HR 101 – Who is an Employee - Part 3

HR 101 – Who is an Employee - Part 3

By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd

Please note that this applies to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice requirements.

So now it’s crunch time!  Who is an Employee?  Well the Code  states that there are 7 (seven factors) in determining who an Employee is – the challenge lies in the fact that only 1 of these factors needs to be present, not all 7!

Let me say that again for those who were not listening the first time around.  Only 1 out of 7 factors needs to be present when determining who an employee is!

These factors (in no particular order) are:

1. the manner in which the person works is subject to the control or direction of another person.
2. the person’s hours of work are subject to the control or direction of another person
3. in the case of a person who works for an organization, the person forms part of that organization.
4. the person has worked for the other person for an average of at least 40 hours per month over the last three months.
5. the person is economically dependent of the other person for whom he/she works or renders services
6. the person is provided with the tools of trade or work equipment by the other person.
7. the person only works for or renders services to one person.

So now you have it and while you all fall about in fear/laughter/joy and whatever other emotion that you can bring to the surface, I will leave it there for this week.

Next week we will drill down deeper into each of the factors, so that the lines are clear – no smudges - it either is or it isn’t!  So by the end of this article you will know exactly where you stand and where your employee stands, whether you would like to justify it otherwise or not.

So be brutally honest with yourself (not anyone else, just yourself), examine each item individually and if you can honestly answer yes to any of the above – you have an employee, whether you would like to admit it or not!

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or www.viljoenconsulting.co.za