Basic Conditions of Employment Act compliance, made simple

Who counts as an employee

A business should be able to show that it can answer yes to these: If you use contractors, freelancers or labour-only workers, have you checked each of them against the Act's presumption of employment (controlled hours or manner of work, part of your organisation, 40 or more hours a month for three months, economic dependence, your tools, or one client only)?

Working time

A business should be able to show that it can answer yes to these: Do ordinary hours stay within 45 hours a week, and within nine hours a day for people working five days or fewer, or eight hours a day for people working more than five days? Is overtime worked only by agreement, kept within 10 hours a week and 12 hours on any day (ordinary hours and overtime together), and paid at 1.5 times normal pay or replaced by paid time off by agreement? If you use a compressed working week or averaging of hours, is it set out in a written agreement (or collective agreement for averaging) within the limits of the Act? Do employees get a 60-minute meal interval after five hours of work (or 30 minutes, or none for people working fewer than six hours a day, if agreed in writing)? Do employees get a daily rest of 12 consecutive hours and a weekly rest of 36 consecutive hours, which includes Sunday unless agreed otherwise? Is Sunday work paid at double pay if it is occasional, or 1.5 times pay if it is part of the person's ordinary work (or replaced by paid time off by agreement)? Are public holidays paid, and is work on a public holiday done only by agreement and paid at double the normal rate? For work between 18h00 and 06h00, do employees get an allowance or reduced hours, and is transport available between home and work? For people who regularly work after 23h00 and before 06h00, have you told them about the health and safety hazards, and about their right to a medical examination?

Leave

A business should be able to show that it can answer yes to these: Do employees get 21 consecutive days of annual leave per leave cycle (or one day for every 17 days worked, or one hour for every 17 hours worked, by agreement)? Is annual leave granted within six months after the end of the leave cycle, and never paid out instead of leave except when employment ends? Do employees get paid sick leave equal to six weeks in a 36-month cycle (and one day for every 26 days worked in the first six months)? Do you ask for a medical certificate only where the Act allows: for absence of more than two consecutive days, or after frequent absences? Do pregnant employees get four consecutive months of maternity leave, and are pregnant and nursing employees kept away from work that is hazardous to them or the child? Do employees get at least 10 consecutive days of parental leave when a child is born, and adoption or commissioning parental leave of at least 10 consecutive weeks where those provisions apply? Do full-time employees get three days of paid family responsibility leave a year (for example for the birth or illness of a child, or the death of a close family member), with reasonable proof allowed? When employment ends, do you pay out all leave still owing?

Written particulars, records and displays

A business should be able to show that it can answer yes to these: Does every employee get written particulars of employment when they start: employer's name and address, the employee's name and occupation, place of work, start date, hours and days of work, wage and how it is calculated, overtime rate, other cash and in-kind pay, pay frequency, deductions, leave, notice period, any council or sectoral determination, prior service that counts, and other documents forming part of the contract? Do you revise the written particulars whenever the terms of employment change? Is the statement of employees' rights displayed at the workplace in the official languages used there? Do you keep a wages register and an attendance register (or records with the same information)? Do you record the date of birth of any employee under 18? Do you keep these records for three years from the date of the last entry in the record?

Pay and deductions

A business should be able to show that it can answer yes to these: Does every payment come with written details: employer's name and address, the employee's name and occupation, pay period, remuneration, deductions, the amount actually paid, and where relevant rates and ordinary, overtime, Sunday and public holiday hours? Do you avoid requiring anyone to pay to be employed or allocated work, or to buy goods or services from you or someone you nominate? Do you make deductions from pay only where the employee agreed in writing to a specific debt, or where a law, court order, collective agreement or arbitration award allows it? Before deducting for damage or loss, do you follow a fair procedure, including a chance for the employee to respond? Do you pay over deductions and your contributions to benefit funds within seven days? Do you calculate wages from hours ordinarily worked, convert weekly to monthly pay by four and one-third, and use the preceding 13 weeks for pay that varies a lot?

Termination of employment

A business should be able to show that it can answer yes to these: Do you and your employees give written notice of at least one week (employed six months or less), two weeks (more than six months, up to a year) or four weeks (a year or more, or a farm or domestic worker employed more than six months)? Do you pay severance of at least one week's pay for each completed year of service when you dismiss for operational reasons? Do you give every employee a certificate of service when employment ends?

Children, forced labour and enforcement

A business should be able to show that it can answer yes to these: Do you make sure nobody under 15 is employed, and that people under 18 are not given work that is unsuitable for their age or puts them at risk? Do you make sure nobody is made to work through forced labour? Do you give labour inspectors the records and answers they lawfully ask for, and comply with any compliance order? Do you make sure nobody is treated worse because they exercised their rights under the Act?

How can I check where my business stands on BCEA Self-Assessment (Basic Conditions of Employment)?

Take the free self-assessment. It scores each area, lists your gaps with what to do about each one, and does not say you are compliant. You can save the result to ComplianceDesk to turn each gap into a task with an owner and a due date.

Is this guide written by a lawyer?

No. It was assembled from the public sources listed below and has not been reviewed by a lawyer. Treat it as a starting point and check the current law before relying on it.

How many controls does ComplianceDesk track for Basic Conditions of Employment Act?

12, organised into 4 categories, ready to assign to an owner as soon as you activate the framework.

Can I track Basic Conditions of Employment Act alongside other frameworks?

Yes — most teams activate several frameworks at once. Controls that overlap across frameworks can share the same evidence, so you don't collect the same document twice.

How long does it take to set up Basic Conditions of Employment Act in ComplianceDesk?

Activating Basic Conditions of Employment Act instantly seeds its full control library. Most teams assign owners and get their first controls moving within a day.