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Chapter 8 - Labour Law

Laws about terms and conditions of employment

There are different laws about conditions of employment. Workers' terms and conditions of employment may be covered by:

• centralised collective agreements, like Bargaining Council Agreements, under the Labour Relations Act
• sectoral determinations under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), or Wage Determinations under the Wage Act
• special exceptions to centralised collective agreements, sectoral determinations, or the BCEA, made by the Minister of Labour (called deregulation)
• workplace-based collective agreements under the BCEA
• an individual agreement between a worker and employer (the contract of employment)
• Basic Conditions of Employment Act

See Collective agreements
See Sectoral determinations
See Deregulation
See Basic Conditions of Employment Act
See Summary of BCEA conditions of employment

In the past, farmworkers and domestic workers were not protected by these laws. Now the Labour Relations Act and BCEA includes farmworkers and domestic workers. They have the same labour rights as all other workers, except for some special conditions.

See Farmworkers

The Merchant Shipping Act covers conditions of employment for workers who are at sea within South Africa's territorial waters.

See Merchant Shipping Act

Members of the National Defence Force, the National Intelligence Agency, and the South African Secret Service are covered by different laws.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act gives workers rights in health and safety at work.

See Occupational Health and Safety Act

How do you know which law applies to a worker?

All workers will fall under one of the above laws about conditions of employment. Many workers fall under more than one of these laws.

The laws work in order of priority. For example, if a Bargaining Council Agreement (or other centralised collective agreement) covers the work done by a worker, then that Agreement applies to that worker. If there is no Bargaining Council Agreement, then you must see whether a sectoral determination or Wage Determination applies. If no Bargaining Council Agreement or sectoral/Wage Determination applies, then the BCEA will apply.

The BCEA applies to all workers unless they are specifically excluded by the Act. Workers excluded by the BCEA are members of the South African National Defence Force and the intelligence or secret services, and some other categories of workers.

See Who is covered by the BCEA?

The BCEA allows for workers to be bound by an individual or collective agreement with the employer. For example, the worker's contract of employment may contain conditions of employment that vary from the BCEA. Or workers may have entered into an agreement with the employer to work a compressed working week or to average out their working hours.

Finding out a worker's terms & conditions of employment

An individual contract of employment may override the Basic Conditions of Employment Act provided it is definitely more advantageous for the employee and provided it does not affect certain ‘core’ rights.