As an employer, it is thought that protection for yourself and your company from your employees is not particularly necessary, or a focal point of South African labour laws, as you are deemed to be in the position of advantage and power.
However, there are times where this is not the case and an employee who turns to the CCMA for any reason relating to their employment can render yourself and your company at threat, especially smaller businesses.
However, there are steps available to you in order to protect yourself from any unnecessary trips to the CCMA, and one of those is ensuring the correct employment contract is implemented when taking on any new staff.
Regardless of what service or industry your company is involved in, there are certain times where you would be up to your ears in work and delegation is your only option. Some companies find themselves in need of extra hands for short periods, others simply cannot afford to maintain their current staff complement, and the looming threat of the CCMA can make your decision to terminate any current employment contracts or the take-on of new staff a task not worth embarking upon.
Thus, it is important to determine which contracts of employment would be best suited for you and your new or current staff.
As we all know, the employment relationship between yourself and your staff can be terminated in a number of ways.
One being the employee’s resignation in writing and with the necessary notice period adhered to, which would be stipulated in the employment contract, or if your contract does not cover such an occurrence then a period of one week if the employee has been employed for six months or less, two weeks if employed for more than six months and less than one year and four weeks if employed for more than one year (this category includes domestic workers and farm workers employed for more than six months).
Besides your staff leaving your employ, as an employer who only requires extra hands for a certain task or period, a fixed-term contract would best suit your needs and provide the employee with knowledge of the duration of their employment. This contract will automatically come to an end when the period agreed upon expires or the task agreed upon has been completed.
As an employer who might need to dismiss an employee, this is a delicate situation that can only be done under certain circumstances, ensuring there are reasons therefore and by following the correct procedure. In such a circumstance you, as the employer, must give your employee notice of their termination, unless your employee has committed a serious breach of the contract. Your employee is entitled to be heard on this termination.
Employers appear to be in the position of power and wealth in the eyes of the South African labour law, which in some circumstances is the truth; however, in some cases receiving that dreaded email stating your presence is required at the CCMA can rattle the foundation of a small business or even strike fear into large corporations.
For more information on this topic, you are welcome to contact our offices on 011 897 1900 or at info@tuckers.co.za
Article contributed by Chardonnay van Jaarsveld.
