Defence Act, 1957 (Act No. 44 of 1957)Chapter I : Definitions and Liability for Service and Training4. Duties of employers |
| (1) | An employer shall afford any person in his employ all reasonable facilities to be enrolled for or to carry out, whether voluntarily or not, any service under this Act. |
[Subsection (1) substituted by section 1 of Act No. 42 of 1979]
| (2) | Any employer who— |
| (a) | fails to afford facilities as aforesaid; or |
| (b) | by dismissing an employee or reducing his salary or wages or altering his position to his disadvantage or in any other manner penalizes such employee on account of his having being enrolled for or being engaged in any such service; or |
[Paragraph (b) substituted by section 4(b) of Act No. 85 of 1967]
| (c) | by words, conduct or otherwise directly or indirectly compels,induces or prevails upon, or attempts to compel, induce or prevail upon any person or seeking to enter his employment to evade or refrain from being enrolled for or carrying out service under this Act, |
[Paragraph (c) substituted by section 4(b) of Act No. 85 of 1967]
shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (2)bis and (2)ter, be guilty of an offence.
[Subsection (2) amended by section 3(a) of Act No. 77 of 1963]
(2)bis
| (a) | Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring any employer to pay any person in his employ any salary or wages in respect of any period during which he is absent from his work for the purpose of carrying out any service under this Act. |
| (b) | Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (1) and (2) and of any other law, no employee who is rendering service under this Act and who is by law or in terms of any condition of his employment entitled to increased remuneration, paid sick leave or other paid leave of absence, or, subject to the provisions of sub-paragraph (ii), any similar benefit upon completion of a fixed period or successive fixed periods of employment shall— |
| (i) | have the right to reckon in respect of any one unbroken period of such service more than four months of the absence from his employment occasioned by such service as employment in the determination of such increased remuneration, paid sick leave, or other paid leave of absence or similar benefit as may accrue to him in respect of such employment: Provided that this subparagraph shall not be construed as limiting any longer period which may be determined or fixed by or under any law relating to his employment; |
| (ii) | be entitled to the grant to him by his employer of paid sick leave in respect of a period falling within the limits of any period of such service, during which he is incapacitated as a result of any injury or illness; |
| (iii) | claim any such paid sick leave or other paid leave of absence or any other benefit before he has, pursuant to the provisions of this Act, been permitted to resume his employment and has so resumed such employment. |
[Subsection (2)bis substituted by section 4(c) of Act No. 85 of 1967]
| (2)ter | [Sub-section (2)ter deleted by section 58(1) of Act No. 56 of 1981] |
| (3) | Whenever in any proceedings under subsection (2)(b), it is proved that an employer has dismissed the employee concerned or has reduced his salary or wages or altered his position to his disadvantage, or has in any other manner penalized such employee, that employer shall be deemed to have dismissed such employee or to have so reduced his salary or wages or to have so altered his position or to have so penalized him, as the case may be, by reason of such employee having been enrolled for or carried out the service in question, unless the contrary is proved. |
[Subsection (3) substituted by section 4(c) of Act No. 85 of 1967]