{"id":955,"date":"2021-04-22T17:47:51","date_gmt":"2021-04-22T17:47:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marumeandfuridzo.com\/?p=955"},"modified":"2024-01-05T08:07:56","modified_gmt":"2024-01-05T08:07:56","slug":"no-work-no-pay-principle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.marumeandfuridzo.com\/no-work-no-pay-principle\/","title":{"rendered":"No Work No Pay Principle"},"content":{"rendered":"

The main contractual obligation of employees is to place their personal services at their employer\u2019s disposal. Tender of service is a prerequisite to the employee\u2019s right to claim remuneration. Under both common law and statute law in the form of the Labour Act (Cap 28:01)<\/strong>, employees who do not tender service are not entitled to wages irrespective of the reason for their non-tender. Conversely an employee who does tender service but is prevented by the employer from working is entitled to be paid.<\/p>\n

At common law the obligation of an employer to pay wages is dependent upon performance by the servant of the work that he is contracted to do. Thus, in The Law of Master and Servant in South Africa by Norman Scoble at p203<\/strong>, the author states:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe legal obligation of an employer to pay wages is dependent entirely on the servant having performed his part of the contract in rendering the services stipulated for by the parties. The basis is \u2018no work no pay\u2019 (unless the master is to blame for failing to provide any work for the servant to perform) (Vadasz v Cohen, 1993 TPD 100).\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The law recognizes that the employee may take lawfully sanctioned leave days which are paid. Apart from that the employee is obliged to render service until the contract of employment ends.<\/p>\n

Failure to render service may take many forms ranging from absenteeism to unpunctuality, in which case at common law the employer is entitled to deduct from the employee\u2019s wage an amount proportional to the absence. Section 12A (6)(a) of the Labour Act<\/strong> grants the employer that right. It provides as follows;<\/p>\n

\u201cNo deduction or set off of any description shall be made from any remuneration except-<\/strong><\/p>\n