Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 (Act No. 75 of 1997)Chapter Four : Particulars of employment and remuneration35. Calculation of remuneration and wages |
| (1) | An employee's wage is calculated by reference to the number of hours the employee ordinarily works. |
| (2) | For the purposes of calculating the wage of an employee by time, an employee is deemed ordinarily to work— |
| (a) | 45 hours in a week, unless the employee ordinarily works a lesser number of hours in a week; |
| (b) | nine hours in a day, or seven and a half hours in the case of an employee who works for more than five days a week, or the number of hours that an employee works in a day in terms of an agreement concluded in accordance with section 11, unless the employee ordinarily works a lesser number of hours in a day. |
| (3) | An employee's monthly remuneration or wage is four and one-third times the employee's weekly remuneration or wage, respectively. |
| (4) | If an employee's remuneration or wage is calculated, either wholly or in part, on a basis other than time or if an employee's remuneration or wage fluctuates significantly from period to period, any payment to that employee in terms of this Act must be calculated by reference to the employee's remuneration or wage during— |
| (a) | the preceding 13 weeks; or |
| (b) | if the employee has been in employment for a shorter period, that period. |
| (5) |
| (a) | The Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, after consultation with the Commission and NEDLAC, determine whether a particular category of payment, whether in money or in kind, forms part of an employee's remuneration for the purpose of any calculation made in terms of this Act. |
| (b) | Without limiting the Minister's powers in terms of paragraph (a), the Minister may— |
| (i) | determine the value, or a formula for determining the value, of any payment that forms part of remuneration; |
| (ii) | place a maximum or minimum value on any payment that forms part of remuneration; and |
| (iii) | for the purposes of any calculation, differentiate between different categories of payment and different sectors. |
| (c) | Before the Minister issues a notice in terms of paragraph (a), the Minister must— |
| (i) | publish a draft of the proposed notice in the Gazette; and |
| (ii) | invite interested parties to submit written representations on the draft notice within a reasonable period. |