Friday, June 18, 2010

Don't get caught on the back foot

My client got a nasty surprise the other day, and so did I. Usually I love surprises, but this one, was not pleasant.

A surprise visit by the Bargaining Council agent, turned into a nightmare when the agent made a big deal out of something my client thought was trivial. In fact, he thought that the requirements did not apply to him. One visit and one inspection resulted in 5 charges and an award against him that could criple his business. Ouch... that hurt! Now, we have to approach the Labour Court and attempt to review the process. It's a lot of money and time, stress and effort.

This incident made me understand why some sole proprietors out there feel that it's impossible to obey the law. How do you give attention to something that seems pretty insignificant when you have so much to deal with?

I'd like to help you say goodbye to those labour headaches out there and make it easy for you to follow the law and apply to law to the benefit of yourself, your staff and your pocket. Many professing businessmen and women appear blissfully unaware of their obligations, or they think some requireents don't apply to them because they employ only 5 or 10 people.
Something very trivial is displaying summaries of the Employment Equity Act, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Skills Development Act. Like I said, you might think this is pretty insignificant but, its going to be a big thing to the inspector if you are not doing it. According to news reports, the Department of Labour is going to become even stricter on employers who don't comply with labour alws. If employers who aren't doing the simple things thought they might get into trouble before, I have bad news for you. Department of Labour will be taking no prisoners when it comes to employers who are not complying.

My first business tip........ you need to display the BCEA, EEA, OHSA, and Skills Development Act somewhere your employees can read them. It could cost you if you don't. And, don't give an inspector an excuse to give you a fine. Simply order these posters asap - they cost about R175.00 each, certainlly less than the fine you'll have to pay.

It really couldn't be easier to make sure you are doing things properly and help relieve the stress of a visit from the labour inspector.

happy to help,

Yours in service,

Ilene Power
www.ilenepower.co.za