The Tendering Process in South Africa
A tender refers to the process whereby governments invites bids for large projects that must be submitted within a prescribed deadline. During this process, an offer, bid, proposal or expressing interest in response to an invitation are made. It is important for all potential bidders to familiarize themselves with the tender process and principles in South Africa. The process includes attending briefing sessions, reading the whole tender document, ensure you take note of the closing date and...
New Assessment Model for Compensation Fund
On 16 October 2018, the South African Department of Labour issued Government Notice No. 1105 regarding the implementation of the Compensation Fund’s New Assessment Model. Currently, the Compensation Fund assess employers on the basis of the industry they operate in and are assigned a specific assessment class for the basis of determining their liability to the fund. The existing 102 subclasses will be mapped into 6 new main classes. The Compensation Fund is of the opinion that the new...
Employer’s guide to Unemployment Insurance Fund
Employers are of the view that registration at the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) is voluntary and are usually faced with interest and penalties payable by them for non-compliance or non-payment. The purpose of the fund is to give short-term relief to employees or their dependents when they become unemployed or are unable to work for a certain period. Who must register? All employers must register directly with the UIF unless they are required to register as employers under the Income Tax...
What to keep in mind when suspending an employee in anticipation of a hearing
Employers often suspend employees in frustration without following the correct procedure, when the employee commits an act of misconduct. It is important to follow the correct procedure when considering suspending the employee in anticipation of a disciplinary hearing and to only suspend for justifiable reasons as the contrary can result in an unfair labour practice. A suspension can be used in 2 instances. In anticipation of a hearing in which case it should always be a paid suspension. This...
CPA “Calls Out” Call Centers
Continuing advances in technology have allowed consumers more freedom in how they connect, interact and transact. The ripple effect of this means that the gate has been opened to non-consensual information sharing and unsolicited direct marketing to consumers. Direct Marketing is defined as follows: Approaching a person, either in person or by mail or any other electronic means for the direct or indirect purpose of promoting or offering to supply any goods or services to that person....
Everything you need to know about bumping
Bumping is when employee A who is at risk of being retrenched ‘bumps’ employee B out of his/her position and employee B gets retrenched instead. Bumping is utilized to retain senior, valued staff members who opt to move to a more junior position to remain in the companies’ employ. Bumping has 2 forms namely horizontal bumping and vertical bumping. Vertical bumping is when an employee is bumped to a less favourable position whereas horizontal bumping, bumps the employee into a role of similar...
The importance of Preferential Procurement on the B-BBEE Scorecard.
Since the inception of the revised codes, companies have placed more time and resources into their Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) journey. However, after 3 years companies have realised that arguably the most important sub-element of the B-BBEE scorecard is Preferential Procurement, under the Supplier & Enterprise Development element. Previously very little attention was given to this element. However, seeing as this forms part of a priority element and also provides...
4 Things To Keep In Mind For Your Business’s Website
With new age technology these days most businesses use websites to promote their business. Some, just to make it easy for their clients to find them and other as an e-commerce platform. If your company uses its website to conclude transactions you will need to ensure that you pay attention to the requirements set out in the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (ECTA) and the Consumer Protection Act (CPA). Here are a few aspects you can consider: You will need to determine when a...
5 Steps to a failsafe policy implementation
Workplace policies are a specific set of rules or procedures that are followed within a company. These could contain detailed procedures that must be followed when performing daily duties and responsibilities, a health and safety procedure used in the event of an emergency or even a set of general rules that must be complied with, such as a dress code etc. In Shoprite Checkers vs Thokiso the employer introduced a rule that required employees to declare goods that they have in their possession...
What if my employee doesn’t want to sign labour related documents?
Employers often ask questions regarding the guidelines to be followed when employees refuse to acknowledge receipt of any labour related document. A labour related document can be regarded as contracts of employment, disciplinary code, company rules and policies, disciplinary procedure documents, retrenchment documents, incapacity procedure documents etc. The most common practices will be discussed below: Contracts of employment In normal circumstances, a contract of employment should be...