Termination of service some rules

Notice Period:

Worker employed for… Notice Period
6 months or less 1 week
More than 6 months, but less than 1 year 2 weeks
1 year or more 4 weeks

Unless :

The employment contract stipulates a longer notice period

A collective agreement has reduced the 4 weeks notice to 2 weeks

Notice must be given in writing

Any notice either by the employee or the employer must be in writing except where the employee is illiterate. Where an employee does not understand the notice this must be explained to them in an official language that they understand

Notice cannot be given or run concurrently

· During any period of annual leave

· During any period of sick leave

The principal her is that employers won’t force their employees to take annual leave and so avoid having to pay the employee for the outstanding leave. It is also to protect the employer from employees taking unnecessary sick leave and so avoid coming to work. So use your management discretion when dealing with this issue.

Example: if an employee (a habitual sick leave user) takes sick 2 days sick leave in their notice period and does not bring a doctors certificate you may want to consider making this unpaid leave.

However I would advise you to consult a labor consultant before making any decisions.

Pay Instead of Notice

Employers may decide to waive the notice period, but the worker must still be paid for the notice period. Should the employee not work their full notice then the days not worked may be deducted from the notice pay.

Notice and Accommodation

Workers who live on the premises of the employer may stay in the accommodation for 1 month if the employer ends the contract of employment prematurely.

Certificate of service

On termination of employment an employee is entitled to a certificate of service stating—

(a) The employee’s full name;

(b) The name and address of the employer;

(c) A description of any council or sectoral employment standard by which the employer’s business is

covered;

(d) The date of commencement and date of termination of employment;

(e) The title of the job or a brief description of the work for which the employee was employed at date

of termination;

(f) The remuneration at date of termination; and

(g) If the employee so requests, the reason for termination of employment

Employment Contracts What You Need To Know

The Basic Conditions of Employment Act requires that employers give workers certain details of their employment in writing. these details include clauses that regulates leave, working hours, employment conditions, deductions, pay slips, and termination

Written Particulars of Employment

At the start of employment, employers must give workers a document containing the following information…

Based on Legislation in Section 29, of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act

Employer and Worker Details

  • Employer’s full name
  • Employer’s address
  • Worker’s name
  • Worker’s occupation, or a brief description of the work (we recommend an agreed job description)

Employment Details

  • Place/s of work
  • Date of employment
  • Working hours and days of work

Payment Details

  • Salary or wage, or the rate and method of calculating wages
  • Rate for overtime
  • Any other cash payments
  • Any payments in kind and their value
  • Frequency of payment
  • Any deductions

Leave Details

  • Any leave to which the worker is entitled

Notice/Contract Period

  • Period of notice required for termination; or
  • Period of contract

Payroll and Employee Tax

Payroll and Employee Tax

To be a truly world class, long surviving payroll department, you had better have a fantastic understanding of all the elements that effect the employees net pay. The biggest of these is the tax deduction. You will be abused and sworn at if the employee is incorrectly taxed and has to pay in or pay off additional amounts to the Receiver of Revenue.

5 ways to make sure we tax our employees correctly:

  1. Start with pro forma payslip
    When the new employee start work at your company, print a pro forma payslip that details what is being paid and what is being deducted. The net pay should be highlighted and the new employee should sign that he accepts this as correct. This gives you a chance to spend time explaining the payslip to the employee and spotting any errors that may have been made
  2. The correct earnings and deductions codes must be used
    We all know that each earning and deduction has an IRP 5 code. The receiver will assess the employee based on those codes. Make sure your codes are correct or the wrong assessment can be had. Some payroll software programs have the codes automatically linked.
  3. Car allowances, company cars and subsistence allowances and cell phone allowances
    Ah yes my favourite. Forever an issue. Make sure that you understand this legislation and that the employee clearly understands what is required. Get him/her to sign the pro-forma payslip that shows the car allowance or subsistence allowance as well the company policy that clearly spells out the responsibilities of the employer and the employee. If you are unsure, then ask someone you can trust.
  4. Medical aid
    Make sure we have the right dependent entered onto the system and new borns are added.
  5. Trust in your payroll software
    Make sure you are using trusted payroll software. Excel is great for spreadsheets but not ideal for payroll. Your payroll should be processed on a professional system. The cost of not doing so could be a lot higher than you think.