Employees Rights On Over Indebtedness

Employers generally, are acutely aware of the impact of over-indebtedness on their employees and must realise that this phenomenon impacts on the workplace.
In the first instance, consumerism creates a myriad of wants as opposed to the needs of daily survival and secondly, there is an abundance of ‘easy money’ available, either in the form of reckless lending or credit facilities. Such facilities are either ‘in the system’ in the form of registered banks and accredited hire purchase facilities or outside the system as money lenders, commonly referred to as Loan Sharks.
People become entrapped in a debt cycle thus continuously under threat of repossession, legal action or worse, in the case of the Loan Shark. This unfortunate situation has the potential to impact significantly on productivity, namely:

• Distraction from work performance
• Stress-related illness
• Absenteeism
• A perception of being underpaid which may translate into:

• o General disgruntlement – blaming the employer
• o Unreasonable wage demands
• o Theft and fraud

• Wrongful Garnishee orders – over 43 mistakes plus sub headings
• Credit agreements – Prescribed accounts, Induplum and incorrect agreements
• Substance abuse due too over indebtedness
• Increase of productivity in the work place by changing the mind-set on debt
• Lack of training of HR and Payroll personal on Garnishee Orders and Financial literacy
• Budget plans