Positive reforms are essential to turning around our poor economic growth and tackling our unemployment crisis. Through Nedlac and initiatives like Business for South Africa, we work extensively to help develop proposed policy changes that can contribute to improving the business environment.
The new code of practice on dismissals, under the Labour Relations Act, was gazetted last week by the minister of employment and labour, Nomakhosazana Meth, making it easier for small businesses to dismiss underperforming employees. While fairness rightly remains a core principle, the burden on small businesses will now be proportional in not requiring complex and expensive consultation and disciplinary procedures.
That is only reasonable - small businesses cannot afford extensive HR departments that can be on hand to manage underperforming employees. The code is explicit that it should not require small businesses to comply with obligations that are not practical or feasible for their operation. It makes managing dismissals much more straightforward. The codes are based on draft codes published in January that had been developed through an extensive Nedlac process. They will make it easier to run a small business in this country and cheaper to manage a workforce, which will make it more desirable to hire in the first place.