Human Resources Consulting
We provide specialist Human Resources Consulting advice and services to your business to maximise the efficient operation and implementation of your human resources and the company policies and procedures.
Employment Contract
Section 29 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997, requires of an employer to supply an employee with specific information upon the commencement of employment. The relevant section lists several such items of information.
It is however best practice to further add those terms and conditions of employment which the employer and the employee may deem relevant to the employment relationship. These then usually becomes contractual terms, which is agreed to between the employer and the employee.
It is problematic for an employer to simply take another employer’s contract and adopt it as its own. Please have a look at the starter packs available on this website.
Human Resource Management
In the authoritative book Human Resource Management, 2008 authored by Nel and others Peter Drucker (1979:14) is quoted as defining human resource management as “A discipline, but management is also people”. The authors further states that Human Resource Management takes place within a structured organisational setting, usually the workplace. It consists of prescribed work roles and is directed towards the attainment of aims and objectives, achieving it through the efforts of other people. It uses systems and procedures.
This definition is academic but reflects on the generality of the field of study. The Drucker definition emphasises the importance of people and that is essentially what this field of study is focussed on, specifically people in the place of work.
Retrenchment
This concept is introduced by Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995. The heading of this section in the Act is named “Dismissals based on operational requirements”, which is essentially what retrenchments are about. The section details what steps an employer is expected to take when it is considered to dismiss any employee based on reasons related to the operations of the business.
This process is technical in nature and requires expert support in ensuring that the rights of both the employer and the employees are protected.
Performance Management
The employer uses a process of performance management to ensure that the objectives set by the employer for its employees, are achieved.
The process of performance management consists of planning the work, training, and developing the employees to perform the required tasks, measuring and evaluating the work performed. The process is concluded by providing feedback to the employees concerned. The element which should be added is also the measuring and evaluating of organisational performance. The underlying principle is that a relationship exists between the performance of the employees and the performance of the organisation.
The process described above is not complex per se however, it has the potential to expose many areas in an organisation which requires attention. For example, if job descriptions are not in place or updated, measuring performance becomes very complicated.
Labour Law
The labour law in South Africa is an extensive field of study! South Africa has several laws related to the workplace. These relates to conditions of employment, skills development, labour relations, employment equity and occupational health and safety.
It is imperative for employers to become familiar with the relevant laws applicable to their workplace.
Laboria-Fix conducts an audit to determine compliance with the most relevant legislation and will provide advice on how to correct the shortcomings identified.
Human Resources Department
The human resources department, normally referred to as HR, may be referred to as human capital management. The human resources department normally consist of sections related to:
- Organisational design and development.
- Recruitment and selection.
- Human resources administration, including the payroll.
- Employee health and wellness.
- Labour relations management.
The human resources department are either outsourced to service providers like Laboria-Fix or it is performed internally.
The size of the workforce is one of the factors which determines how best the human resources department should be structured.