| Crisis Management We received this very informative newsletter from KZNEIA which we feel important to share Dealing with [paying] staff during this crisis Good Morning All, We sincerely hope you are managing to stay safe and that the current situation does not impact too significantly. We have taken calls on numerous issues, the most common being: how to deal with [pay] staff. The most common scenarios are: Staff not arriving at work despite manufacturing continuing: If you are open for business, but staff fail to arrive, this is a no-work-no-pay situation. There is also a loss of a shift towards the leave and LEP formula. As this stay away is unprotected, disciplinary action would typically be in order. However, we do believe the in the circumstances, the reason for not arriving at work needs to be taken into consideration as the situation is so out of control. We suggest that punitive action would not be appropriate. Staff arriving at work, but have to close the company: Should there be a need to send staff home, this will in all likelihood be as a result of unplanned or unforeseen contingency situation. A minimum of 4 hours will need to be paid if the staff came into work [or hours worked if more than 4] and the staff can be sent home on unplanned/unforeseen contingency short-time immediately [5 days’ notice not necessary], they do however accumulate a shift for the short-time. Needing to remain closed for safety and security reasons: Should, due to safety and security concerns, you need to remain closed this continues to be an unplanned and unforeseen contingency situation and the relative short-time provision does apply. You many instruct employees to remain away from work until the situation has been normalized. It will be unpaid, however shifts will accumulate and no disciplinary action should be needed [unless actual misconduct occurs] Please don’t hesitate to contact us should you need further clarity or support on the situation. Please note: the update session set for tomorrow [Wednesday] afternoon is massively important and we will make every effort to go ahead. Should the situation remain tense at the end of Tuesday, we may postpone by one day to Thursday, however, we do need to have decisions regarding the negotiations as soon as possible. Stay safe Kylie Griffin Executive Director Kwa Zulu Natal Engineering Industries Association (KZNEIA) Cell No: 082 563 0574 Emails: director@kzneia.co.za |
