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Davies Ndumiso Sibanda
MANY employers have found themselves on the wrong side of the law due to failure to pay minimum wages or failure to pay wages on time because of failure to act in a business prudent manner and ignorance of labour laws.

Company XYZ employed 90 non-managerial workers and paid them salaries below the prescribed minimum for the industry. This went on for several years with workers registering their displeasure with underpayments at works council at almost every works council meeting.

Matters came to a head when workers joined a union that took their case to the National Employment Council that covers the industry and that is when problems for the employer began.

The first challenge for the employer was that the NEC designated agent visited the employer and after looking at the wages book he advised the employer that he was underpaying workers and that he had not been remitting NEC dues as required by law. The employer was ordered to pay NEC dues going back 24 months covering both the employer and workers’ contribution.

It was a huge amount and the employer negotiated a payment plan. Before the ink had dried on the NEC dues agreement, the employer was dragged by the union to the NEC over underpayment of wages to the 90 non-managerial workers. When the matter came before the NEC he argued that workers had been told of the challenges faced by the business and they accepted lower wages as demonstrated by their contracts.

The workers produced works council minutes going back five years to show that the wages dispute has been a long running battle. The employer argued that five years claim is prescribed but workers argued that the dispute had been ongoing and as such it had not prescribed. When the determination came from the NEC the ruling was that the matter had not prescribed as the dispute had been ongoing and the employer was ordered to pay wage arrears running into thousands of dollars.

All this could have been avoided had the employer sought legal advice from the onset. He could have sought exemption from paying the minimum wage and renewed it every time it expired. While the process is technical, it is legal too and possibly all the employer needs is to get help.

When it comes to wage arrears, there are a number of causes and possible solutions, which labour consultants and labour lawyers can provide advice on.

The problem with employers is that they sit on wage arrears and hope they will go away until workers litigate and by the time they seek advice, the damage has been done. Workers are generally very reasonable and they understand financial and economic challenges faced by employers and as such engaging them and agreeing on a solution with them without delay is important.

In conclusion, employers need not find themselves on the wrong side of the law over underpayments or huge wage arrears litigation as there are ways of engaging workers and coming up with workable solutions for both parties.

Davies Ndumiso Sibanda can be contacted on:
email: [email protected];  Or cell No: 0772 375 235