Air force mistakenly pays out bonuses
2012-12-20 10:12
Johannesburg - Around 200 air force officials who were
mistakenly given performance bonuses in December will be made to pay them back,
Beeld reported on Thursday.
A letter stating that the bonuses were awarded by mistake
was circulated internally.
Many of the soldiers affected are already on holiday, and
will only see the letter when they return to work in January.
Others, who are still at work, have said they have consulted
lawyers and will fight in court as the letter is invalid.
The airforce usually pays its performance bonuses earlier in
the year, but this year they were paid with employees' December salary cheques.
'Big mess'
Soldiers are also unaware whether they have been awarded the
bonuses until the money is deposited into their bank accounts.
During the past year, guidelines handed down from senior air
force management dictated that those who had been promoted during the past year
could not receive an additional performance bonus.
"That in itself already contravenes the labour
law," one of the soldiers affected told Beeld.
According to the internal letter, the bonuses would be
deducted in full from the January salary.
"It's a big mess, because we've already paid tax on it.
How are they going to fix it, and what about the people who come back in
January to find that they're not getting any salary at the end of the
month?"
According to the newspaper the air force was not available
to comment on the issue.
- SAPA
