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THE INDICIA OF A CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT IN CAMEROON

The indicia of a contract of employment in Cameroon are the underlying indicators which prove that there is a labour relation between a worker and an employer. According to Lord Chief Justice Clerk Cooper, the indicia of a contract of employment or contract of service may be stated as follows

  • The master’s power to select his servant.
  • The payment of wages or other remuneration
  • The master’s right to control in a general manner the work to be done, and
  • The master’s right to suspend or dismiss his servant.

There are a number of tests which are indicative of the existence of a contract of employment in Cameroon. They are as follows;

  1. The control test: According to this test, for there to be a contract of employment, the worker must be subject to the control of the employer and work under the directives of the employer. In the words of Bramwell L.J in the case of Yemens v Noakes 1880 6 QBD 530, ‘a servant (worker) is a person subject to the command of his master (employer) as to the manner in which he shall do his work’.
  2. The organizational or integration test: As per Lord Denning in the case of Stevenson, Jordan & Harrison Ltd v Macdonald & Evans 1952 I T.L.R 101, he stated that under a contract of service, a man is employed as part of the business and his work is done as an integral part of the business.
  3. Mutuality of obligations test: According to this test, both the employer and the employer under a contract of employment have obligations towards one another.
  4. The composite test: This tests is a combination of several tests which are aimed at illustrating the existence of an obligation of a worker on several aspects like the provision of work and skill, the existence of control by the employer on the worker on issues like the place of work, time of work, means of work etc.
  5. The hierarchical subordination test: This test is a widely accepted and applied test. It portrays an economic element of the relationship in which a worker is contented to work for remuneration, hence making the worker economically dependent on the employee. It also portrays a judicial aspect as the worker is mandated by law and his contract to obey the instructions of his employer.
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