IS MY EMPLOYEE ENTITLED TO OVERTIME?

The current prescribed earning threshold in terms of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act is R205 433-30 per year.  This equates to R17 119-44 per month, as a gross remuneration.

Employees employed at a remuneration in excess of this amount would be excluded from the overtime provisions of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.

This in turn has the consequence that such employees do not have a legal right to demand the protection and rights which are conferred upon employees in terms of chapter 2 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.

The resultant effect of this is that whilst an employer is not entitled to force employees to work unreasonable hours, the employee has no right to demand to be paid overtime as stipulated in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.  The employee may however negotiate in this regard.  It is thus important that contracts of employment clearly spell out the conditions relating to overtime and the payment thereof.

For more information on the regulation of hours of work and overtime pertaining to those employees earning above the threshhold, please do not hesitate to contact Tracey Mouton at (041) 501 9818.

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