School-leavers would gain more employment if SA labour law was amended
January 21, 2012 · 0 Comments
Businesses have long been calling for amendments to the labour legislation to assist in the recruitment and dismissal of workers. According to Johan Botes, Director in Employment at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr business law firm, a critical re-think of South African employment law might assist in motivating (especially small) businesses to reconsider their reluctance in employing inexperienced job applicants.
“Presently, employees who are incapable of performing can only be dismissed from employment after the employer had determined that (1) the employee failed to meet the required work standard, (2) the employee was aware of the standard, (3) the employee was afforded sufficient opportunity to meet the standard and (4) dismissal is the appropriate sanction. This process is not always clearly understood by employers frustrated by an employee that is clearly not able to do the work,” Botes explains.
According to a labour survey conducted by the Institute of Race Relations, fifty-one percent of South Africans between 15 and 24 are unemployed.
The legislature brought some relief to employers in 2002 when introducing a lower threshold against which employers are tested should they dismiss a probationary employee for poor performance ( Schedule 8, Item 8 to the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995).
Botes notes that if the intention is truly to get businesses to act as institutions of learning, where on-the-job training is provided to workers fresh from school, university or colleges, a relaxation of the strict rules against dismissal for poor performance for first-time job seekers may be the way to go.
“Employers are often reluctant to grow their business where such growth requires the hiring of new staff. One of the reasons for this is that it is difficult for the average employer to dismiss staff who is thought to be capable of doing the work required, but could then not come to grips with the work once employed.
“If employers are able to readily terminate the service of new recruits who lack the necessary experience, they may be more inclined to give such youngsters a chance in the first place.
Botes thinks that employers and needy job seekers may both be pleasantly surprised by the results.
“If an employer knows that it can terminate the services of a new job-seeker at will or whilst being tested against for reasons that are automatically unfair only, the employer may decide to provide employment to a larger group of staff than those actually required, knowing that it can retain the best of them after a short trial period.
“While the rest of the workers who were not the best at the tasks may then fail to remain employed with the same employer, they would have gained invaluable experience which may assist them greatly in obtaining further employment. The difficulty in getting that into the employment market presents a huge obstacle to our goals of meaningfully reducing unemployment.”
He adds, “The current high hurdles laying in the path of employers before being able to dismiss employees for incapacity due to poor performance has not incentivised employers to become institutions of on-the-job training. A different approach is needed if business is expected to actively assist in addressing our skills shortage.”
- Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr is one of the largest commercial law firms in South Africa with some 115 directors/partners and 250 qualified lawyers located at offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Political Risk
Egypt reaching financial crisis as protests continue
Protests mirroring the 18 day long period before former Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak’s departure, were reignited in Egypt on 18 November at Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt. Clashes between police and protesters have so far resulted in as many as 12 deaths and several hundred people, as many as 1,500 have been ...
Be the first to comment on this story
Credit Rating Agency Moody’s lowers South Africa’s political outlook
Last week Moody’s lowered South Africa’s credit-rating perspective from balanced to negative. Increased public spending demand as well as an amplified political risk was cited as primary reasons for the downgrade. The main concern is that societal and political strain is building up at a time when economic growth is dropping to ...
Nigeria: Globacom, Sterling Bank offices sealed in Kano
The Kano State Board of Internal Revenue has sealed the offices of Sterling Bank Plc and Globacom for defaulting to remit taxes. The Globacom office was closed for its failure to pay N68,652,000 owed in taxes to the Kano State government from 2004-2006. Sterling Bank Plc also owed N29,210,308. 26. The Executive ...
Ghana: World class Tullow oils the wheels of the economy
Although Tullow Oil plc first arrived in Ghana in 2007, the company had been operating for 26 years, starting its first operations in Senegal. Earlier this year, Tullow celebrated its 25th anniversary. The company’s founder and Chief Executive, Aiden Heavey, had the idea, in the 1980s, of venturing into the oil and ...
International Relations
Why is Nigeria unable to shake off Boko Haram’s Islamist threat?
Islamist fundamentalist group, Boko Haram’s terrorist activity and violence which continues unabated in Nigeria is said to be the worst that the country has experienced since the 1960 civil war. Why is Nigeria unable to shake off Boko Haram’s Islamist threat? The threat posed by Boko Haram is historically, a fairly new ...
International Relations in Southern Africa: An African Agenda?
There seems to be some level of agreement among African political observers that Africa’s contribution to International Relations is relegated to the periphery. Basic research reveals that realism and institutionalism have been the major contributing theories within the sphere of International Relations. Smith and Holsti (1990) suggest that realism considers International Relations ...
What are the prospects for sustainable peace between Sudan and South Sudan?
The much celebrated splitting of Sudan was supposed to create lasting peace between the two Sudans. Almost a year later the violence seems to have exceeded pre-secession levels, with bombings in the past week being the worst the two countries have experienced in the last five years. What are the prospects for ...
UN Security Council calls for more AU peacekeepers in Somalia
The UN Security Council on Wednesday called on the African Union (AU) to increase the strength of its peacekeeping force in Somalia (AMISOM) by almost 50 per cent to address the growing threat from piracy and other criminal activities in the country. In a unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-member body requested AMISOM ...
Minister Dlamini-Zuma – Candidacy for Chairperson of the AU Commission – A wake up call for South Africa
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the current Minister of Home Affairs of the Republic of South Africa, also holds current positions as a member of the African National Congress (ANC), National Executive Committee (NEC) and National Working Committee (NWC), Member of the ANC’s Women’s League National Executive Committee, a member of the Socialist International Commission ...
France to help Nigeria fight Boko Haram terrorists
Boko Haram, France weighs in France will help the Nigerian authorities fight terrorist actions of the Boko Haram Islamist sect, the spokesman of the French ministry of foreign affairs, Bernard Valero, said on Tuesday. Speaking at a news briefing in Paris, he said his country would hold discussions with Nigeria to identify ...
Eritrea sanctions expanded by United Nations Security Council
Eritrea sanctions woes continue Eritrea sanctions woes continues on Tuesday after the UN Security Council slammed additional sanctions on Eritrea for continuing to provide support to armed groups seeking to destabilize Somalia and other parts of the Horn of Africa, building on the arms and travel embargoes it imposed exactly two years ago. ...
Sudan-Kenya: Sudan drops bid to ban Kenyan flights, restores ties with Kenya
Kenya’s Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said Friday that the Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir has lifted his orders barring all flights from the Kenyan airspace from entering Sudan after a Kenyan court ruling ordered the arrest of the Sudanese leader should he set foot in Kenya. Wetangula, who arrived back in Nairobi after ...
Liberia: ECOWAS reacts to CDC’s threat to boycott presidential run-off
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission has expressed deep concern at the decision of the Winston Tubman-led Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), the main opposition party in Liberia, to pull out of the country’s November 8 presidential run-off election, if the Chairman of the Electoral Commission, James Fromayan, is ...
Nato winding down Libya mission
Brussels – Nato plans to end its seven-month air and sea mission in Libya on October 31, Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Friday. “Our operations are close to completion,” Rasmussen said after lengthy talks with ambassadors from the 28-member alliance. There is “a preliminary agreement on the 31st of October.”. ...