Hello fellow Nairaland members.

For those in the legal field or have some experience in it. I have some questions to ask.

Presently, I do part time solar installation work with Sunking in Benin city.

The company focus is on selling solar light systems.

Recently, they started encouraging sales of phones. On easy buy basis.

Now the company pays her sales agent for selling 5-15points. That's what you need to get paid a salary.

If you sell 5 points, they pay 10k.

If you sell 9.5point, you get 17k and if you sell, 15-40points you get 25k salary.

Along the line, there are incentives they also pay for meeting the above sales target.

Now, the company suddenly now introduce a policy. Here is the policy.

All agents must now sell at least one fone in three months. If you don't sell fone, your third month salary won't be paid.

They have been threatening to withhold salaries of agents who don't sell phone.

So my question I want to ask those with legal experience or industrial disputes is this:

Can a company justifiably hold the salaries of her agent who sold the required points needed for salaries to be paid, because they didn't sell phone?

Is it legal?

The only offence now is that you didn't sell phones. At least one phone. But you met the required 5-15 wp point needed for salaries to be paid.

Is holding the salaries of a staff who met the sales target of 5-15wp, because he or she didn't sell one phone , not a fraudulent act?

I have been thinking of this for while and seriously considering taking advantage of this their threat to mount a legal challenge in court with the hope of cashing in on it if my salary is not paid because I didn't sell phone.

What do you think? Would going to court be a waste of time ?

Kindly leave your opinion please.

Thanks.

I think the company has right to alter their policies with an effective date, & you are entitled to your normal salaries before that effective date.

If you have a workers union, they can negotiate with management. Legal action is unlikely to yield meaningful results.

i am not a lawyer, but the law of the firm is clearly stated. 15-40 points gives you your monthly pay. and to qualify for the third pay you have to sell a certain phone of which you have not met it. its just like saying passing maths and english wil promote you to the next class in your secondary school, but to get to the univesity with that same maths you need a certain score, 60 upward . but in your secondary school below 60 you are still passed. so without scoring 60 upward, you will not be allowed into the university. I leave the rest for the Barristers in the house to interpret

ManWater:
I think the company has right to alter their policies with an effective date, & you are entitled to your normal salaries before that effective date.

If you have a workers union, they can negotiate with management. Legal action is unlikely to yield meaningful results.

Okay, boss. Thanks for the insight.

Those guys don't allow for negotiation. They just pass it down and expect you to follow.

jackmrandy:
i am not a lawyer, but the law of the firm is clearly stated. 15-40 points gives you your monthly pay. and to qualify for the third pay you have to sell a certain phone of which you have not met it. its just like saying passing maths and english wil promote you to the next class in your secondary school, but to get to the univesity with that same maths you need a certain score, 60 upward . but in your secondary school below 60 you are still passed. so without scoring 60 upward, you will not be allowed into the university. I leave the rest for the Barristers in the house to interpret

I get your logic. But this is salary we are talking about here. After all the sweat of selling 15points for example, which qualify you for salary, somebody says because you didn't sell a phone on easy buy, you won't get paid.

Interestingly, they never specifically stated that out of the 15points, 1.5point must come from fone. At least one phone.

Now like I asked others, if you sell two phones, the point is 3. But you won't get paid a salary.

But if you sell 5-15point, you are supposed to be paid you salary.

Should workers salaries be used to okay Teley teley?

On this, they didn't indicate that phones must be a part of the 15point you sell.

It is a new policy they just came up with. What agents normally sell is solar systems. They now bring in the phone business , for themselves and the phones in question are not solar phones.

Some agent are already saying they will sue.