Question posted in the General Law category relating to Western Cape
In the discussions with the company I currently work for we discussed salary expectations via email (Before I was appointed). I requested a specific amount, but the company made a counter offer & confirmed that they would increase the salary to a set minimum from a specific date. That date has passed a long time ago & discussions with my Manager & HR did not resolve the issue. How can I get them to increase my salary as was stated & pay the money owed to me?
I requested R65000 a month & they replied that they will pay me R55000 a month and increase it to at least R60 000 in March 2018. To me this should be legally binding.
I want them to increase my salary to R60 000 & pay the outstanding R95 000 (The months I had to go without the agreed amount to date)
Message from the Lawyer
Hi there and thank you for your question,
I am a practicing attorney based in South Africa and I will assist you with your question. Please feel free to ask as many follow up questions in order to clarify your question. If you have a new question, you must please open a new thread.
What you have is a civil contractual dispute with the company in relation to the terms and conditions of your employment. It does sound to me, based on what you've said, that the agreement was that you would be paid R55,000 per month up until March 2018, and then your salary would increase to R65,000 per month.
Section 185 of the Labour Relations Act ("the LRA") states that “every employee has the right not to be subjected to an unfair labour practice.”
An unfair labour practice means any unfair act or omission that arises between an employer and an employee, and specifically includes the unfair conduct of the employer relating to the promotion, demotion or training of an employee or relating to the provision of benefits to an employee.
Typically you would refer this dispute to the CCMA, however I do not think that this is possible anymore in your situation.
Section 191 of the LRA states that the employee has 90 days from the date of the act or omission which allegedly constitutes an unfair labour practice or, if it is a later date, within 90 days of the date which the employee became aware of the act occurrence.
I think that you are already over that 90 day window. You might be able to apply for condonation with the CCMA, but you would then need to have really good reasons as to why you failed to refer the dispute to the CCMA within that 90 day period. You might struggle here!
You could also refer the dispute to management to deal with. I don't know what you've already done. i.e. did you just talk to them, or how forceful you were, or what, but maybe you need to write a letter to the CEO formally setting out the dispute and asking him to get involved?!
If there is a part of the answer which you need more advice on, or clarity please continue in this same thread instead of opening a new question.
Att. Patrick
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Message from the client
Message from the Lawyer
Yes, it is a breach of an employment contract. You could therefore issue a summons and sue the company for the arrear salary component - but that means the delays and costs associated with a full trial!
The CCMA is however just so much better placed to handle things like this because you could simply declare an unfair labour practice and the process is almost run for you.
Message from the Lawyer
I think that you should give the internal procedures one last try (i.e. HR, Manager, CEO) and then make a call whether you want to hire a lawyer to issue a summons and claim the arrears.