Burkina Faso

The Court found that the employer had acted inconsistently in offering Mrs. B.S. one-month extensions on her fixed term contract and then ending her contract at a time when she would otherwise have begun maternity leave on the grounds that there were no more project-related funds to cover her employment.  This inconsistent behavior supported the finding that Mrs. B.S. had been unfairly dismissed because of pregnancy.  Under Article 33 of the Labor Code, the Court awarded damages to Mrs. B.S.

Mrs. Z.A. contended that she had been unfairly dismissed for having refused sexual advances by the personnel manager.  The Court found that Mrs. Z.A. did not have the obligation to prove that she had been the subject of sexual harassment.  Her employer had the burden of proof to show that she had been dismissed fairly.  The Court found that Mrs. Z.A. had been dismissed because she did not submit to her personnel manager's sexual advances, and therefore awarded her punitive damages in addition to six months pay.