What job description means
A job description states what the role is for and what the person in it is expected to do.
It typically covers the job title, who the role reports to and who reports to it, the purpose of the role, the main duties and responsibilities, the standards or outcomes expected, and the qualifications and experience required.
It is not a statutory requirement in Nigeria. Nothing obliges an employer to produce one, and many small businesses do not.
What makes it worth writing is what happens afterwards. It is the reference point for whether somebody is doing their job, for whether an instruction falls within their role, for selecting fairly in a redundancy, and for defending a performance dismissal. An employer without one is arguing from memory about what the person was supposed to be doing.
It is usually referred to in the employment contract rather than reproduced in it, which allows it to be updated as the role develops.
How it is used
It earns its keep at four moments.
Recruitment. It defines what is being advertised and what candidates are assessed against, which makes the selection defensible.
Performance management. An employer addressing underperformance needs a standard to measure against. A job description with clear outcomes turns a vague complaint about attitude into a specific gap the employee can be asked to close.
Redundancy. Where roles are being reduced, selection criteria have to be applied to something. Job descriptions define what each role was, which is what allows a fair comparison.
Disputes. At the National Industrial Court, an employer asserting that an employee failed to perform their role is asked what the role was. A written description contemporaneous with the employment answers it.
The other duties as reasonably assigned clause is standard and it is useful, giving flexibility as the business changes. It has limits: it does not permit reassignment to something fundamentally different, and an employer using it to move somebody into an unsuitable role is exposed.
Key features
- States the purpose, duties, reporting lines and standards of a role
- Not a statutory requirement in Nigeria
- Usually referred to in the contract rather than reproduced in it
- Underpins performance management and redundancy selection
- Evidence at the industrial court of what the role actually was
- An other duties clause gives flexibility within limits
How this works in Nigeria
The National Industrial Court's expectation of a valid reason and a fair process makes the job description more useful to Nigerian employers than it once was.
A performance dismissal without a written role definition, without objectives and without a documented improvement process is very difficult to defend. The employer is asserting that somebody failed at a job nobody wrote down.
Redundancy is the same. Where selection is challenged, the question is what criteria were applied and to what. Roles that were never defined are hard to compare fairly, and a selection that looks arbitrary invites a finding against the employer.
The other recurring Nigerian issue is role creep. A person is hired for one thing and is gradually doing three, without a revised description or a revised salary. That is a grievance waiting to be raised, and it also weakens the employer, because the written role no longer matches reality and neither side can point to a current standard.
The practical discipline is to review job descriptions when roles change materially, and to have the employee acknowledge the revised version. That takes minutes and it keeps the document useful.
For employees, ask for the job description at offer stage. A role described only as marketing manager, with no duties stated, gives you nothing to point to when the work drifts.
Job description vs employment contract vs employee handbook
Three documents defining the working relationship at different levels.
The employment contract is the legal agreement: parties, salary, notice, leave, confidentiality, termination. It binds and can only be varied by agreement.
The job description defines the role: purpose, duties, reporting lines and standards. It is usually referred to in the contract rather than forming part of it, which lets the employer update it as the business changes.
The employee handbook contains the rules applying to everybody: conduct, discipline, grievances, leave procedures, IT and data policies.
An employee should have all three. In practice many Nigerian employees have a one page offer letter and nothing else, which leaves both sides arguing from memory when something goes wrong.
Limits and risks
It has no independent legal force. Where it is not part of the contract, an employer can change it, subject to not making a fundamental change that amounts to a breach.
It also goes stale. A description written at recruitment and never revisited stops describing the job, which undermines its usefulness in exactly the disputes it was meant to help with.
Overly detailed descriptions create their own problem, giving an employee a basis to refuse anything not listed, which is why the other duties clause exists.
And it does not substitute for process. A clear description without objectives, feedback and a documented improvement opportunity will not save a performance dismissal on its own.
Worth knowing
Update the job description when the role changes materially, and have the employee acknowledge it. Nigerian role creep produces two problems at once: an employee doing three jobs for one salary, and an employer with no current standard to hold them to.
Questions people ask
Is a job description legally required in Nigeria?
No. Nothing obliges an employer to produce one. It is worth writing because of the work it does later in performance management, redundancy selection and disputes.
What should a job description contain?
The job title, reporting lines, the purpose of the role, main duties and responsibilities, the standards or outcomes expected, and the qualifications and experience required.
Is it part of my employment contract?
Usually it is referred to rather than reproduced, which lets the employer update it as the business changes. Where it is expressly incorporated it becomes contractual and harder to vary.
What does an other duties clause allow?
Flexibility to assign additional tasks reasonably related to the role. It does not permit reassignment to something fundamentally different, and using it to move somebody into an unsuitable role is exposed.
Why does it matter in a dismissal case?
Because an employer asserting that an employee failed to perform their role will be asked what the role was. A written description contemporaneous with the employment answers that; memory does not.
My job has changed completely. What should I do?
Ask for the job description to be updated and, where the change is substantial, raise the question of remuneration at the same time. Role creep without a revised description weakens both sides.