Dealing with the country’s economy already hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, the situation does not seem to be improving with the restrictions of the pandemic being lifted. But recently, the main culprit for the country’s ever tightening budget is the steadily increasing plague of loadshedding.
According to well-known loadshedding app, EskomSePush, the power utility had implemented loadshedding for 2881 hours (120 days) for the year by 21 November 2022. By the end of 2022, the country had experienced triple the amount of loadshedding for the preceding year, with only 1153 hours (48 days) of loadshedding scheduled in 2021.
The business sector is particularly hard-hit by all the outages, with the frequent and sometimes unpredictable loss of power affecting employers’ ability to keep operations running at full capacity.
With the power off for two to four hours in the middle of the workday, it is difficult for employers to manage shifts and keep production going without running at a loss, as employees must be paid irrespective of whether they are able to perform their duties.
Agreements can be made for employees only to be paid for services rendered but reorganising shifts to avoid loadshedding inevitably affects aspects such as overtime.
The Basic Conditions of Employment Act further requires employees who tender their services and are sent home due to inability to render service to be paid for no less than four hours’ work, even if they do not work a full four hours.
At this rate, companies who cannot afford alternative power generating solutions may be forced to cut hours or jobs to keep up. Inconsistent power supply may also force employees accustomed to working from home to return to offices where their employers can generate backup power.
Loadshedding is here to stay for the foreseeable future. Companies must take a hard look at how they operate and attempt to adapt to the situation to maximise their outputs with the power and resources available to them.
This may require both employers and employees to be more flexible in organising working arrangements to ensure the continued viability of the business going forward.
This is easier said than done. If you need assistance in navigating a new path to productivity with your employees, LabourNet can assist.
For more information please contact PK Malamlela on 060 642 8659 and pmalamlela@labournet.com or contact Robert Niemand at on 082 824 7359 robertn@labournet.com.