South African power utility Eskom is continuing its battle to keep the lights on. The embattled state owned entity recently announced Stage 6 power cuts leaving citizens in the dark for up to ten hours daily.
Almost no one is spared the challenges brought along by the ongoing power cuts, this includes employees who work from the comfort of their own homes.
There are many resources available to employees that could ensure they can remain productive and meet their labour obligations despite being load shed. However many employees around the country may not have the resources required to mitigate the impact of the ongoing power cuts.
The ongoing loadshedding and its consequences have resulted in employees being instructed to return to their offices to remain productive.
Labour Law expert Osborne Molatudi says an employer would be within their right to require its employees to return to the office full time. They need just issue an instruction and an explanation why their employers must return to the workplace.
There are instances where employees can engage with their employees to assess whether there is a need for the employer to return to the office. These engagements can bear solutions by which the employee may be required to return to work on a full time basis or using a hybrid approach.
Molatudi said employees would be well advised not to ignore an employer's instruction requiring them to return to work full time. However, there may be valid reasons as to why an employee would work from home.
They add that failure to abide by instructions from the employer may amount to insubordination, desertion or absence without leave. All of these can lead to consequences and ultimately lead to an employee facing disciplinary proceedings or the termination of their employment contract.
Molatudi adds that all employers are required to do is issue an instruction to their employees and explain why they should return to the workplace.
Loadshedding could be the driving factor behind requiring employers to return to work. This as some are not able to complete their work at home but may be able to at an office or workplace.
“Employers would argue that we do have those resources at the office and we want you [employee] to continue being productive and to do work for us as the employer,” explained Molatudi.
The employer does have the responsibility to ensure that the resources to ensure employees have access to an enabling environment which allows employees to carry out their duties and responsibilities. In the case of loadshedding, the employee may need to have backup power solutions.
Molatudi adds that employment contracts often make provisions for requiring employees to change the location from where they perform their duties.
