[South Africa] Western Cape employers failing to comply with labour law

In South Africa, a department of employment and labour investigation has found the majority of employers in the Western Cape are not complying with labour legislation, TimesLIVE reports.

In a statement on November 18, the department said 55 per cent of employers probed by the department’s inspectors in the province during the 2021/2022 financial year were non-compliant. 

According to Hlanganisa Dalasile - the department’s employer audit specialist in the Western Cape - the compliance level dropped to 43.46 per cent in the 2022/2023 financial year. Mr Dalasile described the drop as a “worrying trend across all sectors”.

He said employers were not registering employees with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) when they commenced business. The inspectors also reportedly discovered that employers did not declare employees and pay contributions to the UIF by the seventh day of each month, as mandated by law.

“Employers not declaring employees on a month-to-month basis has a huge implication. The UIF every month loses millions of rand due to employers who are not paying and declaring their employees. We depend on the employers to do the right thing on a monthly basis to prevent the loss that the fund is experiencing.” Mr Dalasile said.

He added that the Unemployment Contributions Act obliges employers to pay unemployment insurance contributions of 2 per cent of the value of each worker's pay per month and that employers and the worker each contribute 1 per cent.

“When conducting our audits, we have picked up that many employers are deducting money from employees but they don’t pay it over to the fund which is wrong. You can’t deduct money then keep it in your investment account to accumulate interest while the workers are suffering.

“If as an employer you really care about the workers we urge you to do the right thing. Deduct the money and pay it over to the fund so that when the employees are losing their employment in the near future they are not found wanting.” Mr Dalasile said.

According to UIF commissioner Teboho Maruping, compliance benefited employers and employees.

“It’s possible that as a collective we can address these matters but we need to come up with viable solutions. Let’s find solutions together and meet each other halfway as the fund, employers and organised labour,” Mr Maruping said.

Source: TimesLIVE

(Quotes via original reporting)

In South Africa, a department of employment and labour investigation has found the majority of employers in the Western Cape are not complying with labour legislation, TimesLIVE reports.

In a statement on November 18, the department said 55 per cent of employers probed by the department’s inspectors in the province during the 2021/2022 financial year were non-compliant. 

According to Hlanganisa Dalasile - the department’s employer audit specialist in the Western Cape - the compliance level dropped to 43.46 per cent in the 2022/2023 financial year. Mr Dalasile described the drop as a “worrying trend across all sectors”.

He said employers were not registering employees with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) when they commenced business. The inspectors also reportedly discovered that employers did not declare employees and pay contributions to the UIF by the seventh day of each month, as mandated by law.

“Employers not declaring employees on a month-to-month basis has a huge implication. The UIF every month loses millions of rand due to employers who are not paying and declaring their employees. We depend on the employers to do the right thing on a monthly basis to prevent the loss that the fund is experiencing.” Mr Dalasile said.

He added that the Unemployment Contributions Act obliges employers to pay unemployment insurance contributions of 2 per cent of the value of each worker's pay per month and that employers and the worker each contribute 1 per cent.

“When conducting our audits, we have picked up that many employers are deducting money from employees but they don’t pay it over to the fund which is wrong. You can’t deduct money then keep it in your investment account to accumulate interest while the workers are suffering.

“If as an employer you really care about the workers we urge you to do the right thing. Deduct the money and pay it over to the fund so that when the employees are losing their employment in the near future they are not found wanting.” Mr Dalasile said.

According to UIF commissioner Teboho Maruping, compliance benefited employers and employees.

“It’s possible that as a collective we can address these matters but we need to come up with viable solutions. Let’s find solutions together and meet each other halfway as the fund, employers and organised labour,” Mr Maruping said.

Source: TimesLIVE

(Quotes via original reporting)