ESKOM - Failure to provide sufficient electricity

During 2008 we have all experienced Escom's implementation of load shedding. It affected the whole of the country - businesses and individuals alike. Fortunately, Eskom has not carried out its load shedding schedule since May 2008.

The World Cup Soccer 2010 is around the corner, and as at today, we have 137 days to go for the big kick off. Millions of international visitors is expected to arrive in South Africa within the next few weeks before the World Cup, and many more during the World Cup.

Rumour has it that Eskom has not managed to increase the availability of sufficient electricity supplies, and it has been suggested that Eskom is considering the implementation of load shedding prior to the commencement of the World Cup and even during the World Cup.

Past experience has shown that small and big businesses were all affected by load shedding. Some businesses have closed down completely, which lead to employees losing their jobs. Other businesses were forced to retrench some of its employees due to operational requirements.

Other problems experienced, just to name the most common, were staff reporting late for work and employers refusing to pay salaries to their employees for the time lost due to electricity cuts or load shedding.

Unfortunately, employers cannot refuse to pay salaries to its employees for time lost due to electricity cuts or load shedding. The employees are not to blame for this. The employees, although unproductive during electricity cuts or load shedding, have reported for duty, have made available their services to the employers, and thus they have to be remunerated for those hours lost. The employer is not permitted to deduct these lost hours from the salaries of the employees.

The question is whether alternative solutions are available to the employers to, at least, try and increase productivity. Some employers have considered asking employees to take their lunch breaks earlier during electricity cuts or load shedding, some even has gone so far as to ask employees to go on extended lunch breaks, and others have even considered asking employees to work extended hours in order to make up for lost productivity.

The following should be considered:

The Basic Conditions of Employment Act provides that employees must work 45 hours per week. That means, if the employee normally works from Monday to Friday, 9 (nine) hours per day. This calculation excludes lunch hours, which means that employees are not getting paid for their lunch breaks.

The Act further provides that the employee is entitled to a lunch break after 5 (five) hours of work. It further stipulates that employees must be remunerated for lunch breaks during longer than 75 (seventy five) minutes.

If employees are requested to work longer hours, it must be remembered that overtime remuneration of 1.5 the normal rate must be paid to employees.When work on a Sunday is required, the overtime rate of 2 times the normal rate will have to be paid to the employee, provided that the employee does not normally work on a Sunday.

Certain employers, such as the mining industry which is already a 24/7 industry, will never be able to make up for lost production, and thus the above considerations will not help them.

Depending on the nature of the business of the employer, the above considerations might be helpful in an attempt to make up for lost production.

However, the implementation of these alternatives is not a guarantee that the employer will not suffer from increased costs of production.