Absconding Deserting Employees

[NIRE]

Thank you so much.

First for all those who don't know your policies and procedures are accepted in CCMA and Court as the "laws" and "Contractual agreed obligations" it takes away the grey and you only left to deal with the black and white. Take the time to put them in place and to maintain them, because they useless until that one moment they save you allot of time and allot of money.

First question how to do a policy and procedure?

The easy way is to split the two words “policy� and “procedure�. Start with policy what is it that you want to do, list it as you would like it (forget about everything ells including the law). Then focus on procedure, how you want to do it.

This leaves you with what you want and how you want it. Don’t limit yourself with what you think you can and can’t do, list it all as though there isn’t anything to hold you back.

Now go to the labour relations act, the basic conditions of employment act and the Health and Safety act. Make sure that your Policy and Procedure does not negate or negatively impact on any specifically mentioned rights or obligations.

After this you go to the Codes of Good Practice and make sure that the procedure part of your policies fall in line with these.

Now you will have what you want and how you want it without limiting yourself, but with the assurance that you are legally compliant.

Allot of people do not realize that your policies dictate the law within your business and can contain anything as long as it is based on the inherent nature and requirements of the business. You can and must stipulate everything you want and need. The only consideration is that it cannot contravene a law or negatively impact on basic human rights or rights under the law.

Second question: Where to find information on CCMA rules and Codes of good Practice especially Disciplinary Procedures?

There is not a specific manual but rather info sheets and Codes.

The CCMA website gives short explanations to specific areas and lists the Codes of good Practice which are the guidelines used to determine cases.

A policy of Disciplinary Procedures is usually compiled from the Labour Relations Act, Basic Conditions of Employment Act and Health and Safety Act as there are a number of gray arias in these acts that require you to choose your preference within their framework.

I always train my clients on these Acts and laws first as this makes it easy to understand what the rules are, once they know these they choose how they would like to run their ship and we compile the procedure.

There are hundreds of Disciplinary Policies and Procedures on the web, the main problem I have with using those is that you miss out on the things you would like (and don’t know you can have). Once you know the facts you can get allot more specific to your business.

It is a bit of a process but the knowledge you gain saves you time and money in the long run.

Thanks again

[insulin]

NIRE > Wonderful.

Your insight is truly commendable. My approach is: keep it simple, ethical and legal.

However the CCMA is a great tool and can be a powerful adversary. Yet I was told that there are other such tools in the form of health and safety inspectors, Industrial inspectors and auditors that can prove both a blessing and a curst depending which side they are on.

Now interestingly enough there are companies that are unaware of these individuals and the entities they represent. Can you perhaps give us a better insight of who these individuals are? I am especially interested in the so-called “Industrial inspectors� No legend has it that this individual can close a factory... is this at all true?

[NIRE]

Hi there

I think the easy way to explain this is that there are four Legal bodies that have powers under the Law to close your business, fine you or make any demands.

One is the Labour Department: This department have divisions that look at all aspects of businesses and make sure that they operate within the legal framework of our country. This Department looks at Labour issues and how employees are paid, treated and the Health and Safety of the working environment. They are allowed to have full inspections but must still operate within their rights by following process when detecting a problem.

Second on the Labour Side will be the CCMA but interestingly they are limited in their application to Dismissal Disputes, Mediation services, Conciliation services, Arbitration services and can also assist with collective bargaining or agreements. Only if your industry has a Bargaining Counsel do they replace the CCMA and some of the Labour Department functions.

The third body addressing more the environmental and Health and Safety aspects of your business is the Health Department and they would obviously be more of a factor in some sectors than others. The Government Gazette is the best place to review their impact on your specific industry.

The forth body is obviously SARS and they address the financial aspect and legislation.

Any of these bodies may inspect and have the rights within their constitutions and the law to issue penalties as applicable.

Any other person must be contracted by one of these bodies in order to legally inspect and enforce. Should you face persons not of these bodies they would probably be consultants and they would need to be hired by you or have your permission to inspect and then may only give recommendation

You may always use one of the legal bodies and should as they will give great assistance, just keep in mind that they do charge on some services when requested to assist as opposed to an inspection initiated by them.

Thanks

[insulin]

@NIRE

Excellent!

Thank you for taking the time to inform us and especially thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I have a better understanding of how the system works and what I need to do to protect myself in the near future. The guidelines and information given here is priceless in its own right and I hope that others will also benefit from these posts.