Human Capital

Human Capital

Disciplinary Hearings: When should external counsel be permitted?

Ivan Israelstam

Item 4 of the Code of Good Practice: Dismissal (The Code) contained in Schedule 8 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) states that, when an enquiry is held into an employee’s alleged misconduct “The employee should be allowed …… the assistance of a trade union representative or fellow employee.”

It is on this basis that employers allow the accused to be represented by someone from inside the organisation. Employers have, on the other hand, normally disallowed external legal representatives to represent accused employees at disciplinary hearings.

In the case of MEC: Department of Finance, Economic Affairs and Tourism: Northern Province vs Schoon Godwilly Mahumani (Case number 478/03 SCA. Report by Dr Elize Strydom distributed 30 January 2005) the employee was refused the right to an external legal representative.
The employee went to the High Court to dispute this ruling. The court found that the ruling of the presiding officer of the disciplinary […]

2017-12-26T10:33:39+02:00December 26th, 2017|Human Capital, Recources, Syllabus Topics|
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Health and Safety

Health and Safety:

The incident investigation should basically answer the following six key questions

  1. Who
  • was injured?
  • saw the incident? (Injury)
  • was working with him/her?
  • had instructed, trained, assigned the affected person/
  • else was involved?
  • Can help prevent the re-occurrence?

 

  1. What
  • was the incident?
  • was the injury/illness?
  • was being done at time of injury or incident?
  • were they told to do so?
  • tools were being used?
  • machinery was involved?
  • operation was being performed?
  • instruction had been given?
  • precautions were given?
  • precautions were necessary?
  • PPE was used or should have been used?
  • did other do to contribute to the incident?
  • problems or questions was encountered?
  • did the employee and others do after the incident?
  • did witnesses see?
  • will be done to prevent re-occurrences.
  • safety rules or procedures were violated?
  • safety rules or procedures were lacking?
  • safety rules or procedures were needed?
  • additional training should be included?

 

  1. When […]
2017-06-23T15:55:18+02:00June 23rd, 2017|Human Capital, Investment and insurance, Recources, Syllabus Topics|
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CCMA

Steps for referring Disputes at the CCMA

Provided by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) 

Step 1: If you have a labour problem, it is very important that you take steps immediately. In the case of an unfair dismissal dispute, you have only 30 days from the date on which the dispute arose to open a case. With discrimination cases, you have six months.

Step 2: If you have decided to lodge a dispute, you need to complete a CCMA case referral form, also known as a LRA Form 7.11. These forms are available from the CCMA offices, DOL offices and the CCMA website. (http://www.ccma.org.za).

Step 3: Once you have completed the form, you need to ensure that a copy is delivered to the other party. You must be able to prove that they received a copy. Acceptable methods include faxing a copy (keep the fax transmission slip), sending it by registered mail […]

2017-06-23T15:51:42+02:00June 23rd, 2017|Conflict management, Human Capital, Recources, Syllabus Topics|
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Sexual harassment

Employers must be very careful to take steps to know what their liability is towards their employees.

One of the employer’s liabilities is to provide a safe and healthy working environment for the employees.

This does not only mean a safe environment in terms of bodily injury or accidents – it also means a safe environment in terms of other things like sexual harassment.

Employers must take steps to protect their employees against such happenings in the workplace.

In Media 24 Ltd & another v Grobler [2005] 7 BALLR 649 (SCA), an employee had been sexually harassed by a junior manager over a period of five months.

At the time that the alleged sexual harassment took place, the complainant was a 33-year-old secretary employed by the employer. The accused was at that time a trainee manager employed by the employer.

It was alleged by the complainant that the employer had failed to address the issue, despite her requests […]

2017-06-23T15:50:29+02:00June 23rd, 2017|Ethics, Human Capital, Recources, Syllabus Topics|
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Rewarding non-striking employees?

Rewarding non-striking employees?

By Hugo Pienaar, Director, Prinoleen Naidoo, Associate, Employment practice, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr

 A discussion of National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa obo Members v Element Six Production (Pty) Ltd(JS1106/14) [2017] ZALCJHB 35 (7 February 2017).

The Industrial Court under the old Labour Relations Act, No 28 of 1956 (1956 LRA) did not prohibit employers from rewarding non-striking employees for not participating in a legal strike.

The drafters and subsequent amenders of the current Labour Relations Act, No 66 of 1995, (the LRA) did not take up the opportunity to expressly prohibit the payment of “tokens” to non-striking employees.

The Labour Court recently had an opportunity to determine when “tokens” of appreciation may be paid to non-striking employees in the case of National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa obo Members v Element Six Production (Pty) Ltd. 

The employer, in that case, paid a “token” to some of its non-striking employees who had performed additional tasks during the […]

2017-06-23T15:49:00+02:00June 23rd, 2017|Human Capital, Recources, Syllabus Topics|
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Abusing sick leave

40% of South Africans planning on “pulling a sickie” in June or July – survey

14 June 2017 2:59 PM

Unlike high school, adults don’t always strive for a hundred percent attendance award in the workplace.

Even without a life threatening illness, some employees are known to fake health ailments and will come up with any excuse under the sun to stay away from the office for a day or two.

Pharma Dynamics polled 1 500 workers across South Africa to find out how people were gearing up for the colds and flu season. The study also highlighted participants excuses for calling in sick.

Less than a third (30%) does so telephonically (probably as a result of strict company policy) and 7% informs work of their absenteeism via email.

Talk Radio 702 host, Azania Mosaka asked her listeners what their most popular excuses were for missing work and on which days they were likely to […]

2017-06-23T15:45:46+02:00June 23rd, 2017|Human Capital, Recources, Syllabus Topics|
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How much your business could be fined for not following SA’s BEE laws

Thanks to Carolyn Clelland from Grace College in Hilton for sharing this article

Labour minister Mildred Oliphant recently indicated that she would be looking at actively enforcing and increasing the punishments for non BEE-compliant companies, following the release of the Employment Equity (EE) Annual Report on 10 May 2017.

According to the report, which was based on 26,255 employment equity reports from companies across the country, 68% of management positions are still held by white employees, while African employees occupy only 14.4% of managerial posts in South Africa.

The report also found that white South Africans occupy 72% of the positions in the private sector, while black South Africans occupy 73.2% in the public sector at senior management level.

“It is this state of affairs that leaves us with no option, but to consider, drafting-in harsher consequences for non-compliance. It’s time to ‘up the ante’ and this may include promulgating the ‘stick’ sections of […]

2017-05-30T19:37:20+02:00May 30th, 2017|Human Capital, Recources|
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