Labour law | Fairness issues around promotion

By Carol Tissiman

If you are interested in this topic, take a look at our University of Cape Town (Law@Work) Practical Labour Law course.

Promotions arise for many reasons and are part of normal changes in the working life of employees. The Labour Relations Act and section 6 of the Employment Equity Act require that the methods used for selecting individuals for promotion are fair and relevant to the requirements of the job. This task of promotion therefore becomes onerous on the employer, and sound human resources practices need to be in place.

Firstly, an employer needs to have a clear picture of the structure of the organisation, reporting lines, and job profiles or descriptions. This should be the first set of information considered when considering promoting someone. Particularly, for example, in a situation where there are expanded job responsibilities or more senior levels of authority associated with the job.   

Having a good performance management system in place is essential. This allows for open strategic discussions with staff members around their career and skills development with a view to working towards promotion opportunities. If this is not done, staff members could potentially and fairly complain that they are being overlooked and disadvantaged by the lack of development opportunities.

In practice, it is a good idea to advertise the position internally, to show that the position is an open and transparent one. If key staff members whom management might expect to be interested do not apply, the existence of the vacancy needs to be again highlighted. One needs to take care not to be seen to raising expectations or favouring certain staff members in the process.

In the same light, where staff members have an expectation to be promoted (as a result of actions or promises made by the employer) and where these promotions do not occur, a claim of unfair labour practice might be expected. Managers therefore need to be trained to give appropriate feedback, keep employees factually informed, and avoid empty promises. 

Often disputes around promotion emerge where external appointments are made in positions for which specified required qualifications are higher than those of the existing staff members. In the case where the external appointee also does not have the advertised level of qualification, but may have some more experience than the internal applicants, problems have arisen. 

Employers need to scrutinise their recruitment plans carefully before making outside appointments rather than promoting internal staff. By using focussed assessments that are job relevant and competency-based, prior learning and experience can be better assessed. To be more balanced and fair, these assessments should contain both practical and theoretical knowledge and cover both the technical and behavioural aspects of the job. 

As with any recruitment, a promotion process should be well documented in order that the methodology can be scrutinised if necessary. Promotions require careful planning and can become costly if inappropriate choices are made, or claims of unfair labour practice have to be opposed. Employees feel more secure and encouraged where employers are more professional. Following sound HR practice an employer will more likely make the right choice for the right reason, using the right methods and procedures.

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