Increase in Employee’s Earning Threshold
by Claire Stewart on 18/02/08 at 7:30 am
3 comments
Hot off the press: As of the 1st March 2008, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act will be amended to increase the annual earnings threshold from R115 572, to R149 736. Employees who earn over this amount are exempt from overtime pay, pay for working on public holidays, maximum ordinary hours of work, compressed working weeks, daily and weekly rest periods and allowances for night work.
In layman’s terms, if an employee earns less than the earnings threshold employers then have to pay them for any overtime and public holidays worked.
Working hours must be strictly enforced. Once an employee earns over the threshold then all of that falls away, i.e. no overtime.
This is particularly relevant to organisations with lower income employees. Now, more employees should earn overtime.
Claire Stewart is the founder of PeopleWise, an HR and Employment consulting service. Like Neo in the Matrix, Claire sees through the convoluted mess of SA employment law and makes sense of it for you, loyal Ideate reader. View more articles by Claire Stewart.
Duncan Drennan
Feb 18th, 2008
If you earn over that amount your contact can override the BCEA. You can still get paid for overtime etc. but it must be specified in your contract – so negotiate what you want upfront!
Wade Balsdon
Feb 19th, 2008
People should work standard hours, if more work needs to be done then employ more staff. If employees need additional income then they should find part time work after hours. There is no reward in killing yourself for a job.
Lenore Griessel
May 28th, 2008
I’ve been working for same laboratory for 15 yrs. I started off as junior, and now earn more than bcea threshold.
My original contract states clearly that I’m required to work 40hr/week and that overtime would be calculated at 1.3 / 1.5 / 2.0. My contract also states it’s a condition and agreement that I’ll be available to work overtime, shifts, night duties and Public Holidays.
I’m in the medical field and work in a 24 hr lab. My overtime duties are set out per roster. I form an integral part of running a 24 hr lab.
What is the deal for me? If they need me to work overtime, because there’s no other skilled technologist, clearly they should follow my contract, and pay the overtime rates as stated in the contract?
Or do I refuse to work overtime?