Emmanuel Sackey, Legal Services Manager of Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), has indicated that employers who employ house helps and fail to pay their pension contributions could face a jail term or a fine.
According to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust legal service manager, it is compulsory to pay social security contribution of workers in formal employment, and as such, “employers of house helps must pay social security for them.”
Mr. Sackey thus, delved into the legality, noting that payment of SSNIT for house helps is in accordance with section 64 of the Pensions Act, which stated that “employers who fail to pay the SSNIT contribution for their workers are liable to a jail term of 5 years or a fine of GH¢2,000.”
According to him, this is in line with section 64 of the Pensions Act which makes it compulsory for every formal employer to pay Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) contributions for their employees.
“It is not voluntary, it is compulsory.”
No Justification For Not Paying SSNIT
Adding to this, the Acting Public Affairs Manager of SSNIT, Charles Akwei Garshong, explained that there is no justification for employers who are currently not paying SSNIT for their worker. He thus, called on all employers who do not pay their employees SSNIT contributions “to do so as soon as possible.”
“You’re under obligation to register and pay that person you have engaged as a house help. You have engaged that person for service and you are paying him/her directly or indirectly. So, you’ll need to get to our office, let’s sit down and agree on how the payment is going to be made”.
Charles Akwei Garshong
Mr. Akwei Garshong, however, added that although SSNIT is currently not going round to check whether private agencies and households were paying the contribution, employers who are found not to, will be dealt with by the law.
“Probably for now, you would say no one will come to your home and check, but when we get to know, we’ll come after you with court summons.”
Charles Akwei Garshong
Mr. Sackey and Mr. Akwei Garshong both reiterated that SSNIT takes no pleasure in taking legal actions against defaulting employers. Hence, all employers should comply with the rules and pay the deserved SSNIT contributions for their workers.
Mr. Akwei Garshong further called on employees to boldly report employers who do not pay their contributions to the SSNIT authorities for actions to be taken against them.
Recently, the Tema White House Magistrate Court convicted five employers to fines ranging between 10 and 25 penalty units or 21 days imprisonment for their refusal to pay the social security contributions of their workers. They were found guilty of contravening the Pension Act 766 of 2008 and defaulting in the payment of workers contributions.
In a separate incidence, the Director of Royal Preparatory School at Osu in Accra, J.B Ashong, has also been sentenced to three-month imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court for his failure to pay GH¢20,885.64 being the Social Security contributions of his workers.
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