INSCAPE DESIGN COLLEGE
Staff Benefits Policy and Procedures R1.3
2010/04/20
Staff Benefits Policy
medical aid
Inscape will pay the ‘Hospital Plan/Benefit’ contributions to its approved medical scheme for qualifying salaried staff members.
The benefit is effective from the end of end September 2007.
maternity benefits
Inscape staff are entitled to preferential maternity benefits described in the Inscape Maternity Benefits Agreement.
This agreement is effective from the end of end July 2009.
computers
The college will subsidise the purchase of a computer by qualifying staff members.
Staff Benefits Procedures
medical aid
Discovery is Inscape’s approved Medical Aid scheme.
Qualifying staff members are permanent, design course lecturers and full-time permanent staff.
Inscape’s contributions to ‘Hospital Plan/Benefit’ (eg KeyCare Core / Essential Core) will be paid for the staff member only and will not include loading/penalties (eg late joining). Staff member are welcome to choose a different plan or to include family members but the additional costs therefore will be borne by the staff member. The staff member may request that such additional costs be deducted from their salary and paid together with the college’s contribution to the medial aid scheme.
Contributions for permanent, design course lecturers will be paid on a pro rata basis, in proportion to the number of sessions that they lecture each week (eg. if a person lectures half of the possible sessions each week, Inscape will pay half of their contributions).
Qualifying staff members must, in writing, request Inscape to make the contributions. Such payments will be made at the end of the month following that in which the written request has been approved by Inscape’s director.
The Inscape contribution will be paid directly to the medical scheme by Inscape and will appear as a benefit on the salary advice and tax return.
maternity benefits
In terms of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (below), “An employee is entitled to at least four consecutive months' maternity leave”, beginning (at least) “four weeks before the expected date of birth” until (at least) “six weeks after the birth of her child”.
The employee must notify the company in writing at least four (4) weeks before the employee intends to commence maternity leave of the date on which the employee intends to commence maternity leave, and the date on which the employee intends to return to work.
Although legislation does not provide for a salary to be paid during maternity leave, Inscape staff members who have been in continuous employment with Inscape for 48 months before commencing maternity leave may participate in the Inscape Maternity Benefits Agreement.
If a staff member chooses to participate in the Inscape Maternity Benefits Agreement, she:
· must complete the UIF forms and find out what the procedure is to claim this money,
· must apply to the UIF for, and must refund to Inscape, her maternity benefits when she receives them. Until the staff member receives her maternity benefits from the UIF, Inscape will loan this amount to her. She will refund to Inscape an amount equal to her UIF maternity benefit, without interest, within 6 (six) months of the end of her maternity leave,
· agrees to remain in Inscape’s employ for at least 12 calendar months after her maternity leave commences, during which time the conditions of her employment will remain unchanged and she will approach her duties in the same manner as she did before she fell pregnant,
Inscape may employ someone on a fixed term contract to temporarily fill in for the staff member on maternity leave. This contract will be negotiated with the temporary employee.
computers
Qualifying staff members are permanent, design course lecturers and full-time permanent staff.
The college contribution toward the purchase of a computer shall be R 1,000 per full year of service and be limited to R 5,000. The contribution will be calculated on a pro rata basis, in proportion to the number of sessions that they lecture each week (eg. if a person lectures 10 out of the possible 20 sessions each week, Inscape will pay half of the contribution).
Qualifying staff members must, in writing, request Inscape to make the payments. Such payments will be made at the end of the month following that in which the written request has been approved by Inscape’s director.
end
proposed amendments in red
changes since previous release in blue
Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 (No. 75 of 1997)
Chapter Three: Leave
25. Maternity leave
1) An employee is entitled to at least four consecutive months' maternity leave.
2) An employee may commence maternity leave--
a) at any time from four weeks before the expected date of birth, unless otherwise agreed; or
b) on a date from which a medical practitioner or a midwife certifies that it is necessary for the employee's health or that of her unborn child.
3) No employee may work for six weeks after the birth of her child, unless a medical practitioner or midwife certifies that she is fit to do so.
4) An employee who has a miscarriage during the third trimester of pregnancy or bears a stillborn child is entitled to maternity leave for six weeks after the miscarriage or stillbirth, whether or not the employee had commenced maternity leave at the time of the miscarriage or stillbirth.
5) An employee must notify an employer in writing, unless the employee is unable to do so, of the date on which the employee intends to--
a) commence maternity leave; and
b) return to work after maternity leave.
6) Notification in terms of subsection (5) must be given--
a) at least four weeks before the employee intends to commence maternity leave;
b) if it is not reasonably practicable to do so, as soon as is reasonably practicable.
7) The payment of maternity benefits will be determined by the Minister subject to the provisions of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1966 (Act No. 30 of 1966).
Schedule 3 of the Act says how UIF benefits will be paid:
Benefits will be paid for a maximum of 238 days (34 weeks) or for the number of days credits that the person has built up (accrued) during the 4 years leading up to the application. Credits are given to workers as they work and contribute to the Fund. Workers can earn credits in the following way: for every 6 days that a worker works and contributes to the Fund, they receive 1 day’s credit. So, to qualify for the full 238 days credits the worker must work for at least 4 years.
In the case of maternity benefits, a total of 121 days will be paid if there are enough credits available.
The worker is regarded as having contributed to the Fund from the first day of employment to the day that the services are terminated. A notice period worked before termination of service, is also regarded as a period employed.
The rate at which UIF benefits are paid shifts from 38% for the highly paid workers to 58 % for the lowest paid workers. This means not everyone gets the same rate of benefits. There is a sliding scale of benefits to ensure that the poorest workers get the biggest amount of relief because of the difficulties caused by unemployment.
Inscape will provide the staff member with the UI19 form to complete and hand in at the UIF office. It is the responsibility of the staff member to complete the UIF forms and to claim the benefit.
The pregnant staff member must complete a leave application form clearly stating the start of leave period (beginning of maternity leave) and re-commencement dates (of employment).