Fuel price disaster drives work-from-home demand in South Africa

Rising fuel prices in the wake of the Middle East conflict are driving higher demand for remote working across South Africa’s employment sector.

As the war continues to affect the price of petrol and diesel, pressure is being placed on the country’s workers to pay more to get to and from work.

This has caused some employers to reassess their current work-from-home policies, as pointed out by Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr’s Senior Associate in Employment Law, Leila Moosa.

In an interview with Hilaal TV, Moosa said that while there is no legal right in place for employees to work remotely, some employment contracts may include policies for this.

“What we are dealing with now is additional considerations from an economic perspective that are calling on employers to rethink whether those specific policies are in place,” Moosa said.

Moosa said employees in certain sectors, especially office-based industries, have reported definite savings on transport costs when working from home.

However, she said this may not always align with the employer in terms of the productivity needs of the business, and that communication between the two is imperative.

Moosa recommended that employers wishing to introduce a work-from-home policy take a phased approach to implementation.

“The first step would be to look at what your contracts and policies say, and whether this is something that you can implement,” Moosa said.

“Look at what your business needs, and if it’s something that’s possible to work with your operational requirements.”

“You cannot compromise on that in order for the sustainability of your business into the future to continue.”

Thirdly, Moosa recommended that companies that have not implemented remote work policies in the past undertake trial periods with open feedback between management and subordinates.

She also advised against employees working remotely when not explicitly permitted by their employers, and said employers would be within their rights to potentially dismiss employees in this instance.

Employers still reluctant

While calls have been made for a reintroduction of work-from-home policies in the face of rising fuel costs, not all employers are eager to answer.

Tony Healy, a consultant at Icon Labour Consultants, explained in an interview with 702 that this is a symptom of the country’s last major remote-work shift.

“Since the Covid-19 pandemic, those who can work from home already are,” Healy said. “Employers can be reluctant when it comes to the hybrid or work-from-home arrangements.”

“Their experience after the pandemic was frequently trying to get employees back into the office who would rather prefer to work from home, and were reluctant to come back into office.”

Some employers may be more flexible in terms of remote work policies, but more often than not, they need to be designated in writing as temporary measures.

Healy explained that most employers prefer to have employees in the office due to the ease of communication and stronger operational control that comes with face-to-face interaction.

While certain employers may make arrangements for their employees to work from home, Healy said the majority of them are still reluctant for these reasons.

Although remote work became increasingly prevalent during the Covid-19 pandemic, Healy said South Africans should not necessarily expect the same kind of treatment during the current fuel crisis.

However, since the end of the pandemic, he noted that there had indeed been a noticeable shift towards more hybrid working arrangements.

“We have shifted to a kind of hybrid model to some degree, but not especially to a situation where somebody who was previously working full-time in-person at work is working full-time at home remotely,” Healy said.

However, with no clear resolution to the conflict in sight and fuel prices expected to increase even more over the coming months, employers may begin to rethink their stance on remote work.