For more information any of our Training programmes please contact us.

Public Training Seminar Durban

Some Comments from the Delegates:

v  Importance of listening and asking questions

v  Role playing because it brings the work situation into context

v  How to negotiate and the negotiating process

For more information on our Effective Negotiation skills and other Training programmes please contact us.

Manica

For more information on our Modern Management and other Training programmes please contact us.

Khamotso Khalo, Duduzile Tobela, Melanie Govender

Stephen Renou

Andrew Rall, Megan Tapson

Before looking at these certain sections we need to be sure of what is meant by the term “earning in excess of R172 000 per annum”.  Earnings exclude allowances such as subsistence allowances, transport allowances, overtime pay, and achievement awards (?).

Earnings include deductions made by the employer for income tax purposes, pension or provident funds medical aid or any similar deductions.  It also includes an annual bonus and leave pay.

Employees earning over R172 000 per annum, which equates to R14 333 per month are not entitled to receive payment for:

v  Overtime worked over their normal hours of duty

v  Sunday work

v  Public Holiday work

In addition their hours of work are not restricted to a maximum of 45 hours per week, nor are their meal intervals or rest periods prescribed in the BCOEA.

Clearly such an employee may enter into an agreement with his/her employer where these matters are properly dealt with.  In the absence of such an agreement the employee falls under the control of his/her employer where he/she works overtime, or works on a Sunday or public Holiday.

Employers or Employees – Beware!!!!

By: Les Owen

The amendments will also provide more points for those organizations that support enterprise development and procurement from Black owned businesses.

At present businesses with an annual turnover of less then R5 million are automatically regarded as level 4 contributors to BEE.  This R5 million threshold is soon to be reviewed.

In addition, organizations whose annual turnover is between R5 million and R35 million presently have the option of being scored on any 4 of the 7 elements in the scorecard.  Each of the 4 elements is given 25 points.  This option of choosing any 4 will be amended and some of the 7 elements will be made compulsory.  Indications are that the ownership element will probably become compulsory.

Organizations who need more information or assistance in meeting BEE requirements should contact us.  We have assisted many business to improve their BEE status since 2005.

Les Owen

Act 70 of 2002 known as the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-related Information Act covers same aspects as to when an employer may have access to the electronic communication of its employees.

The general rule is that an individual may intercept such communication if he or she is a party to the communication itself or if the information is in the public domain.

In the CCMA Award Sedick and Another / Krisray (Pty) Ltd. [2011] 8 BALR 879 (CCMA), the Operations Manager of the Company had placed disparaging remarks on his Facebook page about the company and its owners.

As a consequence the Operations Manager and another Senior Staff member were dismissed.  They argued the Facebook information was private and consequently they should not have been dismissed.

The Commissioner ruled that Facebook was in the public domain and the comments concerned the company and its owners.  The owners were entitled both to look at the information and to take appropriate action.  The dismissal was found to be fair.

Article by Leslie Owen

Durban

Thursday 17^th November 2011

Negotiating skills

Durban

Thursday 26^th January 2012

Reducing Workplace Conflict & Stress (English)

Durban

Thursday 15^th February 2012

Employment Equity Implementation Update (Half-Day)

Durban

Wednesday 14^th March 2012

Please check our website regularly for updates regarding Public Training.

You can email owenadeninfo@mweb.co.za for venue, fees and in-house programmes.

Their view is that service delivery to the Sugar Industry is a journey of continual improvement.  The train was symbolic of the journey.  The Conference was facilitated by Leslie Owen of Owen Adendorff & Associates.

Our picture shows the team members who spent their Strategic Conference on a train in the picturesque KZN Midlands.

It may be of interest to read the entire judgment of the Labour Court as it concerns a common problem at our workplaces. This problem is the reporting for work under the influence of alcohol. It sets outs the distinction between alcoholism and non alcoholism.

Must an employer automatically approach an employee who reports for duty under the influence of alcohol as a possible alcoholic?

What does an employer do if the employee does not raise alcoholism as a defence? The judgment indicates that an employer must be careful in inferring that an employee who reports for work in an inebriated state is an alcoholic.

Reporting for work in such a state is an act of misconduct. Where the job that the employee performs is highly skilled, responsible, or hazardous, dismissal for a first offence in justified.

The defence was also raised that the employee had not committed an offence as the employee had not actually commenced working for the day. The court said this was an illogical defence.

In my view it’s a bit like being in the position where you know your bus driver is a bad driver but you allow him to drive as he has not had an accident yet. The emphases is on the yet.

This judgment makes clear that an employer has an obligation to take remedial action before such an accident takes place.

Although the judgment does not set out the criteria for determining whether a employee is guilty of being drunk at the workplace other judgments have indicated that there are three criteria that can be used by an employer.

The first relates to observation of the behavour exhibited. Is the speech slurred, are eyes bleary, is the walk unsteady, is there a smell of alcohol?

The second is that of a more objective chemical nature. Was an alcometer, or breathalyzer used or a blood test given?

The third is can an employee perform his/her job satisfactorily and in the normal acceptable way?

The judgment in the Transnet matter and the three criteria approach should guide employers and employees who are involved in alcohol related incidents.

By Leslie Owen

1. Do your shop stewards and employee representatives know how to approach issues of conflict in a positive, problem-solving manner?
2. Do they know how to calm angry colleagues, without feeding resentment and blame?
3. Do your shop floor employees know how deal with frustration and offence without it becoming a “collective” issue?

The Workshop

This content of this workshop is unique in that it teaches delegates how to address conflict at its lowest possible level. The workshop has been translated into Zulu so make it more accessible for the target market. The target market is your shop floor employees, Shop Stewards (and Union Officials), and entry level white collar workers whose first language is Zulu, and who would benefit the company further if they developed the interpersonal offered through this training.

Delegates will learn simple and effective principles and techniques that will enable them to: -

• Deal with frustrations, disagreement and/or offence in a positive manner;
• Move from a mentality of blame to one of calm curiosity and problem solving;
• Calm angry colleagues in a way that gives them reassurance;
• Eliminate reactions that trigger “anger” and “blame” and thereby
• Decrease the levels of mistrust, hostility and/or conflict in workplace.

The content of the training is a summarized version of the “Reducing Workplace Conflict” programme, used under licence from Thera Rising, USA.

Please click on www.therarising.com for more about the material, or watch the following short video on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfuWrGrmIA0

Facilitator

The Owen, Adendorff IR Specialist, Siphiwe Nkabinde, will be facilitating the training. Siphiwe has had many years of experience in dealing with shop floor issues as an HR Practitioner.

Booking Details

Date: Thursday 17th November  2011

Time: 8h15 to 13h00, including light lunch.

Fees:

R740 plus VAT per delegate.

2-4 delegates: R690 each plus VAT

5-9 delegates: R650 each plus VAT

10 or more delegates: R590 each plus VAT

Venue: Diakonia Centre, St. Andrew’s Street, Durban CBD.

To book, please email the name of your company and that of the delegates to owenadeninfo@mweb.co.za by the 9th November 2011.

We look forward to serving your organisation through this programme.