SUNDAY PAY
It often occurs that an employee is required to work on Sundays owing to this either being the employee’s ordinary working day or due to a continuous shift pattern. Employers are then loath to pay anything in addition to the ordinary rate, as the employer feels that this is an ordinary working day.
Section 16 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act however provides differently:
- If the employee does not work on a Sunday as a norm, the employee will receive double his or her wages for each hour worked;
- If the employee works less than his ordinary shift on a Sunday and therefore the payment referred to in paragraph 1 above would be less than the employee’s ordinary daily wage, the employee is to be paid his ordinary wage;
- An agreement may however be reached, which provides for paid time off equivalent to the difference between the value of the ordinary wage and the Sunday rate;
- If the employee is working shifts and the larger portion of the shift falls on a Sunday, the whole shift is deemed to have been worked on the Sunday and the Sunday rate would apply.
For any assistance in drafting contracts or assessing terms and conditions of employment, please do not hesitate to contact Goldberg & de Villiers, Tracey Mouton, Tel: (041) 501 9818, e-mail: traceym@goldlaw.co.za