Civil servants will have their salary advances capped at an amount which is not more than a month’s pay under proposals meant to protect their payslips from increased deductions.
A draft human resources policy by the Public Service Commission (PSC), which has been opened up for public scrutiny, says that the workers will only get advance of up to two months under "very exceptional circumstances." This is the first attempt to cap salary advances for civil servants to ensure deductions do not outstrip the monthly pay.
Workers are increasingly going for salary advances amid a tight economy.
But increased deductions towards settling loans and statutory obligations have seen public servants take homes less than a third of their salaries, which is a breach of the labour laws.
“An advance of not more than one month’s salary may be granted by an accounting officer to an officer on permanent and pensionable or contract establishment when the officer, owing to circumstances beyond his control, is placed in a difficult financial position requiring assistance from the government,” the PSC says in the draft regulations.
Salary advances are typically tapped to cover expenses that cannot wait until the next
payday, such as medical emergencies and utility bills.
The PSC further says that for civil servants exiting before the lapsing of 12 months, deductions for salary advance given will be uniformly spread in installments within the remaining period.
The total amount of all deductions that an employer can make from a worker at any one time should not exceed two-thirds of the pay or such additional or other amount as may be prescribed by the minister, according to the Employment Act 2007.
Employers deduct salary advances on a monthly basis, leaving heavily indebted workers to live from hand to mouth and in a vicious borrowing cycle that keeps them reliant on the advances.
The PSC has raised concerns that increased deductions like loans, statutory deductions and salary advances have eaten into payslips and breached the legally allowable limits.
Last year, the PSC revealed that out of the about 300,000 public officers it manages, 82,577 were earning below a third of their basic salaries, the majority being police and prison officers (65,445) and civil servants (17,132).
The PSC attributed this to the high cost of living and salaries that have not been reviewed to cushion workers against inflation.
“The rising cost of living has continuously impacted negatively on public officers, which has resulted in low morale, poor performance and poor social welfare of officers, some of whom are undergoing depression for, amongst other reasons, the inability to meet their financial obligations as and when they fall due,” PSC chairperson Anthony Muchiri said in October.
But the PSC now says that workers must justify the unforeseen circumstances that have forced them to tap a salary advance.
