Can your pay be cut because of load shedding in South Africa? Photos: Stock/Canva
With Stage 8 load shedding looming, businesses will be trying to cut costs but could your pay be cut due to load shedding?
Can your pay be cut because of load shedding in South Africa? Photos: Stock/Canva
Can your boss cut your pay because of load shedding in South Africa?
This is the question on many people’s minds, especially with the possibility that Stage 8 could be a new reality for South Africans.
During stage 8 load shedding, consumers would be without power for 48 hours over four days or 96 hours in eight days.
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In terms of section 34 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 (“BCEA”), deductions from an employee’s salary, for whatever reason, are prohibited unless the employee has agreed in writing to the deduction in respect of a specified debt, or unless deductions are required or permitted in terms of a law, collective agreement, court order or arbitration award, said Wright Rose-Innes.
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Despite this, deductions may be effected to reimburse employers for loss or damage caused by employees in the course of their employment, but only:
If an employer were to contemplate docking an employee’s salary without the employee’s consent, regardless of the amount, it would be in violation of the law (section 34 of the BCEA), and the employee could declare a dispute.
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