Johannesburg -
Omphile*, a Joburg teacher, often gets deductions on his payslip that he can’t explain.
When he makes enquiries at the human resources department of the Joburg East District, under which the school where he teaches falls, he’s told “we’re investigating.”
The “investigation” has been going on since 2012 and Omphile is still no closer to figuring out what’s happening with his money.
His woes started in January 2012, when his salary for that month didn’t come through.
He’d resigned from his previous school in September 2011 and was employed at another one in January 2012.
When the January salary didn’t come through, the principal at his new school went to the district office to find out what was wrong.
“They told him I must go to (my former) school to fetch my payslip as I’m still on their payroll. I was surprised because there was no money in my account and I hadn’t changed bank accounts,” Omphile said.
According to the district’s records, Omphile quit his former school in September but was re-employed by the same school the following month and continued receiving a salary.
To demonstrate that it was not his account that the money was paid into, Omphile showed the districts his bank statements from the three months following his resignation.
“The people in the finance department at the district were surprised because, according to their records, I never stopped working. Actually my salary never stopped,” he said.
When the payslip was scrutinised, it was discovered that all the personal details - names, ID number, date of appointment - were all Omphile’s. The only thing that was different was the account number.
“They also discovered that the person the account number belongs to works at the school,” he said. Omphile said he was advised that in order for him to get his January salary, he had to fill in another resignation form, which he did, and his salary was restored.
He received his salary without any trouble in the following months. However, in April, his payslip showed a R2 600 deduction by the department.
When he asked about this, he was told that the department was recovering its money because he had been overpaid.
He was told he owed R16 000.
Omphile approached his union for assistance and the matter was eventually resolved. “They paid me back, but it was taxed, so I didn’t get the whole amount,” he said.
After the whole debacle, Omphile laid a complaint with the district office. He received an acknowledgement from the district director on August 14, 2012 and was told that the case would be investigated by the head office - the Gauteng Department of Education.
The director said Omphile would be told the outcome of the investigation once it had been concluded. That was the last he heard of it.
Omphile said his problem now was that he keeps getting deductions on his salary that he cannot explain. He suspects his personal details are being used fraudulently. - The Star
*Not his real name