To the delight of many South Africans, December 27, 2022 and January 2, 2023 have been officially declared additional holidays on the calendars.
But what everyone really wants to know is how the extra vacation will affect their job and employee compensation.
ALSO READ: Newcomer: December 27 will be a HOLIDAY this year
Under the Public Holidays Act, South Africans are entitled to 12 paid public holidays per year. However, since consecutive holidays like Christmas Day (December 25) fall on a Sunday this year and Boxing Day falls on a Monday, there was a shortfall of 1 day.
In terms of the law, “whenever a holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will be a holiday”.
Also, New Year’s Day, January 1, 2023, falls on a Sunday. This means that it would be formally recognized as a public holiday the next day.
Following mounting pressure from the unions, President Cyril Ramaphosa officially declared December 27 and January 2 as public holidays this week.
The move was welcomed by the South African Congress of Trade Unions (Cosatu).
Spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said EWN: “This is an important development that will mainly benefit migrant workers, who will have the opportunity to spend more time with their families.
“It will also benefit those workers who will be working during the holidays because they will be able to collect double pay on the 27th [of December].”
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN IN TERMS OF MONEY?
speaking to business Technology, The Bowmans law firm outlined what declaring December 27 a public holiday for workers in South Africa would mean.
It reported: “If December 27, 2022, were declared a public holiday, employers would, at a minimum, have to pay employees two days of work without doing any work (Monday and Tuesday) and three days if Sunday is considered a public holiday. skilled. .
“Compensation costs would double if employers asked employees to work these three days in December”
Additionally, in accordance with the Basic Employment Conditions Law 9 of 1997 (BCEA),
- Employees who usually work on Sunday are entitled to a full day’s wage plus half the wage for each hour worked.
- Employers must pay employees who agree to work on Sunday double the wage for each hour worked
- If an employer requires you to work on a holiday, which falls on a day you are expected to work, the employee is entitled to be paid a minimum of twice the standard wage for the day.
- If the employee is not normally expected to work at that PH but is required to do so, they must be paid their standard daily wage plus wages for time worked that day.
- However, non-PH employees who fall on days they would normally work are entitled to only their standard pay for the day without having the day assigned as annual leave.
