> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.allwage.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.allwage.com/modules/councils.md).

# Councils

Many South African employers are required to belong to a **bargaining council** for their industry. Each council sets its own rules for how workers are classified, what the employer and employee must contribute each month, and what has to be submitted to the council — often on a strict monthly deadline.

Compiling these submissions by hand is slow and error-prone. AllWage brings the whole process into one place: you tell the system which council your company belongs to, capture the council-specific details for your employees, and generate the exact submission your council expects — ready to file.

## What a council setup looks like

Every council in AllWage follows the same four steps, even though the details of each council are different:

1. **Enable the council for your company** — turn on the council and capture your company's registration details with that council. See [Enabling a Council for a Company](/modules/councils/enabling-a-council.md).
2. **Enrol your employees** — capture the council-specific details for each employee, such as their membership number and skill grade. See [Enrolling Employees](/modules/councils/enrolling-employees.md).
3. **Run your payroll as usual** — depending on the council, your council deductions and contributions are picked up from your pay run.
4. **Generate and file the monthly submission** — review the figures, produce the file or report your council requires, and mark it as submitted once you've filed it. See [Council Reports & Submissions](/modules/councils/reports-and-submissions.md).

Because councils touch both **time & attendance** (shifts worked) and **payroll** (contributions and levies), the Councils area brings these together rather than living inside a single module.

## Councils currently supported

AllWage adds councils one at a time.

**Available now:**

* [BIBC — Building Industry Bargaining Council](/modules/councils/bibc.md) (Western Cape building industry)

**Coming soon:**

* MIBFA / MEIBC — Metal and Engineering Industries

{% hint style="info" %}
Only councils your company is enrolled in appear when configuring employees and generating submissions. If you belong to a council that isn't listed yet, please [contact support](/fundamentals/support-channels.md) — we're expanding council support over time.
{% endhint %}

## Before you start

An employee can belong to **one council at a time**, and their council details are tied to their current active period at your company. Make sure your employees are set up with an open active period before you enrol them in a council.


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://help.allwage.com/modules/councils.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.