3 Judgment No. CCZ 2/18 Constitutional Application No. CCZ 86/15 BACKGROUND FACTS The applicants and many other employers were affected by the transitional provision because they had terminated contracts of employment on notice on the basis of existing law on different dates falling within the period from 17 July 2015 and the effective date of the enactment of s 12 of the Act. The terminations followed the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Nyamande and Anor v Zuva Petroleum (Pvt) Ltd SC-43-15, 2015 (2) ZLR 186 (SC) (“the Zuva Petroleum judgment”). The appellants in the Zuva Petroleum judgment were employed by Zuva Petroleum (Pvt) Ltd (“the company”). The company wrote letters to the appellants giving them notice of its intention to terminate their employment at the end of three months. Thereafter the company paid the appellants cash in lieu of notice and terminated the employment relationship. Aggrieved by the company’s action, the appellants approached a labour officer, alleging that the termination of their contracts of employment was unlawful. They accused the company of unfair labour practice. The labour officer failed to resolve the dispute by conciliation. He referred the dispute to an arbitrator, who subsequently found that the termination of the contracts of employment was unlawful because the appellants had not been dismissed in terms of a code of conduct. The company appealed to the Labour Court on the ground that termination of contracts of employment on notice was lawful, as it was provided for in the contracts between the parties. The appellants had contended before the Labour Court that the provisions under s 12B of the Labour