Neglecting your employees can land you in trouble, says Labour Dept
Employers who neglect to pay their employees the set minimum wage will face having to account to the Department of Labour.
POLOWKANE – An employer at China City Polokwane was recently ordered by the Department of Labour to pay R90 000 owed to his employees within 14 days.
This follows after the department received a tip-off that the employer in question wasn’t paying his employees the minimum wage. The matter was subsequently investigated by the Hawks Serious Corruption Investigation Unit followed by a planned inspection during which the employer was issued a compliance order.
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Employers who neglect to pay their employees the set minimum wage will face having to account to the Department of Labour.
Within every sector, there are guidelines that need to be followed to ensure workers’ rights are protected. Employers who pay their workers below the minimum wage scope will by law, be held accountable. Employees have the right to blow the whistle on unfair labour practices by their employer.
The employer was found not to comply with the sectorial determination for retail and wholesale sector.
Lerato Makomene, Provincial Spokesperson for the Department of Labour, explained that: “If you don’t comply with the minimum wage you will be charged double the amount that you were supposed to pay unless you get an exemption. With regard to the exemption, they look at your financial statements.
“They look at your profits versus the amount that you pay your employees because you check people’s financial statements and you find that a person’s turnaround is 10 times more than what they pay their employees. We base it on that because you claim you cannot afford to pay your employees the minimum wage. You will subsequently be investigated by professionals who will check all the documents in terms of finances,” she said.
