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Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act No. 66 of 1995)

Notices

National Bargaining Council for the Clothing Manufacturing Industry

Main Collective Agreement

Part C : Provisions for the KwaZulu-Natal Region

14. Annual Leave

 

(1)

(a) Every employer shall grant to each of his employees, whether employed on piece- work or on time-work, who has been in his employ for a continuous period of not less than 12 months, not less than three consecutive weeks" annual leave, between 15 December and 15 January annually, at 15 days" wages. For the purposes of this sub clause a "day"s wage" shall mean the weekly wage divided by five. No such employees shall be paid less than three weeks’ wages as annual leave pay.
(b) Every employer shall prior to 30 November of each year advise the Council of the dates during which his factory will be closed for annual leave.

 

(2)

(a) Save as provided for in subclause (3) (d) every employer shall lodge with the Council a guarantee acceptable to the Council to cover the payment of holiday pay due to his employees, alternatively forwarded monthly to the Secretary of the Council, P.O. Box 18354, Dalbridge, 4014, holiday pay due to each of his employees, at the rate of one and one-quarter of a day"s pay for each completed 30 days of service, such payments to be made not later than10 days after the end of each calendar month to which it refers: Provided that the holiday pay for the months November and December shall be forwarded to the Secretary of the Council not later than 7 December of each year and the total of such holiday pay shall be distributed by the Council to the employees concerned not later than 24 December of that year.
(b) An employee whose service are terminated before the date on which leave is to granted in terms of subclause (1) (a) shall be paid holiday pay amounting to one and a quarter of a day"s pay for each completed 30 days" service. Such holiday pay shall, in the case of an employer who has put up an approved guarantee in terms of subclause (2) (a) be paid by the employer upon the date the employee"s services are terminated. Where the employee"s holiday pay has been paid to the Council as provided for in subclause (2) (a) the holiday pay shall be paid to the employee by the Council within a period of three weeks from the date on which application for payment is made to Council. Holiday pay shall not be due or payable to a person who has deserted from service.
(c) An employer shall grant to an employee who at the date of granting leave has not completed 12 months" continuous employment with him, leave for a similar period to that referred to in subclause (1) (a): Provided that in the case of an employer who has put up an approved guarantee in terms of subclause (2) (a), he shall only pay the employee holiday pay at the rate of one and a quarter of a days" pay for each completed 30 days" service.
(d) For the purposes of subclause (2) "days of service" shall mean calendar days.

 

(3)

(a) All holiday pay received by the Council shall be held in trust. The difference between holiday pay paid by the Council to employees in terms of subclause 2(a) and (b), and the amount of holiday pay paid by the employer to the Council in terms of subclause 2 (a) shall be refunded to the employer not later than 31 January of the following year.
(b) A list of employees who are to be paid holiday pay by the employer as provided for in subclause (1) (a) hereof, showing Council number, name, rate of pay, period of employment for which holiday pay is due and amount of holiday pay due to each such employee shall be forwarded by the employer to the Council not later than 7 December of each year.
(c) Whenever a guarantor advises the Council that a guarantee for holiday pay is to be withdrawn, the Council shall notify the employer, in writing, of such withdrawal and the employer shall within the notice period give by the guarantor lodge a fresh guarantee with the Council in terms of subclause (2) (a).
(d) All guarantees furnished to the Council in terms of a previous published agreement shall be deemed to have been furnished in terms of this part of the Agreement.

 

(4) An employer who closes his factory for any period between 15 December and 15 January in order to grant his employees their annual holiday plus statutory holidays, may close for a period not exceeding four weeks without being liable for the payment to any employee of any wages in excess of the amounts due in terms of subclause (1) hereof, in respect of such period.

 

(5) An employer, having reached agreement with his employees and having notified the Council accordingly, may close his factory for less than the three-week annual holiday period; provided that he closes his factory for not less than two weeks: Provided further that the additional one week"s holiday is taken by employees before 30 June of the following year. Employees shall be paid for leave when it is taken.

 

(6) Any period during which an employee—
(a) is on leave in terms of this clause; or
(b) is absent from work on the instructions or at the request of the employer; or
(c) is absent from work owing to illness, shall be deemed to be a period of employment for the purposes of subclause (1) and (2) hereof, provided that—
(i) the provisions of paragraph (c) shall not apply in respect of any period of absence owing to illness of more than three consecutive days if the employee, not being an employee referred to in subparagraph (iii) and fails, after a request for such certificate by the employer, to submit to the employer a certificate issued by a Sick Benefit Fund medical officer appointed in terms of clause 35 stating that the employee was prevented by illness from doing his work (although clerical employees may produce such certificate from any practitioner); and
(ii) the provisions of paragraph (c) above shall not apply in respect of the part of any total period of absence exceeding 30 days during any 12 months of employment; and
(iii) an employee whose employer is required in terms of any Act of Parliament to provide for the care and treatment of such employee when sick or injured shall not be required to submit a certificate by a medical practitioner in respect of any period of absence referred to in subparagraph (i).

 

(7) An employer may make mutual arrangements with: his employees in receipt of R650 per month or more, clerical employees, drivers of motor vehicles, foremen, mechanics, watchmen, or employees solely engaged in cleaning premises or in the delivery of goods or messages, to take their annual leave at a period other than between 15 December and 15 January: Provided that such leave shall be granted within two months of the completion of the year of employment to which it relates.

 

(8) Where the Council holds holiday pay on behalf of an employee, who ceased to be employed in the Clothing Industry during the course of that calendar year, for a period of six months from the date on which it became due to such employee or to the end of that calendar year, whichever is the later, such holiday pay shall be refunded to the employer if unclaimed within the said period: provided that an employee may make application to the Council for payment of his holiday pay after expiry of the said period and such application shall be considered by the Council on its merits.

 

(9) All payments for leave to which an employee is entitled under subclauses (1) to (10) shall be made at the employees actual rate of pay.

 

(10) Holiday pay due to employees at the end of each year in terms of this clause, shall be calculated at the rate of pay an employee was earning when his leave commenced in December each year.

 

(11) An employer shall give not less than 30 days" provisional notice and not less than 15 days" definite notice of the date of which annual leave will commence by exhibiting such notice(s) in a prominent place in the factory readily accessible to the employees.

 

(12) The period of leave specified above shall not run concurrently with any period during which an employee is under notice of termination of employment.

 

(13) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this clause, an employer may, in terms of an agreement between himself and his employees, set off against the period of annual leave any days of occasional leave granted on full pay to employees during the period of 12 months employment prior to which the period of annual leave relates, provided that the occasional leave so granted shall not exceed two days.