one week if the employee has been with the company for less than six months; Two weeks if the employee has been with the company for more than six months but less than a year; four weeks if the employee has been with the company for a year or more.
Can you resign immediately in South Africa?
The Labour Court ruled that an instant resignation terminates the work relationship, and Standard Bank was not allowed to hold the employee to her notice period. As a result, the Labour Court ruled that the employee’s discharge was invalid.
Let us begin with notice periods as defined in Section 37 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
The Act requires notice periods of at least;
- a) one week if the employee has been with the company for less than six months;
- b) two weeks if the employee has been with the company for more than six months but less than a year;
- b) 4 weeks if the employee—
I has been employed for at least one year; or
- ii) is a farm or domestic worker who has worked for more than six months.
Working during the notice period
The Act also requires employers to pay employees for their notice periods if the company does not wish the employee to serve or work his or her notice term. If an employee works with secret information and poses a possible risk to the firm during the notice period, the company may force the employee to depart before the notice period ends, provided that the person is compensated for the duration of the notice period. Because section 38 (2) of the Act allows for such an agreement, such a request from the employer will not be considered a dismissal. If, on the other hand, the employee indicates that he or she is unwilling to serve the whole notice term, the employer is not required to compensate the employee for the balance of the notice period.
When is notification required?
Section 37 (5) of the Act states that an employer’s notice of termination of a contract of employment must: a) not be given during any period of leave to which the employee is entitled under Chapter Three; and b) not run concurrently with any period of leave to which the employee is entitled under Chapter Three, except sick leave.
In other words, an employer may not terminate an employee’s employment relationship while the employee is on leave, such as sick leave, yearly leave, maternity leave, or family responsibility leave. It is also illegal to give notice of termination of the work relationship a day or two before the employee leaves on annual leave in order for the employee’s yearly leave to run concurrently with the notice period.
Section 20 (5) (b) also forbids employers from demanding or enabling employees to take annual vacation during a notice period.
