Section 78 of the Employment Act (Chapter 373) fixes how long an employer may hold wages before paying them. Section 79 fixes the day the wage clock starts.
Section 78 — the maximum intervals
| Employee | Payment | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| Casual | A day’s wages at the completion of each day’s employment | s 78(1) |
| Piece-rate | In proportion to work performed, at intervals of not longer than two weeks or on completion of the work, whichever is earlier | s 78(2) |
| Piece-rate, by mutual agreement | Longer than a fortnight but not longer than one month | s 78(3) |
| All others | Intervals of not longer than two weeks; or by agreement, not longer than one month | s 78(4) |
| Any employee issued food rations | Intervals of not longer than one month | s 78(5) |
For everyone other than a casual, two weeks is the maximum unless there is an agreement for monthly payment. Monthly is not the employer’s choice to make alone.
Section 78(1) is unqualified: a day’s wages at the completion of each day’s employment. Holding a casual’s pay to a weekly or fortnightly cycle does not comply. Note also that a casual employed more than six days in a month by the same employer is deemed an oral contract employee under section 10(1), and moves onto the section 78(4) footing.
Why the wage period also fixes the contract period
Notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary, an oral contract of service shall be deemed to be for the period by reference to which wages are paid.
So for the great majority of workers — those on oral contracts — the pay cycle chosen under section 78 also determines the length of the contract, and therefore how section 17 operates: at the end of each period the contract is deemed renewed on the same terms unless notice has expired, payment in lieu has been made, or it has been summarily terminated for lawful cause.
Section 79 — the date from which wages commence
| Contract | Wages commence |
|---|---|
| Attested | On or from the day the contract is attested |
| Written, not attested | Unless mutually agreed — on and from the date the contract is signed |
| Oral | Unless otherwise mutually agreed — on and from the date the employee commences duty at the place of employment |
| In any case | No later than the day on or from which the employee commences duty |
That day shall be regarded as a full day for the purpose of calculating wages.
Paragraph (d) is the backstop, and it is the one to rely on: whatever the paperwork says, wages cannot commence later than the day duty began. That aligns with section 22(3), under which the contract period cannot be deemed to have commenced later than the day the employee commenced duty.
A day spent working at the employer’s direction is a day of duty. Section 79(d) makes it a full day for wage calculation. An unpaid trial shift, an unpaid induction, or an unpaid first week “while the paperwork is done” is not consistent with section 79 — and, if made a term of the engagement, is void under section 11(4) as less favourable than the Act.
If payment is late
Late payment is not merely a contractual breach. Under section 96, a person who employs or continues in employment an employee without the intention of paying, or without reasonable grounds for believing he will be able to pay, the wages as they become due — or who without reasonable excuse fails on demand to pay wages due under Part V — is guilty of an offence, with a fine up to K500.00.
Two further provisions matter when an employer is in difficulty:
- Section 93(1) — wages due to an employee up to four months’ wages have priority over all other debts of the employer.
- Section 146 — the State may incur expense on the employer’s account, which becomes a debt to the State and a first charge on the employer’s estate, subject to that wage priority.
See what to do if wages are not paid.
Other timing rules in Part V
- Section 80 — wages shall be paid on work days during working hours at or near the place of employment.
- Section 55 — overtime, stand-by and call-out must be paid no later than seven days after the next normal pay day, or on termination, whichever comes first.
- Section 62(b) — recreation leave pay must be paid before the leave starts.
- Section 89 — deductions for a provident, medical or pension fund must be paid over as soon as practicable to the fund entitled to receive them.
- Section 90(1) — deferred wages must be paid on request, with a labour officer’s approval.
Sources
- Employment Act (Chapter 373) — ss 10, 11, 16, 17, 22, 55, 62, 78–80, 89, 90, 93, 96, 146
- Industrial Relations Act — PacLII 1986 Revised Edition
- Bar v Kora [2008] PGNC 17; N3290
- Mamugoba v New Britain Palm Oil Ltd [2024] PGNC 419; N11082
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the Employment Act (Chapter 373) and check for later amendments. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.