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Employment of Educators Act, 1998 (Act No. 76 of 1998)

Regulations

Regulations regarding the Terms and Conditions of Employment of Education

Chapter 4 : Medical Assistance, State Housing, Subsistence Allowance, Official Journeys and Transport, House Owner Allowance, Service Bonus, Long Service Recognition and Resettlement Expenditure

88. Service bonus

 

(1)
(a) A non-pensionable service bonus is payable to educators in terms of this regulation.
(b) An educator who does not qualify for leave is excluded from the provisions of this regulation.

 

(2)
(a) The date of payment of the service bonus referred to in subregulation (3) is the date on which an educator's salary is paid in the month in which his or her birthday falls: Provided that in the case of an educator whose birthday falls during any of the months of January, February or March, his or her service bonus is paid in April.
(b) An educator whose services terminate for any reason with effect from the day following his or her service bonus pay date, nevertheless qualifies for the service bonus: Provided that a service bonus is not payable to an educator whose services terminate with effect from his or her service bonus pay date or any earlier date, for whatever reason, with the exception of an educator contemplated in subregulation (5).

 

(3) The service bonus is calculated as follows:

 

Amount of the service bonus

 

 

where—

 

A represents the following service period (in days and not more than 365 days), as the case may be:
> The service period of 12 months ending on the last day of the month that precedes the month in which the service bonus pay date for the educator concerned falls; or
> the period which elapsed from the date of the (latest) appointment of the educator concerned up to the last day of the month preceding the month in which his or her service bonus pay date falls, if he or she had not been employed for the full period of 12 months as mentioned above;

 

B represents the following amount, namely:
> 93% of the full gross basic salary (excluding any allowance, irrespective of whether it is pensionable or not) of the educator for the month in which is or her service bonus pay date falls, it he or she is a member of a pension fund or is not yet a member because he or she has not yet completed the qualifying service period for membership; or
> the full gross basic salary (excluding any allowance, irrespective of whether it is pensionable or not) of the educator for the month in which his or her service bonus pay date falls if he or she does not qualify for membership of a pension fund, for example an employee employed under a contract that makes provision for payment of a benefit on expiring of such contract;

 

C represents the number of days, if any, in respect of which the person concerned, during the appropriate period represented by factor A above, received no salary as a result of—
> vacation and/or special leave without salary granted to him or her; and/or
> unauthorised absences from service recorded as vacation leave without salary; and/or
> his or her having been suspended from his or her duties without remuneration, according to the Act in terms of which he or she was appointed; and/or
> payment of his or her salary having been entirely suspended on the grounds of an offence which he or she committed while carrying out military service; and

 

D represents the number of working hours, if any, in respect of which the person concerned during the appropriate period represented by factor A above, received no salary as a result of unauthorised absences from duty which is recorded as pro rata vacation leave without salary; and

 

E represents the minimum number of working hours which the educator concerned must work per day.

 

(4)
(a) In respect of each educator to whom a service bonus is payable based on an amount of 93% of his full gross basic salary, a calculation shall be made according to the following formula, even if the reduction part of the formula referred to in subregulation (3) has the effect that no service bonus is payable to the educator:

 

 

                              where —

 

A represents the same as factor A in the formula in subregulation (4); and

 

B represents the full gross basic monthly salary of the offer or employee concerned for the month in which his or her service bonus pay date falls.

 

(b) The amounts calculated according to paragraph (a) in respect of all educators whose service bonus pay date falls in the same month should be added together and paid into the Civil Pension Stabilisation Account.

 

(5) A pro rata service bonus is payable when—
(a) the services of an educator is terminated for one of the reasons referred to in subregulation (6): Provided that he or she received a service bonus on his or her last service bonus pay date before his or her termination of service; or
(b) an educator dies.

 

(6) The reasons for termination of services contemplated in subregulation (5)(a) are the following:
(a) Retirement at reaching the voluntary or optional retirement age.
(b) Discharge of an educator—
(i) on account of continued ill-health without own default;
(ii) owing to the abolition of his or her post or reduction in or reorganisation or readjustment of departments or offices;
(iii) if, for reasons other than his or her own unfitness or incapacity, his or her discharge will promote efficiency or economy in the department or office in which he or she is employed, or will otherwise be in the interest of the Public Service; and
(iv) on account of unfitness for his or her duties or incapacity to carry them out efficiently (as opposed to misconduct).
(c) Termination of the services of an educator on or after attaining the age of 60 years, for any reason, including voluntary resignation, out excluding—
(i) voluntary resignation, in order to avoid discharge on account of misconduct or ill-health occasioned by own default;
(ii) discharge on account of misconduct or unsatisfactory service or ill-health occasioned by own default;
(iii) absconding;
(d) Termination of an educator's services, irrespective of whether the department terminates his or her service, or he or she resigns voluntarily, because his or her spouse is transferred by the department in which he or she is employed and there being no vacant post available to him or her in any department at his or her spouse's new station: Provided that, should there be a post available for him or her (in any department) at his or her spouse's new station, but he or she refuses to accept it, not service bonus shall be paid to him or her.

 

(7) The pro rata service bonus contemplated in subregulation (5) is calculated as follows:

 

Amount of pro rata service bonus

 

 

where —

 

A represents the period (in days) extending from the first day of the month in which his or her last service bonus pay date fell (or from the date of appointment in the case of death if the deceased was not paid a service bonus previously), up to his or her last day of service;

 

B represents the applicable amount indicated below—
> 93% of the full gross basic salary (excluding any allowance, irrespective of whether it is pensionable or not) of the educator for the month in which is or her service bonus pay date falls, it he or she is a member of a pension fund or is not yet a member because he or she has not yet completed the qualifying service period for membership; or
> an educator's full gross basic salary (excluding any allowance, irrespective whether it is pensionable or not) in the month that his or her services terminate if he or she does not qualify for membership of a pension fund;

 

C represents the number of days, if any, in respect of which the person concerned, during the appropriate period represented by factor A above, received no salary as a result of—
> vacation or special leave without salary granted to him or her; or
> unauthorised absences from service recorded as vacation leave without pay; or
> his or her having been suspended from his or her duties without remuneration, according to the Act in terms of which he or she was appointed; or
> payment of his or her salary having been entirely suspended on the grounds of an offence which he or she committed while carrying out military service; and

 

D represents the number of working hours, if any, in respect of which the person concerned during the appropriate period represented by factor A above, received no salary as a result of unauthorised absences from duty which is recorded as pro rata vacation leave without salary; and

 

E represents the minimum number of working hours which the educator concerned must work per day.

 

(8) A pro rata service bonus, calculated in accordance with the formula in subregulation (7) may be paid to an educator whose birthday falls in January, February or March, when his or her services terminate before his or her normal service bonus pay date in April as a result of his or her voluntary resignation, on condition that such person is still employed on the salary pay date of the month in which his or her birthday falls, in other words if an educator whose birthday is in February resigns with his or her last day of service 31 January, a pro rata service bonus may not be paid to him or her: if such an educator's services terminate on or after his or her normal salary pay date in February, he or she shall qualify for a pro rata service bonus on his or her last day of service.

 

(9) In respect of each educator to whom in terms of the provisions in subregulation (5) a pro rata service bonus is payable based on an amount of 93% of his or her full gross basic salary, a calculation shall be made according to the following formula, even if the reduction part of the formula contemplated in subregulation (7) has the effect that no pro rata service bonus is payable to the educator or employee:

 

 

                              where —

 

A represents the same as factor A in the formula in subregulation (7); and

 

B represents the full gross basic monthly salary of the offer or employee concerned for the month in which his or her service bonus pay date falls.

 

(10) The amounts calculated according to subregulation (9) in respect of all educators whose pro rata service bonus pay date falls in the same month should be added together and paid into the Civil Pension Stabilisation Account.

 

(11)
(a) When an educator dies, the pro rata service bonus contemplated in subregulation (5)(b) must be paid in respect of—
(i) marriages in terms of the Marriage Act, 1961—
(aa) to the surviving spouse; or
(bb) if there is no surviving spouse, in equal shares to, or for the benefit of, minor or major children (including a legally adopted child) of the deceased, who at the time of his or her death were fully dependent on him or her; or
(cc) if there is no surviving spouse or children, into his or her estate; and
(ii) customary marriages—
(aa) to the surviving spouse or in equal shares if there are more than one surviving spouse; or
(bb) if there is no surviving spouse, in equal shares to, or for the benefit of, minor or major children (including a legally adopted child) of the deceased, who at the time of his or her death were fully dependent on him or her; or No. 16814 69
(cc) if there is no surviving spouse or children, into his or her estate.
(b) When an educator's services terminate for any reason other than death, and he or she dies after his or her services have terminated but before a pro rata service bonus is paid to him or her, such pro rata service bonus should be paid into his or her estate, irrespective of whether or not he or she has left behind a surviving spouse or fully dependent children.
(c) The pro rata service bonus which on termination of services—
(i) is payable to an educator should be used as a set-off against any departmental debt which he or she may have, unless such debt can be fully recovered by other means , for example outstanding salary and allowances or pension moneys, or unless subparagraph (ii) applies; or
(ii) is payable to the surviving spouse or fully dependent children or into the estate of the deceased educator, shall not be used for the purposes mentioned in subparagraph (i).
(d) For purposes of factor A in the formula in subregulations (3) and (7) previous uninterrupted service in a temporary or permanent capacity, as well as previous service at an institution contemplated in Public Service Regulation C5.7, may be acknowledged for service bonus purposes, on condition that this paragraph is not applicable to an educator if he or she has received a pro rata service bonus at the end of any previous service period.
(e) The service bonus is not part of salary or an allowance or pensionable and should therefore not be taken into account—
(a) in the calculation of service or leave gratuities, additional compensation, allowances or any other service benefit or compensatory measure which in any way is based on salary; and
(b) in the classification of educators according to their salaries for purposes of the granting of any service benefit or compensatory measure, overtime remuneration, any allowance, rent for official quarters, etc.