A number of changes to the country’s core labour law acts have been amended by Parliament. Companies should ensure that they’re in line with these laws where employees should be able to enjoy leave, breaks and other company benefits.
These include:
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The National Minimum Wage Bill
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently signed into law the Minimum Wage Act, which will see the minimum hourly rate for workers set at R20 and will come into effect on 1 January 2019.
Up till recently the Act has been much criticised as it would make it bad news for those workers who already have minimum wages prescribed in the sectorial determination.
However, it has been factored in that those employers who are unable to pay the minimum wage due to business constraints may apply for an exemption.
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TheUnemployment Insurance Benefits
- To increase benefit values
- Simplify their administration
- And clarify that foreign national employees and learners employed on a learnership agreement are eligible to claim benefits.
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TheUnemployment Insurance Contributions Act
- To make it compulsory for foreign national employees and people on a learnership to contribute to the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
Especially since you need to contribute to an insurance fund to benefit from it, the changes to the Contributions Act took effect from March 2018.
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Parental leave
Extended parental leave introduces three new forms of leave for employees:
- Parental leave of 10 days
- Adoption leave of 10 weeks
- Commissioning leave (where a surrogate mother is involved) of 10 weeks.
Allowing for parents the right to bond with the new member of their family, even if they’re not the person giving birth, this includes adoptive parents and parents working with a surrogate.
Labour laws play a significant and vital role in the corporate sector. Enlightening companies on what’s required of them in terms of these laws to align themselves with the correct labour laws. It’s also there to represent employees or educate them on their rights according to their county’s labour act.
As the laws exist so that employees are treated appropriately in work environments and their rights as an employee are protected. Labour laws ensure that employers are valued for their expertise and that they’re compensated accordingly.
Fundamentally labour law is about the employment contract and your rights as an employee according to your county’s labour act as a form of security in your relationship with the employer. In instances of sick leave, social and employment security, maternity, work and compensation, annual leave and holidays and internal law.
