The Basic Conditions of Employment Act was promulgated on 29 August 2014 with implementation date 1 September 2014. The gazette was only released earlier today.
The most significant amendments proposed include employers are to be prohibited from requiring or accepting payment from an employee or a potential employee in respect of their employment or the allocation of work to the employee. This section further prevents the employees being required to purchase goods from the employer or a business or person nominated by the employer.
However this restriction does not apply to schemes to which employees receive a financial benefit through the purchase of goods, products or services at a fair and reasonable price.
Another important proposed amendment is that the Minister may issue an “umbrella” sectoral determination (a minimum wage) and that a sectoral determination may:
I. prescribe minimum increases (actual not percentage) in remuneration
II. prohibit or regulate the subcontracting of work
III. prescribe a threshold of representativeness for a registered trade union, thus easing access for trade unions in the work place
There is a big push on enforcement with a substantial increase in fines of up to 200%. The substantial increase needs to be contextualised by the fact that there has been no increase since the inception of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act in 1997.
Together with this increase, discretion is now provided to Inspectors to request the undertaking and there is also a removal of the appeal process to the Director General.
View Government Gazette here…