[Question] late payment of salaries and dismissal

[faeez ganchi]

Hi, I work for a a small company that is in the habit of paying our salaries late, very late, he owner refuses to pay uif, he also refuses to pay PAYE. When you stay absent due to reasons for not having money to come to work you are fired. Now he is making monthly salaries half and late. What are my options ?

[sakkie]

Find other work

[Dave A]

Find other work

+1 (And frankly, your best option).

Sure, you can report the employer to SARS, and to Department of Labour, and they'll send inspectors to dig around (perhaps).
And yes, you can join an employee representative organisation, and encourage other staff members to join, and you can start collective action with some skilled guidance.

But it'll all be slow and painful.
And the employer may close up shop along the way and everyone ends up without a job anyway.

So yes - if you can find a placement with a better employer, that would be first prize.

[SilverNodashi]

Won't it help to join a union?
Perhaps get the CCMA involved?

[Justloadit]

From what has been shown in the opening post, the respective employer seems to be some one who does not care about the employees let alone a union or CCMA.
Unions will not get involved if there is less than a few employees, the cost to to maintain the employees far outweighs the income from union fees.

Getting the CCMA involved will just piss this person off even further, who will probably get rid of you on the spot. The onuses then becomes the employee's to prove all the facts.
These kind of employers are diabolical, and unfortunately because of them we are stuck with the unions and labour problem that we are facing today. I have seen these type of employers in action, and let me tell you they will lie and plant evidence, and even get you arrested, and then use this as an excuse to get you to resign, or they press charges, or even get "witnesses" to testify against you. When you are in a situation like this, all forms of rights fall by the wayside, as you battle to keep out of the trumped up charges which you can not defend anyway because you do not have the money.

The best thing to do is to get out and find another employer - difficult under the current times, but that's what makes these employers even more dangerous.

[HR Solutions]

Looks like this guy has absolutely no regard for employees and the law. Your best bet would be to find new employment. Some people and some companies are just not worth working for. There are many other ethical companies out there that you can look for employment at.

[Entropy Group]

The CCMA would be happy to assist you. I agree with Sakkie, although, you are probably working for this employer because that's the only job you could find.