Chamber hosts networking breakfast
Changes to the labour legislation was the topic at a networking breakfast held by the Eastern Gauteng Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The breakfast was held at Little Paradise on Thursday morning.
There was a staffing solutions presentation, presented by John Botha, the title of which was ‘legislation versus recruitment: myth busters’.
Other topics of interest in the presentation were labour outsourcing and new Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) codes.
Botha said, “Huge legislative changes have been made to labour law and labour-related law.”
A new act is being implemented called the Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill, this means that any decision-making forum within a company must consist of 50% of women, according to Botha.
Amendments have also been made to the Labour Relations Act, the Employment Equity Act and BBBEE codes.
“Not having the correct BBBEE codes can destroy the business financially and the business’ reputation,” said Botha.
He suggests that businesses bring talent into the company by outsourcing or by partnering with labour brokers.
“A lot of risk is then taken away from the business owner,” said Botha.
He says that in this day and age, businesses cannot afford to employ more people than necessary. “Economic prospects are limited if Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) credentials are not in order,” said Botha.
He suggests that businesses rather do business with small businesses and focus on small business development.
According to Botha, the grading system on the BEE scorecard has changed and BBBEE levels have been re-calibrated.
“The more talent brought in by labour brokers, the better for your BEE scorecard,” said Botha.
He is also of the opinion that productivity and loyalty are not always better when an employee is employed permanently.
The new labour acts will come into effect as of May 1.
Botha closed his presentation stating that companies must not compare themselves to one another.
After the presentation, five business cards were drawn from a bowl, giving five people the opportunity to speak about their business for one minute for the sake of networking.
