Overview
Chapter 10 addresses the critical aspects of managing ongoing employment relationships within the Employment Equity framework, focusing on terms and conditions of employment, remuneration, performance management, and employee retention.
Objective
To establish comprehensive guidelines for managing employment relationships whilst ensuring compliance with Employment Equity legislation and promoting fair workplace practices.
Purpose
To provide practitioners with practical frameworks for managing ongoing employment relationships effectively whilst maintaining equity and fairness in all aspects of employment.
Chapter 10 presents a systematic approach to managing employment relationships during the active employment period. The chapter begins by emphasising the importance of maintaining current employee service agreements, noting that organisations often fall into the trap of creating contradictory terms through multiple annexes and addenda. It advocates for complete contract updates every three to five years or immediately following relevant legislative changes.
The book provides comprehensive guidance on auditing terms and conditions of employment, emphasising the legal requirement to identify any unfair direct or indirect discrimination in policies and practices. The chapter establishes four essential criteria for job evaluation: responsibility, skills, effort, and work conditions. These criteria provide a framework for ensuring fair and equitable job assessment.
Regarding responsibility, the chapter emphasises the importance of considering accountability for people, finances, and materials, independent of hierarchical position. The skills assessment framework encompasses both formal and informal qualifications, focusing on job requirement alignment rather than acquisition methods. The effort criterion addresses physical, mental, and emotional demands, whilst work conditions consider both physical and psychological aspects of the working environment.
The chapter provides detailed guidance on managing contract types, particularly addressing the potential risks of fixed-term contracts in undermining employment equity objectives. It notes that such contracts can lead to workplace instability and reduced productivity, particularly when disproportionately applied to certain groups.
Considerable attention is devoted to remuneration practices, with the chapter emphasising the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. The book carefully distinguishes this principle from the misconception of equal pay for all employees at the same organisational level, providing clear criteria for evaluating pay equity based on skills, responsibilities, effort, working conditions, and output.
The chapter addresses the crucial issue of fair pay differentiation, identifying legitimate factors that can justify pay differences, including seniority, length of service, qualifications, ability, and performance. However, it emphasises the importance of applying these factors without bias or discrimination.
Significant attention is given to performance management, advocating for the implementation of 360-degree evaluation systems to provide comprehensive performance assessment. The chapter emphasises the importance of fair and objective evaluation criteria, particularly in the context of employment equity objectives.
The book provides extensive guidance on skills development, presenting it as an affirmative action measure. It outlines various development approaches, including mentoring, structured training, accelerated development programmes, and opportunities for advancement. The chapter emphasises the importance of creating an organisational culture that encourages and rewards learning.
Particular attention is paid to managing promotions and transfers, with the chapter addressing the ‘accidental manager’ phenomenon and emphasising the importance of additional training for employees promoted to supervisory positions. It provides guidance on implementing preferential policies for designated groups whilst avoiding unfair disadvantage to other employees.
The chapter concludes with comprehensive guidance on information management and confidentiality, emphasising the importance of balancing transparency with privacy concerns. It provides clear guidelines for collecting and communicating employee data whilst maintaining appropriate security measures.
Throughout the book, emphasis is placed on practical implementation considerations whilst maintaining compliance with employment equity requirements. The chapter successfully combines theoretical understanding with practical guidance, providing practitioners with the tools needed to manage employment relationships effectively.
This detailed treatment of employment relationship management provides organisations with clear guidance for implementing fair and equitable practices whilst maintaining employment equity compliance. The chapter’s practical approach, combined with its thorough coverage of requirements, makes it an essential resource for human resources practitioners and employment equity implementers.
Read more: Chapter 11
Implementing Employment Equity. Available on paperback
