By Ivan Israelstam, Chief Executive of Labour Law Management Consulting. He may be contacted on (011) 888-7944 or 0828522973 or on e-mail address: ivan@labourlawadvice.co.za. Go to: www.labourlawvideos.co.za
An all-too-common reason for retrenchments these days is the closure of a business. Such closures inevitably result in the employer’s belief in the need to retrench. This belief stems from the logic that, when a business closes there cannot be alternatives to retrenchment because there can be no jobs in a closed business.
While this is true in some cases it is folly to assume that it is always the case. For example, alternatives to retrenchment in the case of a closure could be:
- Explore a buyout by a competitor
- Sell or give the whole or part of the business to the employees
- Seek suitable posts for the employees in associate companies
- Offer employees retirement where they qualify for this.
Due to the fact that retrenchees lose their jobs through no fault of their own, the courts are prone to penalising employers that do not identify and implement viable alternatives to retrenchment.
A case in point is that of Groom vs Daimler Fleet Management (Lex Media. 10 July 2024, Labour Court case number 166/16).
Here, Daimler decided to close the company and embarked on a section 189 process. Amongst the affected employees was a Mr Groom, a manager with 35 years’ service. He applied both for two posts in the employer’s parent company and for early retirement.
The employer did not assist Groom with these two alternatives to retrenchment despite its failure to allege that these alternatives were not viable. Instead, the employer inexplicably offered Groom two junior posts, one of which would have required him and his family to relocate.
While Groom was responding to these unsuitable offers and trying to obtain proper responses to the alternatives proposed by him, the employer issued him with a notice of termination on the grounds of operational requirements. The company informed him that, because he had refused the alternative posts it had offered him, he would receive no severance package.
The Labour Court found that the employer’s offer of the two unsuitable posts was merely a ploy, and that the employee’s retrenchment had been substantively unfair. The Court ordered the employer to pay Groom his full severance benefits, an additional 12 months’ remuneration and his legal costs.
This case decision shows that the Courts are wise to ruses that employers use to avoid acceding to employees’ rights. To ensure that managers know what the law expects of them and to avoid the use of dirty tricks employers need to train their managers thoroughly.
The innovative video series WALKING THE LABOUR LAW TIGHTROPE provides very inexpensive training that allows the managers of every employer to obtain essential labour law knowhow, and to do so at times suitable to their very busy schedules. Its 48 chapters, averaging 10 minutes in length each, can easily be watched at junctures when the manager has time.
The employer has the option of using this groundbreaking video series to train its managers and HR practitioners in groups and then follow-up by getting them to view the video chapters again at convenient junctures in order to ensure that they retain the learning gained. Alternatively, employers with self-learning systems can simply give their managers and HR practitioners access to the entire series for viewing at times that suit their busy work schedules.
This greatly informative yet very engaging and practical video series provides crucial and user-friendly learning through the use of a stimulating, animated case study that runs throughout the 48-chapter series. Each chapter contains clear and important advice needed by workplace management on the basics of labour law over a very wide range of topics.
A further advantage is that the manager can, for a full year, easily go back to any of the 48 videos for purposes of refresher training or to access information on how to deal with a current workplace issue. This solves the problem of managers forgetting what they have learned and sustainably builds the managers’ capacity to manage the workplace effectively and in line with the law.
That is, this video series helps management to walk the shaky labour law tightrope and to run the workplace productively without falling into the labour law abyss.
To access our 48-part video series, WALKING THE NEW LABOUR LAW TIGHTROPE. Just go to www.labourlawvideos.co.za or contact Ivan on ivan@labourlawadvice.co.za
