Chapter 19 – Remuneration and Deductions The amended Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) – which became effective on 1 September 2014 – requires employers to pay employees their salaries or wages timeously. The amended section 55 (4)(b) of the BCEA allows the Minister of Labour to decide the minimum wages and minimum pay raises […]
Chapter 18 – Working Conditions Generally, and with few exceptions, employers may not require or allow employees to work more than 45 normal hours per week. With very few exceptions, any time worked more than these hours must be paid on an overtime basis. However, even if overtime rates are paid, employees may not work more […]
Chapter 17 – Health and Safety The employer should not be looking after the health and safety of its employees simply because of statutory requirements. By law, all employers are required to ensure they institute health and safety policies and procedures for the workplace. An employer must ensure that the policies sufficiently protect their employees […]
Chapter 16 – Trade Union Recognition Due to the dislike and fear of trade unions that many employers hold – employers often choose to deal with approaches for union recognition by sticking their heads in the proverbial sand. Rather than confronting the matter in a direct and practical manner, many employers hope the problem will simply […]
Chapter 15 – Managing Industrial Relations Often, when it comes to managing industrial relations, people in managerial positions (ranging from line management right up to the executive level) end up in difficult situations with employees because they do not follow the correct procedures and become emotional and behave in an excessively autocratic manner. They confuse […]
Chapter 14 – Grievance Handling When it comes to workplace grievances, there is no set formula for handling them. However, there are some basic principles that can be applied in all circumstances. Importantly through is that all employee grievances received by management must be thoroughly, effectively and swiftly dealt with, regardless of whether the manager […]
Chapter 13 – Conflict Management and Industrial Action Any conflict or disputes between staff members must always be handled carefully and professionally. This is most important in order to avoid workplace conflict and service disruption on the one hand –and to ensure legal compliance on the other hand. In order to achieve this delicate balance, […]
Chapter 12- Correction of Poor Performance When an employee is performing badly (or underperforming), it is the employer’s job to investigate the reason for this poor performance. It is unlawful to act against a poor performer because of poor management practice and before any action is taken against the employee, the true facts must support […]
Chapter 11 – Performance Management A cornerstone of performance management is to eensure that all those involved with managing employee performance, understand that the practical and legal purpose of performance appraisal is to serve as a performance management tool. To do this correctly one a manager must identify the areas where the employee is preforming […]
Chapter 24 – Payment for Sunday and Public Holiday When it comes to public holidays, employers are required to pay all employees a day’s pay for these public holidays, even if these employees are not working on the day. It’s also important to remember that, if an employee who is earning below the BCEA threshold works […]
