News Article

11th January 2015

What rights does a business have during load shedding

Cape Talk Radio presenter Kino Kammies interviewed Bernard Reisner, Industrial relations consultant, on load shedding and what rights employers have when it comes to paying staff and managing working hours during load shedding.

• When production is halted due to load shedding you, as the employer, have the right to consider the stoppage time (to a maximum of 75 minutes) as rest periods like tea and lunch.
• You do have the right to restructure working hours but only on negotiation and agreement with your staff or their union shop steward.
• Should the employees refuse to accept renegotiated work hours you do have the right to retrench them.
• If your staff are paid per hour you can only refuse to pay them for the hours where work has stopped due to load-shedding if they have their consent. If they have not consented then you are required to compensate them for the hours when load shedding has occurred.