as the Malawi Enterprise Development Fund (MEDF) prepares to challenge a court ruling that declared their dismissal unlawful.
The Industrial Relations Court (IRC) in Mzuzu recently ruled that MEDF unlawfully terminated 55 employees during probation, ordering compensation and damages, but the institution now says the court got it wrong.
IRC Deputy Chairperson Anthony Kapaswiche found that MEDF breached employment law when it dismissed Yamikani Vincent Jamu and 55 others between December 5 and 12, 2025, saying probation does not strip employees of legal protection under Section 57 of the Employment Act.
“The fact that an employee is under probation does not make them a lesser employee to be denied protection of employment law as a probationary employee remains an employee and in cases of termination of contract or dismissal, the requirements of Section 57 of the Employment Act have to be adhered to,” the judgment reads.
But MEDF is pushing back hard, insisting the judgment ignored key arguments it raised in court and misapplied the law.
A senior official said the institution believes the ruling “was flawed,” claiming the judge failed to properly address its submissions and instead ruled on what it calls a different interpretation of the case.
“We are appealing the matter. The judge ignored the issues raised by the applicants and made a judgment on a completely different matter. So we are appealing on the basis that he failed in law,” the official said.
The court, however, was firm in its findings, stating that probationary employees remain fully protected under labour law and must still be subjected to due process before termination.
It further ordered MEDF to compensate the affected workers for unfair dismissal and unfair labour practices, although the employees have since withdrawn their initial push for reinstatement.
