At That Point
  • home
  • our story
  • our services
  • your resources
  • SA Industry News

Late salary payments - Know your rights

27/3/2019

1 Comment

 
Picture
The South African Labour Law allows employers leeway to pay their employees until the seventh day of the following month.
 
However, the majority of companies in South Africa have set a precedent by paying their employees by the 25th of the month, says Arlene Leggat, President of the South African Payroll Association (SAPA).
 
The law
The law stipulates that employers must pay their employees within seven days of the end of a pay period.
 
If we take March, the pay period is 1 March to 31 March, therefore the employer legally has until 7 April to pay his employees.
 
The precedent
In South Africa there is a precedent to pay employees on the 25th of each month and in the light of that, people have organised to have their debit orders go off from the 26th of each month.
 
“In effect it does not give payroll any leeway. If people are not paid on the 25th they can get into trouble because they may not have sufficient funds to honour their debit orders.”
 
Although employers are not legally obliged to pay their employees on the 25th of each month they have created an expectation that they will.
 
“Companies are now obliged to meet the expectation that has been created. You really have to pay your employees at the 25th of each month, because people have so much dependent on it.”
 
Financial distress
South African companies have been suffering financial difficulties because of the lack of economic growth. Cash flow problems have led to some being unable to pay their staff on time.
“It does happen more often than we want to believe, and it does happen to a lot of smaller companies. I do not understand why, but for some reason people think they can delay payment to small businesses, and they can’t.”
 
Any debtor who delays payment to a small company is putting their employees at risk.
 
Late payment
It is extremely rare to have an entire company’s payroll being paid late. “You may find that one or two people are being paid late because their paperwork did not arrive on time,” says Leggat.
 
Payroll administrators may not have been alerted to a new employee on time, and the paperwork is not done timeously. This happens quite often, she Leggat.
 
Habitual late payer
Employees who find their employer habitually pays a day or two late, find themselves in a difficult position.
 
The company is not breaking the law, because they have the seven-day leeway.
 
However, employees should use their employee forums, employee representatives or unions to take the matter up with the human resource department or even management.
 
The employee has very little recourse if they are not paid “on time”, as long as they are paid by the 7th of the next month.
 
“My recommendation to all employees is to ensure that their debit orders go off at the first of the next month. That gives everybody a little bit of time when payment is a day or two late.”
​
ENDS
 
MEDIA CONTACT: Rosa-Mari Le Roux , 060 995 6277, [email protected], www.atthatpoint.co.za  

For more information on SAPA please visit:
Website: http://www.sapayroll.co.za/
Twitter: @SAPayroll
LinkedIn: The South African Payroll Association
1 Comment
Susanna Trollip
3/3/2025 10:32:03

Good day, i trust that you are well

Please can you assit me with advice as to what we allowed to do when our pay is late and bounced debit orders.

Is there a chance to request comensation.

kind regards
Susanna Trollip

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Welcome to the South African Payroll Association newsroom.

    Archives

    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016

    Categories

    All
    13th Cheque
    2001
    AA88 Notice
    Accountability
    Arlene Leggat
    Artificial Intelligence
    Attendance
    Auditing
    Baby
    Basic Conditions Of Employment
    BCEA
    Benefits
    Big Data
    Blockchain
    Bonus
    Bonus Payment
    Business Strategy
    Career
    Cathie
    Cathie Webb
    CFO
    Chatbots
    Code Of Good Practice On Equal Pay/Remuneration For Work Of Equal Value
    Compensation And Benefits
    Compensation For Occupational Injuries And Diseases Act
    Compliance
    Confusion
    Constitution
    Consultation Paper For Regulatory Proposals On Payroll Deductions
    Continuous Professional Development Programme
    Courts Of Law Amendment Act No. 7 Of 2017
    CPD
    Data Security
    Deadline
    Debt
    Department Of Labour
    Digital Payroll
    Downgrade
    Easy Payroll
    Economic Outlook
    Economy
    Emloyee
    Emolument Attachment Order
    Employee
    Employee Benefits
    Employee Engagement
    Employee Morale
    Employee Privacy
    Employees
    Employee Satisfaction
    Employer
    Employment
    Employment Act
    Employment Equity Act 55 Of 1998
    Employment Tax Incentives (ETI)
    Employment Termination
    Equal Pay
    Ethics
    Fair Pay
    Families
    Family
    Female Dominated Sector
    Finance Minister
    Financial Security
    Flexi-time
    Fraud
    Future-ready
    Garnishee Bill
    Garnishee Order
    Garnishees
    Gender
    Gender Shift
    Gig Economy
    Global Trends
    Good Governance
    Governance
    Health
    Home-based Job
    Hospitals
    HR
    Human Resources
    Imbalance
    Income Tax
    Increase
    Industrial Action
    Inequalities
    Internet Of Things
    IRP5
    James McKerrell
    Job Requirements
    Jobs
    Junk Status
    Key Performance Indicators
    King IV
    KPI's
    Labour Law Amendment Act 2015
    Lavine Haripersad
    Leave
    Legislation
    Lifestyle
    Malusi Gigaba
    Manager Benefits
    Medical Aid
    Minister Of Labour
    Minister Of Labour In Government Gazette Notice No. 588
    Mobile Payroll
    Moira Du Plessis
    Morals
    National Budget 2018
    National Budget Speech
    National Health Insurance
    National Minimum Wage
    National Payroll Week
    NHI
    Nicolette Nicholson
    No Work
    Now Pay
    NQF Level 4 And 5
    Occupational Health And Safety Act
    Overtime
    Paternity Leave
    Pay
    PAYE
    Pay Gap
    Payroll
    Payroll Career
    Payroll Data
    Payroll Deductions
    Payroll Effectiveness
    Payroll Errors
    Payroll Fraud
    Payroll Innovation
    Payroll Professionals
    Payroll Staff
    #PayrollWeekSA
    Payslip
    Performance Bonus
    Performance Management
    Personal Data
    Personal Information
    Pravin Gordhan
    Privacy Rights
    Productivity
    Professional Membership
    Protection Of Personal Information Act
    PTSD
    Public Health
    Qualifications
    Qualified
    Recession
    Reduced Benefits
    Reduced Pay
    Reliable
    Remote Workforce
    Reputation
    Resession
    Retirement
    Retirement Annuity
    Retrenchment
    Risk Mitigation
    Salary
    Salary Increase
    Salary Increases
    Salary Negotiations
    Salary Raise
    SAPA
    SAPA 2018 Conference
    SAPA Awards
    SAPA Conference
    SARB
    SARS
    Sharing Economy
    Sick Leave
    Skills
    Skills Development
    Small Businesses
    South African Board For People Practices
    South African Economy
    South African Payroll Association
    South African Revenue Service
    Staff
    Strikes
    Successful Payrol
    Tax
    Tax Application
    Tax Professional
    Tax Reform
    Tax Risk
    The Basic Conditions Of Employment Act
    The National Union Of Metal Workers Of South Africa
    The Payroll Practice Standard
    The South African Payroll Association
    The South African Reserve Bank
    Third-Party
    UIF
    UIF Benefits
    Unemployment
    Unemployment Insurance Act
    Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act Of 2002
    Val Forrest
    Voluntary Deductions
    Wage Overpayments
    Wages
    Wellbeing
    Women's Month
    Work Environment
    Work Ethic
    Work-life Balance
    Youth
    Youth Month

    RSS Feed

CONTACT US

office [at] atthatpoint [dot] co [dot] za
© COPYRIGHT 2024
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
  • home
  • our story
  • our services
  • your resources
  • SA Industry News