Section 49A: Gratuity at death

49A. Gratuity at death (1) Where a worker who has been in continuous employment with the same employer for a period of not less than 12 months dies, that employer shall pay a gratuity— (a) to the spouse of the deceased worker; or (b) where there is no surviving spouse, to the dependants of the deceased worker in equal proportion, irrespective of any benefits the spouse or dependants may be entitled to under the National Pensions Act or any other enactment. (2) Subject to section 49 (3), (4) and (5), the gratuity referred in subsection (1) shall be calculated in accordance with section 49 (2). (3) In this section — “dependant”, in relation to a deceased worker, means any person who was living in the worker's household and was wholly or partly dependent on the earnings of the worker at the time of that worker’s death; “spouse”, in relation to a worker, means the person with whom the worker has contracted a civil or religious marriage and with whom the worker was living under a common roof at the time of that worker’s death. [S. 49A inserted by s. 28 of Act 6 of 2013 w.e.f. 11 June 2013.]