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Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 (Act No. 75 of 1997)

Sectoral Determinations

Sectoral Determination 4 : Clothing and Knitting Sector, South Africa

6. Deductions and other matters concerning remuneration

 

(1) Training fee - Subject to any other law no payment by or on behalf of an employee shall be accepted by an employer, either directly or indirectly, in respect of the employment or training of that employee.

 

(2) Purchase of goods - An employer shall not require his or her employee to purchase any goods from him or her or from any shop, place or person nominated by him or her.

 

(3) Accommodation - Subject to any other law, an employer shall not require his or her employee to accept accommodation, meals or rations from him or her or from any person or at any place nominated by him or her.

 

(4) Deductions - An employer shall not levy any fines against his or her employee nor make any deductions from the employee’s remuneration other than the following—
(a) With the written consent of the employee, a deduction for any holiday, sick, medical, insurance, savings, provident or pension fund, or in respect of subscriptions to a trade union;
(b) A deduction of any amount which an employer by law or order of any competent court is required or permitted to make;
(c) Whenever the ordinary hours of work are reduced because of short-time, a deduction not exceeding the amount of the employee’s hourly wage in respect of each hour of such reduction: Provided that—
(i) such deduction shall not exceed one third of the employee’s weekly wage, irrespective of the number of hours by which the ordinary hours of work are thus reduced;
(ii) no deduction shall be made in the case of short-time arising from slackness of business or a shortage of raw materials or packing materials unless the employer has given his or her employee notice on the previous work-day of his or her intention to reduce the ordinary hours of work;
(iii) no deduction shall be made in the case of short-time owing to vagaries of the weather or a breakdown of plant or machinery or a breakdown or threatened breakdown of buildings, in respect of the first hour not worked, unless the employer has given his or her employee notice on the previous day that no work will be available;
(d) with the written consent of an employee, a deduction of any amount which the employer has paid or has undertaken to pay to—
(i) any banking institution, building society, insurance business, registered financing institution, local authority in respect of a payment on a loan granted to such employee to acquire a dwelling;
(ii) any organisation or body in respect of the rent of a dwelling or accommodation in a hostel occupied by such employee if such dwelling or hostel is provided through the instrumentality of such organisation or body wholly or party from funds advanced for that purpose by the State or a body referred to in subparagraph (i);
(e) with the written consent of an employee, a deduction towards the repayment of any amount loaned or advanced to him or her by the employer: Provided that any such deduction shall not exceed one quarter of the total remuneration due to the employee on the pay-day concerned: Provided further that no such deduction shall be made in respect of any period during which the employee’s wage is reduced in terms of paragraph (d).