• "annual leave cycle" means the period of 12 months’ employment with the same employer immediately following:-

• the employee commencing employment; or
• completion of that employee’s prior leave cycle

• "domestic worker" means an employee who performs domestic work in the home of his/her employer and includes:-

• a gardener;
• person employed by household as a driver of a motor vehicle;
• person who takes care of children, the aged, the sick, the frail or the disabled BUT does NOT include a farmworker.

• "Day" means a period of 24 hours measured from the time when the employee normally commences work.

• "employee" means any person who works for another person and who receives any remuneration OR assists in carrying on business of an employer;

• "month" means a calendar month;

• "remuneration" means payment in money or in kind or both in return for that persons working for any other person;

• "senior managerial employee" means an employee who has the authority to hire, discipline and dismiss employees and to represent employees internally/externally;

• "wage" means an amount of money payable to an employee in respect of ordinary hours of work;

• "week" means a period of seven days within which the working week of that employee ordinarily falls;

• "sick leave cycle" means a period of 36 months of employment with the same employer from commencement of employment OR completion of prior sick leave cycle

• This Act applies to all employers and employees EXCEPT:-

• members of National Defence Force, National Intelligence Agency and the S A Secret Service;
• unpaid volunteers working for an organisation serving a charitable purpose.

 

However the provisions which dictate regulation of working time having regard to health, safety and family responsibility will still apply. This is to ensure that employees should be protected in relation to the possible impact working time may have on their health, safety and family responsibility.

In addition, the provisions relating to public holidays would apply to employees who earn R83 999,00 or more per annum for the purposes of consistency.

• senior managerial employees i.e. those having authority to hire, discipline and dismiss employees and to represent the employer externally and internally;
• sales staff who travel to customers and regulate their own hours of work;
• employees who work less than 24 hours a month for an employer;
• employees who earn above the above threshold if the draft notice above is passed.

• The provisions relating to ordinary hours of work, overtime, meal intervals, daily and weekly rest periods and work on public holidays WILL NOT apply if the work is required to be done without delay and one which the employer could not have foreseen and cannot be performed during the employee’s ordinary hours of work.

• Employer may not require/permit an Employee to work more than -

• 45 hours in any week;

• 9 hours per day if employee works 5 days or less per week (excluding meal interval);
• 8 hours per day if employee works more than 5 days per week(excluding meal intervals);

• By agreement working hours may be extended to by up to 15 minutes per day but not more than as 60 minutes in a week especially for employees who serve members of the public;

• Ordinary hours and overtime hours of work may be averaged out over a period of 4 months.

** Schedule 1 to the Act provides that the goal is to progressively reduce working hours to 40 hours per week and an 8 hour working day. An investigation may be conducted and recommendation will be made to the Minister in this regard.

• Employer may not require/permit an Employee to work overtime except by agreement.

• Employer may not require an employee to work more than

• 3 hours overtime per day; OR
• 10 hours overtime per week

Compensation

• Employer must pay employee at least 1.5 (one and a half) times normal wage for overtime worked;

• Despite the above an agreement may provide for an employer to:-

• pay ordinary wage for overtime work and grant 30 minutes time off on full pay for every hour of overtime worked; OR

• 90 minutes paid time off for each hour of overtime worked (no payment).

• The time off must be granted within one month of the employee becoming entitled to it.

• The agreement to work overtime concluded when Employee commences employment or during first three months of employment, lapses after one year. This means it would have to be negotiated every year.

• An employer must give an employee who works continuously for more than 5 hours a meal interval of at least 1 continuous hour.

• During a meal interval Employee may be required/permitted to perform only those duties that cannot be left unattended and cannot be performed by another employee.

• If employee is required to work or be available to work during lunch the employee must be remunerated;

• An agreement in writing may:-

• reduce the meal interval to not less than 30 minutes; OR
• dispense with the meal interval if Employee works less than 6 hours on a day

 

• An employer must allow an employee:-

• a daily rest period of at least 12 consecutive hours between ending and starting work;
• weekly rest period of at least 36 consecutive hours which must include a Sunday unless otherwise agreed.

• The daily rest period may by agreement be reduced to 10 hours if an employee:-

• lives on the premises at work;
• whole meal interval last at least 3 hours.

 

• An employer must pay an employee who works on a Sunday:-

• Double Pay for each hour worked; OR
• 1.5 times wages for each hour worked if the employee normally works on Sunday;

• If the employee works less than ordinary shift on Sunday and payment above is less than ordinary daily wage, he/she is entitled to at least ordinary daily wage;

• Despite the above by agreement employer may grant paid time off equal to the difference between the pay received for working on Sunday and pay he/she would have received as above.

• Paid time off must be granted within 1 month of the employee becoming entitled to it.

• Employer may not require an employee to work on a public holiday except by agreement;
• If the public holiday falls on a day that employee would ordinarily work entitled to ordinary wage;
• If the employee does work on a public holiday he/she is entitled to Double the amount of ordinary wages;
• If an employee works on a public holiday on which he/she would not work – is entitled to ordinary daily wage PLUS the amount earned by that employee whether calculated by reference to time worked or any other method.
• The employer must pay employee for a public holiday on the employee’s usual pay day.