NamibianLabourLexiconVolume2(RevisedEdition)-The.pdf

Namibian Labour Lexicon Vol. 2 (Revised Edition) The Labour Act, 2007 D Daily spread-over and weekly rest period (sec.20) (M) – “Spread- over” is de?ned in section 8 as “… the period from the time an employee ?rst starts work in any one 24 hour cycle to the time the employee ?nally stops work in that cycle”. According to this de?nition the meal interval and any other interlude of inactivity in between the time a person ?rst reports for duty and ?nally goes home [such as in the case a restaurant worker who may work a morning and an afternoon shift], are part of the spread-over. An employer, in terms of section 20, may not require or permit an employee to work a spread-over of more than 12 hours, except in the case of an employee performing urgent work. In the latter instance an employee would be performing remunerated overtime. An employer may also not require or permit an employee to work without a weekly interval of at least 36 consecutive hours of rest. Discussion: The prohibition of work on Sundays for the majority of employees has the effect of ensuring that they automatically enjoy a weekly rest period. However, in the many instances where an employee may be lawfully required to work on a Sunday, the consequence could be that such an employee may have to work seven days a week, and possibly do so for extended periods of time. Section 20 ensures that such unacceptable practices are legally prohibited. The 36 consecutive hours rest period would normally constitute two nights and a day (or for somebody working night shifts two days and a night). Changes: No speci?c provision for a weekly rest period existed in the previous legislation other than a Sunday. Declaration of continuous shifts (sec.15) (U) – The Minister of Labour and Social Welfare is authorised to declare any operation as a continuous operation ( 24 hours, 7 days per week) by notice in the Government Gazette, thus permitting the performance of continuous shifts of no longer than 8 hours each under pre