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

Notices

Bargaining Council for the Fast Food, Restaurant, Catering and Allied Trades

Extension to non-parties of the Main Collective Agreement

9. Hours of Work, Overtime and Payment for Overtime

 

(1) Ordinary hours of work:
(1) An employer may not require or permit an employee to work more ordinary hours than—
(a) 45 hours in any week: and
(b) nine hours on any day if the employee works for five days or less in a week; or
(c) eight hours in any day if the employee works for more than five days in any week.

 

(2) Overtime:
(1) An employer may not require or permit an employee—
(a) to work overtime more than four hours on any day; or
(b) 10 hours in any week;
(2) An employer shall be entitled to require an employee to work overtime on any day except on the employee's day off, and such overtime shall not exceed four hours per day and ten hours per week.

 

(3) Payment of overtime:
(1) An employer must pay an employee one and one-half times the employee's wage for overtime worked.
(2) Despite sub clause 9(3)(1), the employer may—
(a) pay an employee not less than the employee's ordinary wage for overtime worked and grant the employee at least 30 minutes' time off on full pay for even hour of overtime worked; or
(b) grant an employee at least 90 minutes paid time off for each hour of overtime worked.
(3) An employer must grant an employee paid time off in terms of sub clause 9(3)(2) within one month of the employee becoming entitled to it.
(4) An agreement in writing may increase the period contemplated by sub clause 9(3)(3) to twelve months.

 

(4) Compressed working week
(1) An agreement in writing may require or permit an employee to work up to twelve hours in a day, inclusive of the meal intervals required in terms of sub clause 9(8) without receiving overtime pay.
(2) An employer in terms of sub clause 9(4)(1) may not require or permit an employee to work—
(a) more than 45 ordinary hours of work in any week;
(b) more than 10 hours' overtime in any week; or
(c) on more than five days in any week.

 

(5) Averaging of hours of work
(1) Despite clause 9(1) and 9(2), the ordinary hours of work and overtime of an employee may be averaged over a period of up to four months.
(2) An employer may not permit an employee who is bound by a written agreement in terms of sub clause 9(5)(1) to work more than—
(a) an average of 45 ordinary hours of work in a week over the agreed period;
(b) an average of 5 hours overtime in a week over the agreed period.

 

(6) Work on Sundays
(1) An employer must pay an employee who works on a Sunday at double the employee's wage for each hour worked, unless the employee ordinarily works on a Sunday, in which case the employer must pay the employee at one and one-half times the employee's wage for each hour worked.
(2) If the payment calculated in terms of sub clause 9(6)(1) is less than the employee's daily wage, the employer must pay the employee, for the time worked on that Sunday, the employee's daily wage.
(3) Despite sub clause 9(6)(1) and 9(6)(2), an employer may grant an employee w ho works on a Sunday paid time off equivalent to the difference in value between the pay received by the employee for working on the Sunday and the pay that the employee is entitled to in terms of sub-clauses 9(6)(1) and 9(6)(2).
(4) Any time worked on a Sunday by an employee who does not ordinarily work on a Sunday is not taken into account in calculating the ordinary hours of work of the employee in terms of clause 9.
(5) If a shift worked by an employee falls on a Sunday and another day, the whole shift is deemed to have been worked on the Sunday, unless the greater portion of the shift was worked on the other day, in which case the whole shift is deemed to have been worked on the other day.

(6)

(a) An employer must grant paid time off in terms of sub clause 9(6)(3) within one month of the employee becoming entitled to it.
(b) An agreement in writing may increase the period contemplated by paragraph 6(a) to 12 months.

 

(7) Night work
(1) An employer who requires an employee, other than a commission worker to perform night work, shall pay such an employee an amount of R1.00 per hour as a shift allowance, in addition to the employees salary for the hours worked between 18h00 and 06h00 or grant the employee at least 10 minutes time off on full pay, for every hour worked at the end of each week.
(2) Provisions of transport for night workers:
(a) An employer who requires an employee, other than a commission worker and a part time worker to work after 22h30 shall pay such an employee One Hundred and Fifty Rand (R150.00) per month as a "Late Night Allowance" provided that if an employer daily provides free transport home for late night workers, he shall not be required to pay late night allowance to those employees.
(3) An employer who required an employee to perform work in an environment with hazardoussubstances on a regular basis after 23h00 and before 06h00 the next day must—
(a) inform the employee in writing, or orally if the employee is not able to understand a written communication, in a language that the employee reasonably understands—
(i) of any health and safety hazards associated with the work that the employee is required to perform; and
(ii) of the employee's right to undergo a medical examination in terms of paragraph (b).
(b) at the request of the employee, enable the employee to undergo a medical examination, for the account of the employer, concerning those hazards—
(i) before the employee starts, or within a reasonable period of the employee starting such work;
(ii) at appropriate intervals while the employee continues to perform such work; and
(c) transfer the employee to suitable day work within a reasonable time if—
(i) the employee suffers from a health condition associated with the performance of night work; and
(ii) it is practicable for the employer to do so.
(4) Sub clause 9(7)(3) applies to an employee who works after 23h00 and before 06h00 at least five times per month or 50 times per year.

 

(8) Meal intervals
(1) An employer must give an employee who works continuously for more than five hours a meal interval of at least one continuous hour.
(2) During a meal interval, an employee may be required or permitted to perform only duties that cannot be left unattended and cannot be performed by another employee.
(3) an employee must be paid—
(a) for a meal interval in which the employee is required to be available for work;
(b) for any portion of a meal interval that is in excess of 75 minutes, unless the employee lives on the premises at which the workplace is situated.
(4) For the purpose of sub clause 9(8)(1), work is continuous unless it is interrupted by a meal interval of at least 60 minutes.
(5) An agreement in writing may—
(a) reduce the meal interval to not less than 30 minutes;
(b) dispense with a meal interval for an employee who works fewer than six hours on a day.

 

(9) Daily and weekly rest period:
(1) An employer must grant an employee—
(a) a daily rest period of at least twelve consecutive hours between ending work and starting work the next day;
(b) weekly rest period of at least thirty-six consecutive hours which, unless otherwise agreed, must include Sunday.
(2) A daily rest period in terms of sub clause 9(9)(1)(a) may, by written agreement, be reduced to 10 hours for an employee—
(a) whom lives where the workplace is situated; and
(b) whose meal interval lasts for at least three hours.
(3) Despite sub clause 9(1)(b), an agreement in writing may provide for a rest period of at least sixty consecutive hours every second week.

 

(10) Number of working days
(1) An employer shall not require or permit an employee to work more than six days per week which includes Sunday, unless it is his day off.

 

(11) Earning's threshold
(1) All employees earning in excess of the threshold determined by the Minister of Employment and Labour in terms of section 6(3) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 are excluded from the provisions of this clause.