Dear Reader

Welcome to this week’s Labour bulletin.

Following on from last week’s Q&A format I’ve decided to see what our labour experts say on another hot topic this week.

You might want to demote a poor performer, but make sure you do it legally! Here’s what a couple of you asked about demotion and salary decreases and the advice our expert gave...

Q&A from our subscribers

Do I have to pay a bonus to an employee who’s guilty of negligence?

Question
I’ve charged my employee with gross negligence and failure to follow procedures.
If he’s found guilty in his hearing can I:

•    Refuse to pay him his discretionary annual bonus?
•    Demote him and decrease his salary to what it was before his latest increase?
•    Reassign him to a different position as soon as I identify a possible position?

Answer
You can’t implement any of these actions unilaterally (except perhaps the withholding of his discretionary bonus, depending on the facts) because they could amount to changes on the employee’s terms and conditions. He’d have to give his consent to these measures before you implement them.

The discretionary bonus is tricky. Many employers call it a discretionary bonus but pay it every year regardless. If it’s clearly linked to performance or conduct then you may have grounds for withholding it.

Can I decrease an employee’s salary if he’s doing less work?

Question
My employee's workload has diminished; can I decrease his salary?

Answer
You can’t unilaterally decrease your employee's salary.  You must consult with him and get his consent or get him to agree to a lower salary as an alternative to something more drastic like retrenchment, if you don’t have enough work for him.

Can I decrease my employee’s salary if I demote him? 

Question
Can I decrease my employee’s salary if I demote him?  If salary increases my across-the-board are 8% can I give this employee a lesser increase?

Answer
A demotion ordinarily would necessitate a decrease in salary. However, you must discuss and agree the issue with your employee usually as an alternative to something more serious like dismissal.

If you’ve agreed an across-the-board increase with a union you can’t exclude one employee from the increase. If you simply implemented an across the board increase for all your staff you may have difficulty justifying why you’re excluding one employee from the standard increases. 

If you have a practice of excluding poor performers from the increase, however, that would be in order.

I hope these answers have helped if you’re facing similar problems!

Don’t forget, if you’re a subscriber you can email our labour expert at labour@fsp.co.za for quick and accurate advice.

Until next time...

Sarah-Jane Bosch

Managing Editor