Employees who do not report for duty on June 30 may be subjected to the no-work, no-pay principle.
As workers across the country weigh up whether to report for duty ahead of Tuesday’s planned protest against undocumented immigrants in South Africa, Durban labour lawyer Dunstan Farrell has cautioned that absent employees could still be subject to labour laws.
“As the planned shutdown constitutes civic protest action and not protected strike action contemplated by the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (“LRA”), employees who do not report for duty in order to participate in such action will not automatically enjoy protection against the ordinary consequences associated with unauthorised absence from work or protected industrial action,” he explained.
Farrell said that, in applicable policies, contracts of employment, collective agreements, and operational requirements, employers may consider not paying an absent worker.
“Participation in protest action should not, in itself, automatically result in disciplinary action; however, employers retain the right to address misconduct where employees engage in unlawful conduct, intimidation, violence, damage to property, breach workplace rules, or otherwise fail to comply with lawful and reasonable instructions.”
