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Paralegal skills and establishing an Advice Centre

Employing people in an organisation

When an organisation employs people, it wants employees to have a clear idea about what the goal of the organisation is, and a commitment to fulfilling it. The employee must be clear about the job that he or she is expected to do. The organisation must also ensure that it has performed all its duties as an employer, for example, registered employees for UIF, SITE and PAYE.

What employers must do when they start a business

The contract of employment

The basis of the relationship between an employer and an employee is the employment contract. This is an agreement that spells out what the organisation expects the employee to do, and what the employee can expect from the organisation.

Guidelines to drawing up an employment contract

1. State who the employer is and the employee.
2. State the day on which the employee will begin work.
3. Describe the expectations that the organisation has of the employee, such as:
   • job description and performance standards
   • promoting the best interests of the organisation
   • discretion and confidentiality
   • use of time, equipment and materials
4. Describe the conditions of employment:
   • salary
   • office hours and employment
   • notice: termination of employment
   • leave: ordinary, maternity or paternity, sick, study, or long leave
   • fringe benefits: provident or pension fund, medical aid, staff loans, housing subsidies
   • travelling expenses, including the use of private car for work purposes
   • grievance and disciplinary procedures
   • redundancy policy
   • staff training and development

A formal contract of employment must be shown to the new employee. Both the new employee and the committee (or representative of the committee) responsible for running the office and making employee appointments must sign the contract.

Drawing up a job description

A job description sets out the specific duties and responsibilities that go with a staff position, the skills and qualifications required for the position, and the person or structure to whom the person filling the position is accountable. The first step in drawing up a job description is to analyse exactly what is involved in the job. The second step is to write it up following certain guidelines.

(1) Analysing the job means looking at:

• all the tasks involved in the job
• all the knowledge and skills needed to do the job properly
• the relationship of the job to other jobs in the organisation

(2) Guidelines to writing a job description

Include the following in a job description:

• The title of the job.
• A brief statement about the purpose of the job.
• The responsibilities of the job, listed in order of importance.
• The tasks involved in fulfilling the responsibilities. As far as possible, you must say:
  • the proportion of time to be spent on each task
  • the minimum standard that is acceptable (for example, typing at 40 words a minute).
• A person specification, which states what kind of person should be employed for the job.

A person specification covers two areas:

• skills, education levels, experience, abilities (for example, language abilities) needed
• personal and physical attributes needed. In other words, things that would suit your organisation and the staff already working in it.
• Conditions under which the person doing the job must be able to work.

This includes for example having to work weekends or nights.

• The management structures and lines of accountability, and how the person doing the job described fits into them.

Discipline and taking disciplinary action

Discipline is any action taken by the managing committee to change unacceptable behaviour or job performance of an employee who works for the organisation.

Employees have to work and behave according to the standards set by the organisation’s Constitution and the contracts of employment. If an employee does not work according to these standards action must be taken to correct and improve the employee's performance. But if the employee's conduct or performance is very bad, the organisation may decide to dismiss the employee.Before the organisation decides what action to take, the employee must get a chance to present his or her case fully.

The organisation might decide to take any of the following kinds of disciplinary action:

• formal counselling
• recorded verbal warnings
• written warnings
• suspension without pay (as an alternative to dismissal)
• dismissal

The type of action taken by the organisation depends on how serious the employee's action was, and anything else in the employee's favour or against the employee. If the employee's actions seem serious enough to allow for dismissal, then the organisation must follow legal procedures.

When is a dismissal fair or unfair?

Solving disputes under the LRA

Every organisation should also have a simple Grievance Procedure that employees can use if they have a problem at work and they feel that it cannot be dealt with at a committee meeting.

Notice of a disciplinary enquiry

Here is a formal notice to tell an employee that she or he must come to a disciplinary enquiry. The notice can be changed to suit each organisation's own needs.