The short answer
If this is the case, you can report your employer to the trustees of the fund, who will take action.
The whole question
Dear Athalie
I'm a former employee of a cleaning company where I was mistreated. The final straw was when they demoted me after I enquired about a payslip that didn't correspond to the money paid into my account. They had demoted me from a permanent employee to a reliever, so I decided to resign.
They sent me my NBC provident fund claim forms, which I duly completed, but it's been almost two months now with no response.
The long answer
Your employers certainly mistreated you if they demoted you for enquiring why your payslip did not correspond with the money paid into your account. And of course, when your employer makes your work life intolerable and you feel compelled to resign, that may be a “constructive dismissal” entitling you to compensation. You can refer the matter to the CCMA.
But now that you have resigned, you need to get your NBC benefits.
If you sent the forms yourself, I am assuming that you got the forms signed and stamped by your employers before you sent them to NBC?
Just to check that you sent the correct documents, these are the documents that the Contract Cleaning National Provident Fund says you need to claim benefits from NBC:
An original certified copy of the member’s ID; and
Proof of banking details. This is an original copy of the member’s bank statement (not older than three months) which has been stamped by the bank.
If you did not send the claim forms in yourself, but were relying on the employer to send them in after signing and stamping them, you should check with the HR department at your old place of work that they have in fact been sent to NBC. Your employer is legally obliged to submit the completed claim forms to the fund administrator.
You can also contact the fund administrator with your details and check whether the claim form has been submitted. If it has not been submitted, you should send a registered letter to the trustees of the fund informing them that your employer has not submitted your claim form and they need to take it up. It is the duty of the Trustees of the Fund to ensure that employers comply with the rules. If they do not do so, they are in breach of the fund rules themselves. You could send a copy of the letter to the employer and the HR person.
If you are wondering whether your employers paid over your contributions to NBC, you should know that pension and provident funds are legally required to monitor the payments of contributions into the fund and to report to the trustees when contributions are not paid by the employer within seven days of the end of the month when they are due. The trustees are then legally obliged to inform the Financial Services Board (FSB) as well as the member of the fund. The trustees should send the member a letter explaining how their benefits are affected by the employer’s failure to pay over the contributions. If the contributions are still outstanding after three months, the matter should be reported to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
The NBC website says that if your tax affairs are in order, you should receive your benefits within 21 days.
You can call the Fund’s Call Centre at 010 206 0900 or visit one of the NBC offices. (There are 11 NBC offices throughout the country.)
You could also contact them by email: contractcleaning@nbc.co.za.
The fax number to which documents must be sent is (086) 687 0912.
Wishing you the best,
Athalie
Answered on June 28, 2024, 5:51 p.m.
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