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Chapter 6
Related Sections
1
INTRODUCTION
2
THE CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT
3
How can a contract of employment be used?
4
Changing the contract of employment
5
Types of contracts: Indefinite and Fixed-term contracts
6
Casual employees
7
‘Zero-rated’ contracts
8
Volunteers
9
Differential wage
10
Bonus pay
11
Long service awards
12
Job references
13
LAWS ABOUT TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
14
Wage regulating measures
15
How do you know which law applies to an employee?
16
BASIC CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT ACT (BCEA)
17
Who is covered by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act?
18
Temporary Employment Services (TES)
19
Variation of basic conditions
20
Individual contract of employment
21
Collective bargaining
22
Sectoral Determinations
23
Ministerial exemptions
24
Prohibited employment
25
Enforcement of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA)
26
Summary of provisions in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA)
27
MINIMUM WAGES
28
Summary of provisions in the National Minimum Wage Act (NMWA)
29
COLLECTIVE AGREEMENTS
30
Workplace-based collective agreements
31
Bargaining Council Agreements
32
SECTORAL DETERMINATIONS
33
How are Sectoral Determinations made?
34
Enforcement of a Sectoral Determination
35
Settling disputes under a Sectoral Determination
36
Summary of the Sectoral Determination for Farm Workers
37
Summary of the Sectoral Determination for Domestic Workers
38
DEREGULATION
39
OTHER LAWS THAT APPLY TO TERMS AND CONDITIONS IN THE WORKPLACE
40
Employment Equity Act (EEA)
41
The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA)
42
Code of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Harassment in the Workplace
43
The Merchant Shipping Act
44
DISPUTES AND WAYS OF SETTLING DISPUTES
45
What is a dispute?
46
The Labour Relations Act (LRA)
47
Who is an employee?
48
Unfair Labour Practices
49
DISMISSALS
50
What is a dismissal?
51
Automatically unfair dismissals
52
When is a dismissal fair or unfair?
53
Dismissal for misconduct
54
Dismissal for incapacity
55
Retrenchment or redundancy dismissal
56
What steps can be taken if there is an unfair dismissal?
57
SOLVING DISPUTES UNDER THE LRA
58
Conciliation by the CCMA or Bargaining Council
59
Arbitration by the CCMA or Bargaining Council
60
Adjudication by the Labour Court
61
TAKING INDUSTRIAL ACTION
62
When is industrial action not permitted?
63
What procedures must be followed before industrial action is protected?
64
If an employer unilaterally changes conditions of employment
65
Employee’s and employer’s rights in protected industrial action
66
Trade unions
67
SOCIAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS IN THE WORKPLACE
68
Unemployment Insurance Fund
69
COMPENSATION FUND
70
When can an employee claim compensation?
71
Who can claim compensation from the Fund?
72
Who contributes to the Fund?
73
When will the Fund not pay compensation?
74
Occupational diseases and injuries
75
What types of compensation payment are made?
76
Steps to claim disability
77
How is the compensation money paid?
78
Objections and appeals
79
EMPLOYEE’S TAX
80
What is employee’s tax?
81
When must an employee pay tax?
82
How much tax do you pay?
83
What information must you give to employers?
84
Rebates
85
Tax on bonus pay and retrenchment pay
86
Part-time work and casual work
87
Tax assessments
88
PENSION AND PROVIDENT FUNDS
89
How does a pension or provident fund work?
90
Types of funds and benefits
91
Bargaining Council funds
92
Complaints about payments from pension funds
93
The Pension Funds Adjudicator
94
The Two-Pot Retirement System
95
MEDICAL AID SCHEMES FOR EMPLOYEES
96
Advantages and disadvantages of Medical Aid Schemes
97
Medical Schemes Act
98
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT ACT
99
The National Qualifications Framework (NQF)
100
The Skills Development Levy-Grant Scheme
101
Skills Development Facilitators
102
PROBLEMS
103
Problem 1: Money is deducted from an employee’s wages
104
Problem 2: Employee wants to claim notice pay and leave pay
105
Problem 3: Employee is paid below the minimum wage
106
Problem 4: Dismissed employee wants the job back – how to apply for reinstatement or compensation
107
Problem 5: Retrenchment
108
Problem 6: Employee dismissed for being under the influence of alcohol on duty (no previous record of alcohol abuse)
109
Problem 7: Employee dismissed for being under the influence of alcohol while on duty (Employee is suffering from alcoholism)
110
Problem 8: Contract employees are dismissed before the contract is due to terminate
111
Problem 9: Contract employees are not paid overtime
112
Problem 10: Part-time employee is not paid sick leave
113
Problem 11: Fixed-term contract has not been renewed
114
Problem 12: Application for UIF benefits is too late
115
Problem 13: Employer does not register employee with the Unemployment Insurance Fund
116
Problem 14: Failing to sign the Unemployment Register
117
Problem 15: Long delay in paying Compensation
118
Problem 16: Employee does not get the correct amount of compensation money
119
Problem 17: Injured employee is off work and is not getting paid
120
Problem 18: Employee is injured on duty and loses the job
121
Problem 19: Employee’s compensation has been refused
122
Problem 20: Employees develop an occupational disease
123
MODEL LETTERS AND FORMS
124
Model Contract of Employment
125
Letter of demand to employer for reinstatement
126
Letter of demand to employer for notice and leave pay
127
Letter to Department of Employment and Labour about a notice and leave pay claim
128
Letter of appeal against the refusal to pay UIF
129
Letter to UIF because benefits have not been paid
130
Letter to Compensation Commissioner asking whether the accident was reported
131
Letter to Compensation Commissioner asking for reasons for the delay in paying
132
How to write a complaint to the Pension Funds Adjudicator
133
LRA Form 7.11 Referring a dispute to the CCMA for resolution
134
Compensation Form WCL3
135
CHECKLISTS
136
Checklist for a labour problem
137
Checklist to prepare for arbitration
138
Checklist to prepare a claim for reinstatement
139
Checklist for problems about UIF
140
Checklist for compensation problems

Occupational diseases and injuries

DISEASES

Occupational diseases are illnesses caused by substances or conditions that the employee was exposed to at the workplace. Schedule 3 of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act sets out the working conditions and diseases caused by these conditions that are covered by the Compensation Fund. An employee can claim compensation if exposed to these working conditions and then getting the related disease.

If a disease is not listed then employees can claim compensation only if they can prove that the disease was caused by conditions at work and not by some other factor. Medical evidence and reports will have to be submitted to the Commissioner. It may also take some time for a disease to become obvious and in such cases employees can claim compensation if they are no longer at a workplace so long as it falls within the time limits for lodging claims. (See Employees develop an occupational disease) The Commissioner will approve or reject the claim. Only if the Commissioner approves the claim, will you get compensation (for temporary or permanent disability) and your medical expenses will be paid. If the disease gets worse after a period of time, you can apply to have your compensation increased.

INJURIES

Injuries covered by the Compensation Act are only those that occur as a result of or at work. Compensation is paid for temporary and permanent disabilities that lead to a loss of earnings.

MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS WHILE WORKING

If motor vehicle accidents happen while employees are doing their jobs, then they can get compensation from the Compensation Fund. But if they are injured in a motor vehicle accident caused by someone else’s negligent or unlawful driving, even if this is on the job, they can also make a third-party claim from the Road Accident Fund. The money received from the Compensation Fund will be taken off the third-party payment. For example, if the Road Accident Fund agrees to pay damages of R15 000, but the Compensation Fund has already paid R10 000, then the employee will only get R5 000 damages from the Fund. Employees cannot sue their employer for damages if they are injured on the job. But if the employer caused injury to employees while they were NOT on the job, then the employee could sue them.