Career Advice

PART I – PRELIMINARY

Scope of application
This Act applies to all workers and to all employers except the Armed Forces, the Police Service, the Prison Service and the Security and Intelligence Agencies specified under the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act 1996 (Act 526).

PART II – PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT CENTRES AND
FEE-CHARGING EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES

Establishment of Public Employment Centres and registration of private employment agencies
The Minister shall by Executive Instrument establish Public Employment Centres for the discharge of the functions stated in section 3.
A Centre established under subsection (1) is answerable to the Minister.

Functions of the Centres
 Each Centre shall assist unemployed and employed persons to find suitable employment and assist employers to find suitable workers from among such persons;
take appropriate measures to

• facilitate occupational mobility with a view to adjusting the supply of labour to employment opportunities in the various occupations;
• facilitate geographical mobility with a view to assisting the movement of unemployed and employed persons to areas with suitable employment opportunities; and
• facilitate temporary transfers of unemployed and employed persons from one place to another as a means of meeting temporary local maladjustment in the supply of or demand for unemployed persons;

assist in social and economic planning by providing labour market information to stakeholders to ensure a favourable employment situation;
provide vocational guidance facilities to young persons;
provide arrangements for the registration, employment, training and retaining of persons with disability; and
provide arrangements for the registration of employed and unemployed persons

• with recognized technical, vocational or professional qualifications or those without these qualifications but have had experience of a level higher than that of an artisan;
• who are of the level of supervisors or foremen;
• with experience at administrative, managerial or senior executive levels; and
• who have received training at the tertiary level.

Registration of unemployed persons
An unemployed person may make an application in the prescribed form to the appropriate Centre for registration in the appropriate register.
On receipt of the application, the officer in charge of the Center shall enter the particulars of the application in the appropriate register and issue to the applicant a certificate of registration in the prescribed form.

Employment through Centres or Agencies
An employer may employ any worker either through a Centre or a Private Employment Agency.

Employment Data
The Chief Labour Officer or an officer authorized by the Chief Labour Officer shall, submit to every employer a questionnaire relating to employment of workers by the employer within the respective Centre.
The employer shall complete and return the questionnaire to the Chief Labour Officer or the authorized officer within fourteen days after the expiry of every three months.
 where an employer fails or refuses to complete and return the questionnaire as required under subsection (2) the Chief Labour Officer shall direct the employer to do so within a specified time, and the employer shall comply with the direction.


Private Employment Agencies
A person shall not establish or operate a Private Employment Agency unless that person is a corporate body, has applied to, and has been granted a license by, the Minister.
A license granted by the Minister under subsection (1) shall, subject to the terms and conditions stipulated in the license, be valid for a period of twelve months.
The license of an Agency may be renewed for a period of twelve months upon application made to the Minister.
There shall be paid by an Agency for the issue or renewal of the license such fee as the Minister may by legislative instrument prescribe.
An agency may recruit workers for employment in a country outside Ghana if it is authorized to do so under its license and it there exists an agreement between the Government and that other country.
An Agency shall submit to the Minister not later than fourteen days after the end of every three months returns in respect of workers recruited for employment, whether in Ghana or outside Ghana, during that period.
An Agency shall refund fifty percent of the fees paid by a client to the Agency, if the Agency is unable to secure a job placement for the client after the expiration of three months.
The Minister shall revoke the license of any Agency that fails to comply with subsection (6).