WHAT SHOULD I PAY MY EMPLOYEE FOR THE ADDITIONAL PUBLIC HOLIDAY ON MONDAY, 17 JUNE 2024?
South Africa has 12 public holidays as determined by the Public Holidays Act of 1994 including Youth Day on the 16th of June. This year Youth Day falls on a Sunday.
The Public Holidays Act determines whenever any public holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday following shall be a public holiday. Therefore Monday, the 17th of June, has also been declared as a public holiday.
So, what must employees be paid? It depends on what days employees would ordinarily work in a particular establishment.
In Randfontein Estates v NUM the courts interpreted that where a public holiday falls on a Sunday the legislature intended that the Monday should be a public holiday in addition to the Sunday.
The Basic Conditions of Employment Act, section 18, states that “if a public holiday falls on a day on which an employee would ordinarily work, then an employer must pay…..etc.”
As both Sunday and Monday are regarded as public holidays, public holiday rates may come into play for both days but only if it is an ordinary work day on both days.
In the case of a worker who works Mondays to Fridays, a public holiday on a Sunday is not a day on which they would ordinarily work, therefore they are not entitled to be paid for that day if they do not work it. The employee would therefore only benefit from Monday as a public holiday, either as a paid day off or by being paid public holiday rates if they work.
However, in the case of the seven-day week worker, the public holiday on a Sunday would then fall on a day on which they would ordinarily work, and they must be paid in terms of the public holiday rates as contained in the Main Collective Agreement. If that same worker then also worked on the Monday, they would again have to be paid public holiday rates, because the public holiday on the Monday is in addition to the public holiday on the Sunday.
In our industry, it is common for Establishments to operate over weekends and be closed on a Monday. In such instances Monday is usually a day on which an employee would not “ordinarily work”, therefore they would not be entitled to be paid for that day.
The answer is therefore to carefully consider whether the public holiday falls on a day on which the employee would “ordinarily work” before determining what an employee should be paid.
If the public holiday falls on a day on which the employee would ordinarily work and the employee works on that public holiday, then the employee is entitled to public holiday rates.
If the employee does not work on the public holiday which falls on a day the employee would ordinarily work, the employee is entitled to their ordinary wage for the day.
Different scenarios: | An employee works Mondays to Fridays (weekends off) | An employee works Tuesday to Sunday (Business is closed on Mondays) | Business is open 7 days a week and an employee works shifts which could include every day of the week |
SUNDAY 16 JUNE 2024 | Sunday is not a usual workday = no pay.
| Sunday is an ordinary workday If the employee did not work: ordinary wages for the day (paid day off) If the employee worked: Public Holiday Rates
| Sunday is an ordinary workday If the employee did not work: ordinary wages for the day (paid day off) If the employee worked: Public Holiday Rates
|
MONDAY 17 JUNE 2024 | Monday is an ordinary workday = If the employee did not work: ordinary wages for the day (paid day off) If the employee worked: Public Holiday Rates | Monday is not a usual workday = no pay
| Monday is an ordinary workday = If the employee did not work: ordinary wages for the day (paid day off) If the employee worked: Public Holiday Rates |
Public holiday rates vary in the Main Collective Agreement depending on which area you are in, we therefore advise you to contact your EOHCB representative for advice if you are unsure of what to remunerate your employees for Public Holidays.
