Employers often have more control over employment contracts than they realise, as they can structure these agreements to suit their organisational needs, provided they operate within the confines of labor laws. Various elements can be included and adjusted to benefit the organisation, with two interrelated aspects being hours of work and working days. The standard working hours typically consist of eight hours, with employees commonly working from Monday to Friday, leaving their weekends free.
For instance, regarding working hours, Section 95(1) of the Employment Act stipulates that “except as hereinafter provided, an employee shall not be required under his contract of employment to work more than five consecutive hours without a period of rest which shall not be less than 30 minutes; or more than an ordinary working period of eight hours in any one day or more than 48 hours in any one week.
Regarding working days, Section 95(8) of the same Act states, “For the purpose of calculating the daily rate of payment and/or benefits due for overtime to an employee employed on a monthly rate of pay, the following divisors shall be applied: 22 in respect of a 5-day working week; 24 in respect of a 5½-day working week; and 26 in respect of a 6-day working week.” This information is typically outlined in the employment contract, making it clear and predictable, particularly when the working week remains consistent.
However, what occurs when the working week is not uniform—for example, starting on a Monday one week and Tuesday the next? What are the expectations for employers under the Employment Act, and how do shift rosters come into play? Read on!
Understanding shift work
It is defined as a work schedule that does not fall within the normal working hours i.e., 07h30 or 08h00 to 16h30 or 17h00. For example, during a given day you find that a group of employees report for work from 06h00 and knock off at 15h00, some at 08h00 and knock off at 17h00 and the last group from 10h00 to 19h00. These groups abide by the normal working hours despite how it’s structured. Now, how is shift work linked to shift rosters?
Rosters and their guidelines
Before we can get to guidelines, it is best to understand what shift rosters are. These are work schedules aimed at providing a guide as to how shift workers are to report for work, in a day, week or month. Section 93(3) of the Employment Act outlines that “where the rest periods of an employee are or include days other than a Sunday, the employer shall prepare or cause to be prepared a roster in respect of every month specifying the employee’s rest periods within that month and shall display the roster in a conspicuous place readily accessible to the employee not less than seven days immediately before the commencement of the month in question.” The previous section brings up a few factors and we will dissect them accordingly. Firstly, generally rest periods include Sundays but for shift workers it varies as alluded to above making section 93 (3) applicable to them. Secondly, shift rosters for the coming month must be developed and shared with employees a week in advance. Thirdly, this roster must be exposed to the employees, preferably in a visible area. Should an employer violate this section 151(b) states that they “shall be liable to a fine not exceeding P1 000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both”. Therefore, it is best to comply!
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