FAQ’S JUNE 2018

Personal calls during working hours

Question

What do you do if an employee makes too many personal calls during working hours?

Answer

While employees are at work they are obliged to perform work-related tasks. The time at work is company time. A company can therefore take action against excessive use of telephones for private purposes. It is advised that you have a communication policy that states that the company telephones are for business purposes and limited personal usage. The policy should state that anything over and above company limits is abuse and that disciplinary action can be taken against the employee for abuse of company property.

Notice periods in Employment Contracts

Question

Is one month notice the same as a calendar month notice?

Answer

A calendar months’ notice will require the parties to give notice of termination of employment on the first day of any month. For example, if an employee gives notice on the 10^th of June, the notice period will only start formally running on 1 July. However, the parties can consent to shorter notice where the notice period will be deemed to have started running on 10 June. Note that this can only be the case if the parties agree to this otherwise the calendar month period will apply.

In contrast, a months’ notice requires a 30 day period as notice of termination of employment. This means that notice can be given on any day of the month and the notice period will be 30 days after that.