SOME 62% of 583 consultants
said they were required to do
after-hours duty. This number
excludes managers who also do
some consulting. This is according
to TNW’s survey of employment
conditions in the travel industry in
which 981 agents participated.
Where consultants are required
to do after-hours duty, most aren’t
compensated. Only 27% receive
payment and 19% get compensatory
time off.
What you said about after-hours duty
Whoever is on duty gets to keep
the commission they get from the
services they provide.
Some situations require you to
put in extra time because we
work in a service industry and
my clients will always come first,
regardless of the time.
Being an ITC this does not
really apply as we only work on
commission i.e. no basic and
all expenses are for ourselves.
We are expected to answer
our cellphone after normal
hours 24/7.
There is an after-hours roster,
whereby we are paid R1 500
for the week (on duty about
2-3 times a year).
We get half the service fee
charged for after hours.
Time off and paid.
Being on call after hours is part
of a travel agent’s job. It tends to
come with the industry.
R250 per booking if any afterhours
call requires a car, flight
transfer or change of flight.
We are given a half day in lieu
of working on a Saturday, but
we never get to take them. We
are given R600 for working on a
public holiday.
Checkers vouchers.
Time off in lieu of payment.
We are paid R500 for the week
of being on duty for after hours.
The after-hours fee charged to
clients gets paid to us.
I get paid R2 000 for working
from 17h00 to 08h00 next day
from Monday to Sunday.
I get one day off for every week
on standby.
If we are required to work after
hours, we can only claim overtime
if we work more than a certain
amount of hours for the day.
Senior staff do the most after-hours
duty. Whereas only 43% of new
entrants are required to work after
hours, this percentage rises to 72%
for staff with more than 20 years’
experience.
Only consultants with at least five
years in the industry are likely to
receive a cash incentive or bonus of
some sort.
Whereas only 12% of consultants
with less than two years’ experience
get an incentive of R5 000 or more,
this rises to 33% for consultants
with more than 20 years’
experience.
