Boss can’t punish you with short time

MALUSI was called in for a disciplinary hearing due to poor performance.

He was going through a divorce and struggled at work because of his emotional stress.

His frustrated boss put Malusi on short time (reduced working hours) as punishment. He didn’t believe Malusi deserved his full salary.

Short time is not something employers can use as a disciplinary measure.

The only time reduced working hours can be implemented is for operational or financial requirements, where the employer is implementing short time as a way of avoiding retrenchment, and even then it has to be with the employee’s consent.

Scorpion Legal Protection discusses how short time works. Advice:

In a case such as Malusi’s – where the change in his working conditions is drastic, affects his income, and has not been discussed with him – it is known as a “unilateral change to terms and conditions of employment” and is illegal.

By carrying out unilateral changes, his employer has effectively replaced his existing contract with a new one.

If this was done to upset him so that he resigns, this may be seen as unfair dismissal, according to the Labour Relations Act.

Employees who belong to a union can turn to their union to help sort the matter out before taking legal action. Remember, your union is your representative and can’t agree to the short time on your behalf unless they consulted with you (and any other members affected) and received a clear mandate from members to accept the short time.

With this being said, it is important to realise that short time is often used as an alternative to retrenchments when a company is in financial difficulty, in the hope that cutting costs will help them avoid retrenchments.

So where employees refuse to agree to short time, they may find that they end up being retrenched anyway because the company simply can’t afford to keep them on.

If the union or relevant bargaining council cannot resolve the issue, or Malusi is still unhappy, he can refer the matter to the CCMA for unfair labour practice. Tips: ) An employer wishing to institute short time must first get the employee’s consent to make such a change

) Different industries, such as metal and engineering, retail, private security, often have different rules and time allowances with re- gard to short time, which means what is allowed in one industry is not necessarily the same in another

If you have a query, follow us on our Facebook page and ask your question during our next Live Q&A (every first Thursday of the month).

This is only basic advice and cannot be relied on solely. Names have been changed to protect identity.