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Recruiting staff in the New Year?

Most people find it really stressful recruiting new staff. It often seems so hit and miss, and if your golden candidate turns out to be a bad apple it’s hard to rectify the mistake.
However, there are some strategies that will take an element of risk out of the process:

Before you start the recruitment process, think [...]

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Why are all your people sick all the time?

Why are all your people sick all the time?

It alarms me how much stress and ill health I’m seeing in my clients’ workforces. It seems times are tough; it’s been a very long year and some people are buckling under the pressure.
Unfortunately 2008 – and I daresay 2009 – are not going to be the years of big bonuses and significant salary increases; [...]

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How to claim for Skills Development Levy

All organisations with a payroll of more than R500k per annum are required to pay a Skills Development Levy of 1% of that payroll… BUT did you know that it is possible to claim up to 50% of that amount back?
What you need to do is:

Register with your particular Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) [...]

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Small Business take note: DTI launches BEE portal on their website

I’m impressed. After years of leaving South African businesses to bumble along trying to figure out how BEE works and more importantly how their organisation rates from a BEE perspective, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has finally pulled it out the bag.
They’ve recently unveiled their new BEE portal on their website (www.dti.gov.za) which [...]

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Sorry I’m late: terrible traffic (again!)

Sorry I’m late: terrible traffic (again!)

What do you do when an employee regularly arrives to work late?
Should you give them leeway for bad traffic / late buses / trains / taxis? And if so, how much leeway should you give them?
The answer is none. If the latecoming is a once-off event, fine and well, but more than once and the [...]

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Time to submit your Employment Equity Report, or is it?

SARS is sending out reminders to designated employers to submit their Employment Equity Report.
It’s worth taking this reminder seriously. The fines for non-compliance with the Employment Equity Act start at R500 000.
Obviously, this could cause a serious cash flow crunch!
So how do you know if your organisation is a designated employer?
You’re a designated employer if:
1. [...]

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Your HR questions answered…

Hi Ideate readers!
Thanks for all the positive feedback, it’s great to hear from you.
I try to keep my blogs as relevant and informative as possible, particularly in light of the economic environment and events happening in South Africa.
Is there any issue or question that you would like me to address in my next blog?
Send me [...]

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Retrenchment: if it has to be done make sure you do it right!

As this tough economic climate really digs in, it’s an unfortunate reality that businesses, both big and small, may need to retrench staff. It’s something that every business owner and employee dreads… but if it has to be done then make sure you do it right!
Retrenchment is covered in the Labour Relations Act and, in [...]

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My employee has walked out without giving notice!

It amazes me how often one hears about staff members who just don’t arrive at work on a Monday. When management finally tracks them down, they’re informed (with no embarrassment or remorse!) that the individual has a new job and won’t be coming back.
Do these people not understand the importance of good references!
This used to [...]

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Discrimination against Africans

I got this email via Ideate:
Dear sir/madam
I fail to understand some of the employers in South Africa when they are making their advertisement on the newspapers, they will say we are looking for a female white women (EE). I was more shocked in today’s newspaper i.e. The Star, it was advertised there that they are [...]

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