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Labour law | Human resource management functions
By Carol Tissiman
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is a specialised agency
of the United Nations that deals with labour issues. One of the
principal functions of the ILO is setting international labour
standards covering a broad spectrum of labour-related subjects. These
are sometimes referred to as the International Labour Code.
Since South Africa was re-admitted as a member of the ILO in 1994, a
greater focus has been placed on following correct employment practices
and human resource (HR) management. Under current legislation, no
organisation is too small to be required by Law to have employment
relationships protected by fair systems, procedures and contracts.
Looking at South African Labour Laws and regulations,
employers are required to manage a complex range of Human Resource
functions, such as:
- Job profiling, Recruitment, Employment contracts, Performance contracts, performance management and career development;
- Consistency and professionalism in the handling of performance
reviews, and the application of disciplinary and grievance procedures;
- Implementation of HR administrative systems, including
record-keeping, contractual agreements and employee benefits management
to comply with company policies and legal requirements; and
- Implementation of systems and consultative structures for the resolution of conflict in the workplace.
What often happens is that business managers ignore or underestimate
the complexity of these HR functions, focusing more comfortably on
operational or technical aspects of their business. For example, to
implement the Human Resourse process such as a Performance Management
System that effectively and regularly evaluates an employees
performance, would involve the following process and key objectives:
- Defining jobs in terms of performance outputs in line with organisational goals and agreed reporting structures.
- Providing methods to evaluate key performance levels against agreed indicators written into performance contracts.
- Designing the business process for evaluating performance and
training of management and staff to use the performance management
process effectively. This will need to include the documentation and
recording procedures, scheduling regular formal performance discussions.
- If the process is aimed at improving individual and overall
improvement, then assessment tools should be designed to provide
specific feedback and on competency levels against specific job related
criteria and any development need that are identified must be
appropriately addressed. The individual’s development needs should be
clearly aligned with the organisational goals and strategies.
Many leading organisations have realised that their success is,
amongst other things, a result of a focus on sound employment
practices, policies and procedures with members of staff. Sound
employment practices are the foundation of healthy employment
relationships, where expectations of both the employer and employee are
clear. To be successful, organisations need satisfied, well-managed
employees who will, in turn, keep customers happy.
Click here to learn more about the University of Cape Town (Law@Work) Practical Labour Law Course.
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