Minister’s confusing order

The decision by the employment & labour minister to extend the temporary employer/employee relief scheme (Ters) benefit to employees who have been placed on annual leave during the lockdown is difficult to comprehend.

Employers are permitted by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act to place employees on annual leave if there is no agreement on when such leave should be taken. Such annual leave is, of course, fully remunerated and the use of those leave days guarantees employees at least a portion of their normal salaries during the lockdown period. Other employees have not been so lucky and have been placed on unpaid leave.

The minister signalled his intentions on March 31 when he indicated that while the department understood that employers are permitted to compel employees to take annual leave “as they deem fit”, some employers are seeking to “shift the burden of the lockdown onto the workers” by requiring them to take annual leave as the first line of response to the lockdown.

It is unclear why the minister believes it is preferable for employees to be placed on unpaid rather than paid leave in circumstances where the law permits employers to do this. It is also unclear why placing employees on paid leave would “shift the burden” onto employees, or why employers should have to carry the burden on their own.

Extending the Ters benefit amounts to a double benefit for those who were lucky enough to be placed on annual leave. These funds could surely have been used more productively to assist employees who have been on unpaid leave during the lockdown.

YOUR LETTERS: Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Letters should be sent by e-mail to busday@bdfm.co.za or faxed to (011) 280-5505. E-mailed letters are preferred. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime number.