[Article] New rules for temp contracts

[Houses4Rent]

Small businesses have won a small reprieve from new provisions in the Labour Relations Amendment Act that will make it obligatory for employers to convert temporary employees into permanent workers after three consecutive months of service.

Businesses that have been operating for less than two years with under 50 employees and employers with fewer than 10 employees, regardless of how long they have been operating, have been exempted from the new provisions, contained in the act which President Jacob Zuma signed into law on 18 August........

More here:

http://www.smallbusinessconnect.co.za/news/new-rules-temp-contracts.html?utm_source=Small+Business+Connect+Newsletter&utm_campaign=4278a5dcc6-SBC+Newsletter+13&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6e05edf83f-4278a5dcc6-122023421&mc_cid=4278a5dcc6&mc_eid=31b6711592

[Greig Whitton]

The reprieve for SMEs is certainly not insignificant, but it is overshadowed by a greater challenge: managing the complexity that the amended Labour Relations Act introduces. All employers, regardless of size, will need to:

1. Clarify which of their employees are permanently employed and which are not.
2. Clarify which of their non-permanent employees are deemed to be "temporary", "part time", or "fixed term" employees (as defined by the Act).
3. Familiarise themselves with the rules specific to each of these applicable categories (e.g. deemed permanent employment).
4. Familarise themselves with the exemption criteria for each of these rules (e.g. when deemed permanent employment does not apply).
5. Monitor their compliance with these exemption criteria (e.g. when you employ your 10th employee, the deemed employment rule may kick in).

Multiple employment categories, subject to multiple rules, contingent on multiple criteria. The complexity is sheer madness, and I fear that many small business owners simply won't have the administrative capacity to cope.