HR 101 - Labour Broker Employees - Part 3

ARTICLE 50

Labour Broker Employees – Part 3

By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC February 2010

Following on from last time, today we will look at some of the other requirements pertaining to Labour Brokers, particularly with regards to the CCMA.

To put it bluntly, the CCMA does not want to see employees employed by labour brokers.  It has recognised these employees as ‘defined’, which pretty much means that their rights are the same as other employees and as such the labour broker as well as whomever the employee works for also have obligations towards the employer.  If you have any doubts about where you stand, have a look at the articles on ‘What is an Employee’ in this blog series.

You see the cost of hiring staff and staff benefits is ever rising.  Dealing with Trade Unions is time consuming and often a pain in the rear end and then having to deal with the CCMA, well quite frankly, the less said about that the better.  Enter the Labour Broker and herein lies the problem.

Originally the Labour Broker  was referred to as “temporary employment services (TES).  As you can see this is where the whole thing has gone pear shaped as clearly this has fallen by the wayside and many companies no longer use Labour Brokers or employment agencies for the supply of their ‘temporary’ requirements and now many companies use the services of Labour Brokers for their entire permanent work force.  So now who owns the employee problem in terms of the law – the labour broker or the company who uses the labour broker.

Often the line becomes badly blurred, the client will perhaps dismiss a staff member (although strictly speaking the staff member does not work for them but works for the labour broker) and then the labour broker carries the responsibility.

Then there are situations where the client no longer requires the services of an employee and the broker dismisses the staff member based on that.  This then is in direct contravention of the Labour Relations Act and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.

Clients themselves, are often unaware of how they blur the lines as well.  I have a client who uses the services of a Labour Broker, but who asked me how they should ‘measure’ the performance of the staff in order for them to calculate end of year bonuses.  I was confused and asked them why they are paying bonuses for staff who are someone else’s employees.  These same clients perform their own disciplinaries as well. In my opinion the transgression should be reported to the labour broker who then is responsible for all disciplinary action that takes place.

My advice to companies who need to invest in employees – unless you are 100% sure of the definition of a labour broker and equally sure of what an employee is and 100% sure of your requirements and/or responsibilities in terms of those employees, don’t use a Labour Broker as engaging their services may end up far more costly and aggravating than you actually managing the staff yourselves.

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

Blogging Tips - Being Kind to your Readers

BLOGGING TIPS – Being Kind to your Readers


By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC April 2011

I’ve just read an article entitled “6 Ways to be Kind to your Readers” by Bamboo Forest, and I must admit I was absolutely intrigued by the title.  I mean kindness in itself is something most of us aspire to have and I am sure that we all think of ourselves as ‘kind people’ or at the very least, we would like to think of ourselves as kind (even if we may not be).

But what does it mean – to be ‘kind’ to our readers when we blog?  I mean as much as it is our choice to write the blog, it is our reader’s choice as to whether they read the blog or not, surely?

So here is what ‘Bamboo Forest’ had to say:

1. “Kill or shorten introductions”.  Now this particular statement, I am very sure will not work for me.  To be fair, I can understand it up to a point, but for me, my intro sets the stage for the story to unfold.  “Killing or shortening” that intro would hurt the story before it began to unfold.
2. “Champion quality over quantity”.  This one however, in my opinion is right on the money!  At a point, I was writing 5 new articles every week.  Now don’t get me wrong, if you have the time to do the research as well as write the article – well that’s just fantastic and a great bonus.  However, my workflow increased and the number of hours in the day didn’t and because I didn’t want to compromise the quality or the value of my writing, I have chosen to cut back on the number of articles that I write.  There may be times when there are no articles for weeks or even months and then again there may be times when I am able to write on a pretty regular basis.  I would rather write a good meaningful article than a rushed half -hearted one!
3. “Commit to having every post be entertaining”.  Interesting – absolutely!  Entertaining – well I am not too sure about that one, particularly in the world of business and especially in the world of business in South Africa.  Current legislation and politics and proposed new legislation often makes really scary reading.  Finding solutions to implement the changes without too much upheaval or cost, would hardly make for entertainment, unless of course you are falling about with laughter at the absurdity of it all.
4. “Write clearly” Well that makes perfectly good sense to me, especially when you are writing about business topics.  People need to know what the point is.  Let’s face it, if you are writing a piece of fiction, there doesn’t always need to be a ‘moral to the story’ (although a plot or storyline is a must), but if you are writing a piece on business – there has to be a point and people have to ‘get it’!
5. “Keep your posts as short as possible”.  Again for me this is dependent upon the telling of the story.  Sometimes the point is best made and illustrated by means of a story and the length of the story – well if the truth be told, it doesn’t matter how long the story is, as long as it keeps you engaged and interested and it illustrates the point, so that you the reader, ‘get it’!
6. “Step up your game”.  Now this one, I particularly like.  You see, for me ‘if you are not growing you’re dying”!  If you are not constantly challenging yourself and your readers with what you are saying, if you are not improving or engaging or teaching or learning or moving forward or upward in some way –well what is the point?

So I guess what I am trying to say is that there are always guidelines on what to do and how best to do it.  Thing is though, it has to serve your own soul and it has to make a difference in the lives of others – if it doesn’t meet those two requirements, well personally, I’d give it up.

Till next time, happy blogging!

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

Networking 10 - Don't Waste Referrals!

THE POWER OF NETWORKING

PART 133

Don’t Waste Referrals!

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC. October   2009

One of my absolute pet hates, in Networking, is the person that I take the time to give referrals to and who doesn’t do anything with them!  I swear, it drives me absolutely crazy!

One of my colleagues, no actually she has become a friend over the years, does this to me and I often want to take her and shake her – hard!

Here’s the story:

I met (let’s call her Jane) about two years ago at a Networking event.  She is one of those people who has great energy and attracts all manner and means of people to her.  She gave me her card and I promised to contact her – two months later I was still trying to contact her. She never, never answers her cell phone and the same goes for the landline.  How she gets and keeps clients is beyond me, but that is another story for another day.

I bumped into Jane at another Networking event and she gave me a hard time because ‘you promised to call and I haven’t heard from you’ – I suggested that it might be a good idea to check all her voice mail messages both on her cell phone and her land line.  The next day she called me, apologizing profusely for not returning any of my calls – clearly she had not listened to her voice mail messages for some time.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, we got together at her establishment.  Now I understand why she never answers the phone or returns messages.  A meeting that would normally take an hour, took all of four hours.  This woman runs all day, round and round and up and down and this way and that way and quite honestly she achieves very little of anything and a huge deal of nothing!  She has boundless energy and my goodness, she sure does use it all – doing nothing but running around – but I digress.

I gave Jane probably about 15 to 20 referrals.  People who could assist her in the running of her business.  Suppliers that would be able to give her better rates than the ones that she was currently using.  Investors that would love to get their teeth into just one of her various projects. Even people that she should Joint Venture or collaborate with, to get her product out there.  Finally I gave her my very long list of Networking opportunities – all of which I make use of on a very regular basis.

Eagerly I waited to hear what was happening.  Day after day went by and I did not hear a thing from anybody!  No-one phoned me up to tell me that she had contacted them, she didn’t let me know if she had set meetings up with anyone.  Nothing, not a peep from anyone!

Eventually on one of our get ‘togethers’ I asked her what, if anything was happening with all the referrals that I had given her.  To give Jane her due though, she did manage to look quite sheepish when she told me that she hadn’t done anything.

Now that on its own is bad enough.  Thing is though, when I refer someone I always copy them on the mail and then physically introduce the two to each other on an e-mail.  This meant of course that there were 15 to 20 people who were waiting for Jane to contact them.  Six weeks to two months had gone by since I had sent the mails (at great expense of time to myself I might add) and even if Jane contacted them at this late stage they would think her highly unreliable, due to her tardiness in getting back to them, and they would in all probability not really want to do any kind of business with her.  Who could blame them – certainly not me.

From time to time Jane asks me to forward any invitations that I get to attend a Networking event and from time to time she asks me if I know of someone that does one thing or another. So now, now what – well one thing is for certain, Jane will not be getting any more referrals from me. When she asks the question nowadays, I just change the subject and move the conversation in another direction.

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

BUSINESS TIPS – From Employee to Entrepreneur – Part 6

BUSINESS TIPS – From Employee to Entrepreneur – Part 6


By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC – January 2013

So far we have looked at:-
1. The difference between being an employee and an employer;
2. Your Purpose:
3. The People around you and
4. Your Personal Footprint.
5. Knowledge & what you do with it
6. The Generosity of your Spirit
7. The Role of Technology in your Business
8. Self Confidence
9. Creativity and
10. Focus
11. Vision
12. Result

Believe it or not there are a whole lot more – today we will explore a few more.

1. Networking
One of the quickest ways to get to people who have more knowledge and more experience than you do is to network.  There are many SMME (small, medium, micro enterprises), entrepreneurial or start up networking groups out there for you to choose from.  Some leave you to your own devices, some are semi facilitated and some are fully facilitated – find one that suits your requirements and get networking.  Networking is also a great way to build relationships with like-minded people who often become suppliers and even customers and you will find people who will be willing to assist you by sharing their knowledge and experience.

2. Leadership
Every company needs a leader and as a business owner that is who you are – the leader.  Quite honestly, your business success (or failure for that matter) is intrinsically linked to and dependent upon your capability as a leader.  You will need to inspire your staff, you will need to gain the trust and respect of your staff and you will need to commit to them if you want commitment from them.  If you are not a natural leader or are unsure of your role as a leader, I would suggest that you get yourself off to some training as soon as possible as leaders are not necessarily born, they can also be made.

3. Management
Every business needs to be properly managed.  Whether you are on your own or you have staff, your business still needs to be managed and this is achieved by having some sort of plan in terms of the operation of the business.  What are you going to do with regard to sales, delivery etc. and how are you going to achieve that.  You have to know where you are going and how you are going to get there in order for you to succeed.

Next time we will continue to look at some of the other issues that you will need or be aware of to become a successful Entrepreneur.

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

Motivation - Be True to Yourself

MOTIVATION – Be True to Yourself


By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – April 2009

It is said that until you respect yourself, you cannot respect others.

It is said that until you love yourself, you cannot love others.

It is said that until you are honest with yourself, you cannot be honest to others.

It is said that until you are true to yourself, you cannot be true to others.

You need to understand that you are the centre of your own universe.  It is your life and you are the only one that should be ‘living’ it.

My friend, colleague and mentor Vanessa, always tells me “This life of yours – it is your movie.  You have to write the script, you have the lead role, you are the director and the producer and you own the rights to the movie.”

How true is that?  So why on earth would I give the starring role to someone else?

The bottom line is that it is my life, I need to own it.  No-one else can live it for me and at the end of it, I am the only one that will be accountable for the manner in which I have lived it.

Here’s the thing though – many of us give up our own power, by allowing others to use and abuse us or live out the fantasies of their lives by dictating how we should live our lives.  That’s just crazy!  We need to take back what is ours – we need to own our power and we need to reclaim our lives.

We need to find our own passions.

We need to get excited about our own dreams.

Once we own our own power and we are passionate about our lives, we will begin to realize our dreams and in so doing, we will live our own lives with integrity and dignity.

Once we have learnt how to respect ourselves, we will recognize and respect the fact that everyone has the right to be doing the same in their lives.

Don’t be fooled though into thinking that you now have the right to be selfish and think only of yourself to the exclusion of all others.  That too is just crazy and it is also very destructive.

Yes we are all unique.

Yes we need to be true to ourselves

Yes we need to respect ourselves, but we also need to treat others with the same respect that we give ourselves and we also need to expect others to treat us with respect as well.

It’s a great big loop tape and grows ever wider and stronger the more we ‘buy into’ it.  So respect yourself and you will be true to yourself.

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

HR 101 - Avoid Using Heresay

ARTICLE 51

Avoid Using Hearsay

By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC February 2010

I am sure we have all watched the legal type movies on TV where whoever is in the witness box being questioned, says something along the lines of ‘Joe told me . . . .’ and then the oppositions lawyer stands up and says “objection – hearsay”!  Well that’s the way the law says – you cannot give evidences about what someone else said!

I have, of late, been the chair of several disciplinaries and in most cases, the employees have, in an attempt to gather sufficient evidence to be able to get a verdict of dismissal, relied on their verbal evidence.  Now that is all fine as long as the person being disciplined actually agrees that the complainant’s (usually the employers) evidence is correct.  The minute they disagree with what is being said, a problem occurs as it becomes a ‘he said/she said’ type of situation.

Having documentary evidence is of vital importance and is also a legal requirement.  So for example, it would be important to have the written procedure in place as well as the documented evidence that the procedure has not been followed.  That said, it is equally important to have the correct person present the evidence at the disciplinary hearing.  Having someone for example, who is not well versed in the policies and procedures in the company or who is totally unaware of what actually happened will result in more harm than help to the case, as the manner in which the evidence is presented is almost as important as the evidence.

The document that is presented should also be in the original form and the fact that the document is authentic would also need to be established.  This is to ensure that documentation is not suddenly produced ‘after the fact’ and also to ensure that the information in the documentation is relevant and admissible to the case.

The usual procedure is for the complainant to give oral evidence at the hearing and the oral evidence would then be backed up by the documents as and when they are entered into evidence.  Witnesses would then be brought forward to corroborate the evidence both verbally and with the relevant documentation.  Showing or evidencing that the accused employee is aware of the contents of the documentation could then also be necessary.

Let me be clear on something though – if the document cannot be proved to be authentic then the document and/or its contents cannot be admitted into evidence.  The party (being the complainant or the accused) who enters the document into evidence, holds the burden of proof.

There is only one type of evidence that the chairperson of a disciplinary hearing can accept as the truth without the burden of proof and that is called ‘A judicial notice’.  This pertains to certain facts that would be commonly known and it means that it is not necessary for any evidence to prove these facts.  An example of this, is an ICU (Intensive Care Unit) nurse is charged with smoking in a dangerous and non-smoking area whilst she is attending to patient who is on oxygen.

Usually the complainant would have to prove that the accused actually smoked in the ICU and also that the ICU is actually a non-smoking area and that smoking near someone who is on oxygen is dangerous.  In this instance the chairperson could rule that the complainant need only prove that the accused was indeed smoking, as it is a judicial notice (an acceptable fact) that it is dangerous to smoke in an ICU area.

Basing a hearing on ‘knowing’ that the accused is guilty or only documentary evidence or only witness testimony is not a good idea.  You have to have sufficient ‘admissible’ evidence both oral and documentary, to prove the guilt of the accused.

Remember too though, that no matter how much you have proved the accused guilty to yourself, it also has to be proved in the perspective of the chairperson/arbitrator or Labour Court judge.

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

Blogging 101 - The Content - Part 11

BLOGGING TIPS – The Content – Part 11


By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC July  2011

As promised here is the final article on the “Content” of blogging.  I will certainly write some more articles on blogging at some stage, but this is it for now.

I think it is really important to understand that as bloggers, we are not just about blogging or about our blogs. We are (usually) business owners who are passionate about our businesses and what it is that we do and the value that our readers gain from reading our blogs comes from our experience – not only the experience gained from our businesses, but the experiences that we have gained from life.  It’s about all that knowledge that we share about our lives, where we have been and what it is that we have lived through.  It’s about the little things that have touched our lives and grabbed our interest and the big battles that we have fought and won (or lost) and why and how we won (or lost) them and how to do it better/faster/easier next time around.

So does this mean that we have to travel and trawl the four corners of the earth (strange that we say that don’t you think, when the world is actually round ) to find new material and new experiences to share – of course not!  Fact is, we mostly have so much information that we already know and that we continue to harvest on a daily basis, that doing this is not necessary.

What we do have to do though is ‘keep it fresh’.  If you want to keep your current readers or grow your followers, you have to keep it interesting, you have to introduce new material all the time.  You have to engage with people all the time.

In order to do this, for me, I have to read, read and then read some more.  Many of my guests laugh at me when they visit me at home – I usually have between 5 and 8 books next to my bed – all being read at the same time and all at different parts of their particular stories.  I have magazines and books in both my toilets and also a book in the car (and no I don’t confuse the stories).  I love to read and usually live vicariously, through the characters in the books – it makes for an interesting life and I have no doubt that this has stood me in good stead as I continue to write my stories and articles for posting on my blog.

I have discovered that the more I write, the more I want to write and the more topics open up to me, stories and experiences just begging to be written and shared with people who are like minded and who enjoy engaging in the story being told and who learn the lessons (or not) or who just read for the enjoyment of reading.

My friend GiGi always says “Everyone has a story to be told” and for me the magic is in the telling of that story, in the learning and in the sharing.

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

Networking 101 - Measure so that you can Manage

THE POWER OF NETWORKING

PART 132

Measure so that you can Manage.

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC. October   2009

How does that saying go?  Something along the lines of “If you don’t measure it, you don’t manage it.”  I forget now, but I am sure you understand my meaning.

Networking is exactly the same – why should it be any different.

I am often told by people that ‘Networking doesn’t work for me’!  Statement of fact, I am sure you will agree.  However when I ask them all the different “why’s”, the story really does change quite considerably.

There’s the ‘why – how many events did you go to’ that usually gets me a response of one – ‘one’ – I mean, how realistically can you do something once and then say it didn’t work?  I don’t get it?

So the next logical question is then “how many people did you meet”?  Well this one can vary between 5 and 50 people.  Now this is where it gets interesting because if you met (let’s split the difference here) say 25 people at the event, and of course my next question is “How many people did you follow up with?”  The majority of folk that I speak to will tell me at this point that ‘no-one’ followed up with them or contacted them and therefore Networking just does not work for them.

Well, I guess that Networking will ever work for anyone if everyone is waiting for everyone else to make the first move! By going through the measurement exercise we have established the facts and that is that if you don’t do something with the contacts/cards/telephone numbers that you have collected at a networking event, you will reap exactly what you sow – in this instance (and in so many that I encounter), exactly nothing.

So once you get home from a Networking event, don’t just toss the cards into a drawer somewhere and wait for something to happen, chances are – nothing will happen.  Phone the people that you have met, make appointments to meet with them, start building relationships, start engaging in Joint Ventures and Collaborations.  Make Networking work for you by working on your Networking.

Measure what you have done against your results and I promise you, you will be very pleasantly surprised.

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

Business Tips - From Employee to Entrepreneur - Part 5

BUSINESS TIPS – From Employee to Entrepreneur – Part 5


By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC – November 2012

So far we have looked at:-
1. The difference between being an employee and an employer;
2. Your Purpose:
3. The People around you and
4. Your Personal Footprint.
5. Knowledge & what you do with it
6. The Generosity of your Spirit
7. The Role of Technology in your Business
8. Self Confidence
9. Creativity and
10. Focus

Believe it or not there are a whole lot more – today we will explore a few more.

1. Vision.
One of the greatest strengths that many Entrepreneurs have when they start out is their ability to ‘think big’!  One of the biggest weaknesses that many Entrepreneurs have is to ‘start big’!  The first thing that they seem to do, once they have borrowed the finance to start the business is to rush out and buy the designer car, the designer clothes and live the designer life – the problem with that is, that it is never sustainable.

I was told the tale the other day of a chap who applied for and received financial assistance from the bank to purchase some much needed machinery that would assist him in automating much of his factory, which of course would increase his capacity because he could now produce his products a lot faster and a lot cheaper and this in turn would mean that his sales would increase too.  Now please understand the loan was for quite a considerable amount – it was in excess of R2m.  As soon as this chap had the money in his account he rushed out and bought . . . . no, not machinery – well I suppose technically a brand new sports car would be considered a machine!  The result . . .  as soon as the bank found out what he had done, they forced him to return the car and he immediately lost R100 000 on the deal.  Quite frankly, I have no sympathy at all.

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing whatsoever wrong with dreaming the big dream and thinking big, but when you start out, you need to ‘start small’ and grow big.

2. Result
Being able to achieve your dream and make a success of  the business that you are trying to build, is not just about your efforts.  It’s not just about ‘doing’!  Sure your actions are important and without them you will never get going or get to where you want to be.  The key here is ‘achieving’, it’s about getting the desired results. It’s about being able to measure what you are doing, so that you can manage your efforts to ensure that you achieve the results that you are looking for.

Let me explain . . I often find myself running around like a headless chicken.  This usually happens when I receive a panic call from a prospective client, who needs XYZ now and not a moment later.  Because I am always on the look out for new business and despite the fact that I have scheduled time for my current clients, I will drop everything to try and meet the requirements of the prospective client, who at the end of my running around, gathering information, putting a proposal together – then decides that they will ‘shelve’ the idea to another time when they have sufficient time/money/resources (insert what you want here) to implement what they were thinking about.  I on the other hand have run around like a mad possessed person, getting everything together so that I could meet their rushed deadlines and achieved . .  exactly nothing!

Now remember, I still have client’s who have expectations and I have yet to meet my deliverables, so that usually means that I have to work through the night and/or over the weekend to ensure that I give them the results that they expect and that they pay for. My result here is that at the end of all of this, yes I have met my deliverables, but I am exhausted, frazzled and often angry with myself, the prospective client and the world in general – not a good place to be.

As you can see, my personal challenge (and I suspect that it is true of many Entrepreneurs), is that I have to learn to say ‘no’ to prospective clients who have unrealistic, last minute requirements.  In other words, My efforts need to harvest achievements.

Next time we will continue to look at some of the other issues that you will need or be aware of to become a successful Entrepreneur.

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

Motivation - An Attitude of Gratitude

MOTIVATION – An Attitude of Gratitude


By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – December 2009

Brian Tracy says “Develop an attitude of gratitude and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step towards achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.”

I seem to having been writing a lot about gratitude over the last couple of weeks and clearly it has something to do with the fact that I am extremely aware of the abundance of opportunity that abounds.

I watched an incredibly spectacular sunset last night and as I marveled at the colours that spread themselves across the heavens I wondered at the ‘paint pallette’ of the Gods (whomever you profess them to be) and marveled at the visions that produced such a masterpiece and I gave thanks, and such a wonderful feeling of being at peace with the world engulfed me.

This morning, I was up early enough to witness the beauty of the sunrise.  Dawn has always been the most special time of the day for me, but today I got a feeling of “all is well in my world” and again murmured thanks to the Universe for allowing me to live in this truly beautiful world.  Just the memory brings a smile to my face and a knowledge that it’s a gift and like any other gift that we are given it’s the right thing to say ‘thank you’.

So stop, smell the coffee (and give thanks for the ability to be able to smell), pick a flower (and give thanks for the gift of sight), look around you  and take it all in – the miracle of life, the gift of living and give thanks.  It will resonate though all of your senses all day long.

What a way to enjoy the day!

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

HR 101 - Labour Broker Employees - Part 2

ARTICLE 50

Labour Broker Employees – Part 2

By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC January 2010

Following on from last time, this time we will look at some of the other requirements pertaining to Labour Brokers, particularly with regards to the payment of PAYE/UIF/SDL payments.

Who is responsible for paying the PAYE/UIF/SDL.  In 1990 the definition of an employee for the purpose of PAYE was extended to a “Labour Broker”. “A Labour Broker is defined as any person who carries on the business of providing the client with other persons to render services or perform work for such client for reward.”  An additional requirement was put into place however and that was that the Labour Broker had to apply for and be in possession of a valid ‘exemption certificate’. So what does this mean?

Well essentially it means that like any person who is self employed, if more than 80% of the income of the Labour Broker is received directly or indirectly from one client, then the PAYE/UIF/SDL needs to be paid by the client.

So the reality of this is that Labour Brokers, who have one big client will not be issued with an exemption certificate and the client will have to deduct the statutory requirements and pay them over to SARS pretty much the same as if they were employing the staff.

Changes in the tax rates to Companies also make a significant difference to whether a company uses Labour Brokers and the Minister has now suggested and proposed the introduction of new measures.  These measures include (but are not limited to), to discourage companies from providing services to a client, that converts income that would normally have been taxed as employment income into company income, as this is taxed at a lower rate.

The Minister has suggested that the term ‘employment company’ be used rather than ‘labour broker’, during the classification process.  This then means that:
a. The income from services rendered by ‘employment companies’ will be subjected to employees’ tax. At this point (when the article I have used was written), the rate was not specified.
b. The allowable deductions of an employment company would be limited to the monies paid to shareholders and/or members and/or other employees of the company.
c. The income of an employment company would be taxed at a rate of 35% and any dividends declared by the company would be subject to STC which would result the actual tax rate being 42.22%
Note: These tax rates, in all probability may have changed – please check with a SARS office to ascertain what the correct rate is for the current year, as this legislation came into effect from 1 August 2000.

Next time we will have a look at some of the other requirements for Labour Brokers particularly with respect to the CCMA requirements.

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

Blogging 101 - The Content - Part 10

BLOGGING TIPS – The Content – Part 10


By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC July  2010

I think that one of the things that is truly visible in my writing is the fact that I really enjoy writing.  Sure it can become a pain in the rear end, especially if I am pressed for time or I don’t have anything prepared and I am running around like a mad person trying to get everything done – pretty much like today - but generally speaking, I really do enjoy writing!

Working on my own often means that days go by, were I don’t see anyone, let alone speak to anyone.  Don’t get me wrong – I have set it up that way and I do like and enjoy it that way.  What this means though is that when I write and watch the words appear on the paper, I am engaged in dialogue – the fact that it is dialogue with myself is an entirely another matter and I am sitting here with a very big smile on my face as I can just imagine the thoughts going on inside the heads of some of you.

The bottom line though is that as time goes by I am getting better at writing, at the way that I express myself, at the way that I look at things and also the words that I use.  I know that you, the reader, can see that I have been having fun and that I really enjoy the fact that I am writing and that is always contagious. I am pretty sure that the minute the writing of my blogs lost its magic for me, the reading of my blogs would lose its’ magic for you.

So, if you are really consistently not enjoying the writing – don’t do it.  Rather give it to someone else who loves to write.

Never forget though, that as a ‘blogger’ you are one person giving out information to a (potentially) large number of people!  There are times when your blog, specifically the topic that you have written about, will inspire someone and when that happens to me – it is absolutely stunning.  You have to remember though that by writing and posting that article, you have opened the door to a conversation and that means that you should continue to take part in that conversation.  So try and respond to each person’s comments. Irrespective of whether you agree with what they have had to say or not, the fact is that they have taken the time and trouble to read your blog and respond.  Respect them for that!

And now . . . .  for the not so lovely part about blogging – the spammers!  In my opinion spammers are the most vile, reprehensible people on the face of the planet – they are lower than the low and certainly lower that shark Sh*t!  They are the people who ruin a perfectly good blog and/or website with their inappropriate postings of offers for Viagra or porn related video clips.  Because of them, your blog and indeed your website, needs to be constantly monitored and you need to delete all of their rubbish on a daily basis.

Next time we will have the final episode on the content of your blog – until then – happy writing!

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

Business Tips - From Employee to Entrepreneur - Part 4

BUSINESS TIPS – From Employee to Entrepreneur – Part 4


By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC – November 2012

So far we have looked at:-
1. The difference between being an employee and an employer;
2. Your Purpose:
3. The People around you and
4. Your Personal Footprint.
5. Knowledge & what you do with it
6. The Generosity of your Spirit and
7. The Role of Technology in your Business

Believe it or not there are a whole lot more – today we will explore a few more.

1. Self Confidence
As an entrepreneur you need a whole bunch of self-confidence.  There will be times when you will be the only person who believes in YOU and what you are capable of doing.

Understand yourself, understand who you are, understand what you are capable of and understand how far you are prepared to go to achieve your dream.

Understand that there will be occasions that you will walk on the road with someone, be they mentor or collaborator or partner or customer or supplier or friend, but there will also be times that you will walk alone – be prepared for it and deal with it.

There will be times when you celebrate your successes and there will be times when it will feel as though you are all alone in the world – in those times, will you still believe in yourself?  That is a question that you have to ask yourself and that is a question only you can answer and it will require a brutally honest answer.

2. Creativity
Understand that as an entrepreneur, even accountants or auditors, are creative.  Yes, you actually read that correctly.  ALL entrepreneurs are creative – they have ‘created’ something, they have breathed life into something that did not exist.  That’s huge!  We are creative when we ‘put the picture’ together in our minds of how we want our businesses to look, to feel and to work. That is also why it is of the utmost importance that entrepreneurs reserve time to dream.  If you cannot dream it, it will not happen and only having one dream is kind of defeating the object – we need to dream all the time.  Take time out to dream, book it in your diary if you need to, but make sure that you take the time to draw pictures in your mind of what you want to happen, to dream the future.  Remember though it will still require an action (well to be honest many actions) to turn that dream into a reality.

3. Focus
One of the quickest ways to lose you way is to lose your focus.  Whether you are working on a document or preparing a presentation or raising an invoice or indeed running an entire business, when you lose focus you veer off the road and all manner of disasters and conflict await you.

Here’s the thing, although women (and even some men) proudly profess to be effective and efficient at multi-tasking, the fact of the matter is that the brain is designed and wired to only hold one thought at a time.  You may think that you are holding two or more, but realistically you are ‘switching’ between thoughts or in effect losing focus, particularly if the two thoughts are on unrelated issues.

Make sure that you always have your ‘end goal’ clearly visible – mine are on ‘post it notes’ all over the office, so I can see them all the time.  That way you will have them in your thoughts constantly and it will make it that much easier to maintain your focus.

Next time we will continue to look at some of the other issues that you will need or be aware of to become a successful Entrepreneur.

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

Networking 101 - The Art of Listening

THE POWER OF NETWORKING

PART 131

The Art of Listening

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC. September  2009

I must confess, I am having a real hard time of it lately – getting people to actually listen to the whole sentence, that is, before they jump right in and answer the question that I did not ask or worse make an assumption on something I haven’t said or even make a statement regarding something that is not even on the table.  It’s really quite challenging and even more annoying and the result, at the moment is that people who actually want referrals and/or work from me are not getting it because of this.  All because they won’t listen and are in such a hurry to say what it is that they perhaps think I want to hear.

Let me give you an example – I am currently running a whole bunch of workshops that are geared for the SMME and entrepreneur markets.  There are about 9 of them that will be run as collaborations through several of the chambers and the result is that each workshop will need to be facilitated 5 times next year through each of the 3 chambers.  That’s a total of 15 times for each of the 9 workshops, gives me 135 workshops to co-ordinate and plan before I even look at the other work that I have to do.  Fortunately I will only be facilitating 30 of these myself.  I was looking for someone to facilitate a specific workshop and received a call from a chap who is the brother of one of my colleagues, who works in the particular field that I was looking at.

His first question was ‘so how much will you pay me a day?’  Fair question – as I proceeded to tell him that because it was aimed at start-up businesses and entrepreneurs that I was looking to keep the cost of the workshop just below R1500 . . . .  before I could say anything else he jumped in and said that I would not get anyone to work for that amount of money!  Of course my sentence was not complete and the rest of it would have gone on . . .  per delegate and we would like the numbers of delegates attending to around the 20 to 25 per workshop to keep it intimate and informal and that most of the other facilitators were being paid in the region of Rx and would that suit him?  I took a big breath of air and asked him to please stop talking and just listen for a minute to let me finish my sentence.  He didn’t of course and just carried on about the R1 500.  After a few minutes of listening to how unreasonable I was, I just said that if and when he was prepared to actually listen to what I had to say he could call back and I put the phone down.  Now, answer me honestly – would you give any work to this person?  If he couldn’t even let me finish a sentence before jumping right in, how would I know if he actually would be listening to a) my requirements in terms of what I would need from him like ‘course material’, projectors etc., and even more scary, b) how would I know if he would actually listen to any questions that the delegates may ask?  I mean the whole point of these workshops is to provide information to and for small business owners, entrepreneurs and start ups – what benefit would they get if their questions were not answered properly?

This often happens when I am at a Networking event too and it really becomes a conversation killer – I tend to just walk away these days!  Oh yes, I know that we are supposed to ‘mellow’ with age, but I seem to have gone in the opposite direction – I have just become more cranky and cantankerous or maybe it’s just because I am fed up with people not only wanting access to my database and my intellectual property, but who are intent on wasting my time and as I am sure most of you will agree, the older we get the less time we seem to have.

So when Networking (in fact when having any kind of conversation) try listening for a change. It will open up a world of possibilities, not only in the information that we are going to be getting, but also in the number of ‘intelligent questions’ that we will get to ask.  Further issues can be properly clarified and points raised that may never otherwise have seen the light of day.

As much as I understand that it would mean a ‘mind shift’ or even an ‘attitude adjustment’ in terms of our habits, it would be well worth the efforts and the returns would be greater.  Actually, whilst I am on the subject of ‘attitude’, perhaps a regular check on what our attitudes are and whether they need a small tweak or a large kick up the rear end may well be to our advantage.

Take a good long, hard look in the mirror every morning and see whether your attitude needs to be changed – and if it does, do something about it there and then -  it’s something we all need to do on a regular basis


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

Motivation - Advantages of Failure

MOTIVATION –  Advantages of Failure


By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – June 2010

Okay, I know, I know, I know – I seem to be hell bent on the whole “failure” thing at the moment.  Truth is, it is very important for me to make sure that we all (and that means me too)  know that failure is not the end of the world but rather the beginning of a new chapter.

Here’s a whole new take on it.  I was reading an article by Charlene Smith who says “It’s important to fail.  But while you’re lying on the floor, what’s even more important is to be thinking ‘Okay, so how do I start again?’”

I really, really like the idea of lying on the floor (well you can’t get much lower or rock bottom than that can you) contemplating the world as it is right at that particular moment, thinking ‘How the hell did I get here” or blaming the government, the tax man, the competitors and the latest one that I heard the other day, the 2010 world cup (huh!) before you get to the real reason as to why you failed (oh come on, it’s got to dawn on you at some stage that you are responsible for your own failure)!  I also think that it is important to allow yourself to ‘feel’ the pain, the sorrow and the angst for being that failure (well for a maximum of five minutes that is) – you need to remember what that feels like so that when you are tempted to repeat your mistakes, the memory will assist with not allowing you to.  But then it is time to stop beating your breast or pulling your hair out or weeping and wailing and throwing your hands heavenward as you cry “why me”?  Then it’s time to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, square your shoulders and get on with it.

The ‘it’ that you need to get on with is firstly, a plan to be getting yourself out of the mess that you currently find yourself in and secondly, how to start again and do things differently.

You don’t really think that every single successful person on the planet became mega successful without failing at some point do you?  Here’s a touch of reality – what makes you think that you are any different?  What makes you think that you are better than the ‘greats’ of the world – we all know them, we all read about them – people like Henry Ford or Thomas Edison or to bring us closer to our own time frame, Bill Gates and Richard Branson.  Failure, in Charlene Smith’s words is “unavoidable”!  So - take that!

The reality of this means that “no truly successful person has avoided failure or sometimes dramatic setbacks” – again, why would you be any different?

The reality of the situation is that, in order for us to grow ourselves and our businesses we have to be ‘streetwise’.  We have to know where the potholes and pitfalls are and for that we need experience. We have to know how to deal with people be they clients  or suppliers or staff.  The reality of the situation is that we, as humans are lazy – we always want to take the short cut or get others to do things that we are too lazy to do ourselves and therein lies some of our biggest errors.  That said, the reality is also that we cannot do everything ourselves, so when we rely on others it should be others that have the experience that we ourselves lack.  It should be others that we trust and respect and who have the same values and morals as ourselves.

So while you’re lying there on the floor feeling sorry for yourself and the situation that you find yourself in – think about this in-between the moment where you are weeping and wailing and blaming all and sundry and the moment that you pick yourself up – failing at something gives you the opportunity to do something again, but differently.

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

HR 101 - Labour Broker Employees - Part 1

ARTICLE 50

Labour Broker Employees – Part 1

By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC January 2010

There has been a lot of controversy in the news of late regarding Labour Brokers and indeed, I have some clients who use Labour Brokers for their staffing requirements. Most people are under the impression that by using the services of a Labour Broker, they will save themselves the staffing  problems and hassles that are usually incurred when dealing with employees – let me be clear on this, nothing is further than the truth! Here are some issues that employers need to understand when using Labour Brokers.  These are, but not limited to:

Labour Broker employees enjoy exactly the same rights as any other employee under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.  This means that even if the Labour Broker loses the client or the contract comes to an end, the employee cannot just be dismissed.  Let’s bring in the protagonists.

Mike is a Labour Broker who employs hundreds if not thousands of employees all over the country.  He has clients in every major sector and enjoys a mainly good relationship with most of his clients who range from small 5 employee requirements to clients who have need of hundreds of employees.

George is one of Mike’s employees.  George has worked for Mike for the last 15 years, with the majority of that being in a Distribution company (let’s call them ABC Logistics), where George is a driver.

ABC Logistics have undergone some intense restructuring of the company and have decided to go the route of ‘owner/driver’, which obviously has a huge impact on the 500 odd drivers that they employ from various Labour Brokers.  The contracts with the Labour Brokers are slowly but surely not being renewed and Mike finds himself with 150 drivers that he no longer has any work for as his contract was not renewed.  Mike’s contract with all of his employees is a ‘temporary’ contract that does not have an end date, as Mike thought that this would be the easiest way to manage the employees, in the event that he lost contracts.
Mike decides that since he has lost the contract and therefore has no work for all of these drivers and since they are all ‘temporary’ staff anyway, he will just dismiss them and then that will be the end of that.

Mike sent out notices to all of the drivers advising them that the contract with ABC Logistics was coming to an end and that it would not be renewed and therefore his contract with the drivers would also be coming to an end.

When the contract ended, Mike dismissed all the drivers.  George found himself another job and went to the CCMA as he did not receive a retrenchment package (also known as severance pay).

Mike found himself in hot water with a huge bill to pay.  Here’s the thing – just because you have a ‘contract’ in place that says that you are a temporary employee, doesn’t make it so.  A ‘temporary’ contract that does not have an ‘end date’ gives the employee a permanent status which means that his termination can only be for a very good reason.

Labour law is also extremely clear on what the requirements are in terms of severance pay and it is well documented.  When retrenching staff the value of their severance pay and/or retrenchment packet hinges on the number of completed years that they have worked and be warned, there is no ceiling on this.  So in George’s case, Mike had to pay out 15 weeks salary, but had George worked for Mike for 30 or even 40 years it would have made no difference – Mike would still need to pay one week for every completed year of service.

The only way that Mike could have avoided paying the severance pay would have been if he had offered George reasonable alternative employment, which in this instance clearly was not the case.

Mike learned the hard way, that even though he was a Labour Broker, his employees still needed to be treated fairly in terms of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the Labour Relations Act.

Next time we will have a look at some of the other requirements for Labour Brokers.

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

Networking 101 - It's How You Play the Game

THE POWER OF NETWORKING

PART 130

It’s How You Play the Game

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC. September  2009

In a democratic society, the majority rules.  Networking is no different and in Networking the majority of people are extroverts, so it stands to reason that Networking rules are made by the extroverts and it is therefore incumbent on introverts to just fit in.

There is no doubt in my mind at all, that Networking is not only the key to unlocking opportunities, it is fundamental to the well being of any small company.

It’s all about how you Network and how well you play the game.  It’s about being the best that you can be and about the sharing of ideas and experience.

It’s about building relationships and being reciprocal.  It’s about getting up off your rear end and getting things done, rather than waiting for someone else to do it for you or worse, wondering what the hell happened.

So get out there, Network, Network, Network and then Network some more.  Done correctly it will take your business to greater heights.

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

Business Tips - From Employee to Entrepreneur - Part 3

BUSINESS TIPS – From Employee to Entrepreneur – Part 3


By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC – May 2012

So far we have looked at:-
1. The difference between being an employee and an employer;
2. Your Purpose:
3. The People around you and
4. Your Personal Footprint.

Believe it or not there is a whole lot more – today we will explore a few more.

1. Knowledge – we all know the statement “Knowledge is Power”!  Well I would like to challenge that particular statement – you see I personally don’t believe that “knowledge” itself is power – I believe that it is “What” you do with that knowledge that makes it powerful.

Now that I have gotten that out of the way, let me say this – you need to continue learning, you need to ‘grow’ yourself.  You need to research and plan and strategize and develop and you can only do this if you learn about new things, expand your knowledge and understanding.

Remember though that knowledge without the utilization of that knowledge is useless.  Just like a thought without action remains a thought – knowledge without the action remains powerless.

2. Generosity
Now generosity is not limited to putting your hand in your pocket – actually if the truth be told, that’s the easy way out.  There is generosity of spirit where you share with others, things like your time, your knowledge and your expertise.  You may not be giving out money but you may be giving of yourself.

The truth of the matter is that the more you give the more you get and more especially, the more that you give without thought of what you could get – the more you will get, the more you will attract to yourself and the more that you will receive.

Of course that is not to say that you have to give everything away for free – that would certainly not be good business acumen, but if you can lend a helping hand to give some good advice or have even just listened and been a sounding board, then please pause for a moment and help out.  You will find one day, that when you need help, it will be offered or arrive unexpectedly and in great abundance.

3. Technology – now this one brought a huge big smile to my face – the proverbial ‘technophobe’ that’s me.  Technophobe or not, the fact of the matter is that todays’ technology does things faster, more efficiently and more accurately, than we can do things manually. Look at the way manual books were done in the past and how accounting packages now deal with entries, and double entries or how we used to ‘dial’ a number on a landline and nowadays how many of us no longer even have landlines but conduct business and even run our businesses, manage our diaries and communicate with the world on cell phones or tablets or laptops or notebooks.

Nowadays there are gadgets for girls and gadgets for boys – electronic devices that are geared specifically to make life easier.  Remember though that ‘easier’ often also means ‘faster’.  Be aware of what is new and what’s improved, it doesn’t mean that you have to buy everything that hits the shelves, but at the very least, be aware of what is hitting the shelves and invest in what can be of the most assistance to you.

Next time we will continue to look at some of the other issues that you will need or be aware of to become a successful Entrepreneur.

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

Motivation - Actions Speak Louder than Words

MOTIVATION – Actions Speak Louder than Words


By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – November 2009


Ralph, Waldo Emerson says “What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.”
So many times I get the feeling that I am talking “at” people rather than talking to them or with them.

The perception, when you are engaged in conversation is that people are hanging onto every word that you say or alternatively, not listening at all.  The reality is of course that it’s somewhere in the middle.

What does always really stand out however (well it does for me) is the credibility of the person who is speaking and in order for most people to gain credibility they have to be seen “Walking the talk”.

Let me tell you now, people are tired of “Talk Shows!”  More and more people want to see that a person lives up the expectations that they have set up.  They want to see that you are a person of your word, a person who can be depended on, a person of moral character.

Many years ago, when I was still a child, my father said “You have no control over the name that you bring into this world because it is the name that I have given you, but you are responsible for the name that you take out of this world because it is the name that you have made for yourself”.
It is something that I have been aware of my whole life and it is something that I live by and something that I live for within the parameters of my business.  It is intrinsically who I am and what I stand for.
SMMEs (Small, Medium, Micro Enterprises), in general have earned themselves a reputation and sadly it is one of being unreliable, one of not being able to deliver.

Why? We because we are so busy telling people how fabulous we are, that there is no time to be the ‘fabulous’ that we say we are.  On a personal level, I am far more comfortable being ‘fabulous’ than talking about how ‘fabulous’ I am.  I am far more comfortable ‘doing’ than talking about doing.

So tell me are you a “doer” or are you just a talker?  Do walk the talk or just talk the talk?

I know exactly which one I want to be known as - do you?

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

HR 101 - Desertion and the AWOL Employee - Part 3

ARTICLE 49

Desertion and the AWOL Employee – Part 3

By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC January 2010

Over the last two weeks we have had a look at an example of desertion where the employee just did not ever come back to work and one where the employee did come back to work. This time let’s look at a different example.

So bring in the protagonists – Mike owns a chain of retail stores in various busy malls across the country.  George is one of his managers. Let’s use the busy Christmas time type scene again.  It’s a Thursday morning and Jane (the Assistant Store Manager) calls Mike to tell him that George has not arrived for work and there is a queue of clients (as well as the rest of the staff) waiting for the store to open.

Understandably, Mike is somewhat annoyed but he hurries off with the store spare keys to open up.  Mike tries to contact George on all of the numbers that he has to no avail and then resigns himself to the fact that George won’t be in for the day.  Mike’s procedures are well documented and he goes about doing a formal hand over to Jane, who grabs the opportunity willingly as she wants to prove herself and get ahead.

On Friday (day two) Jane advises Mike that once again George has not arrived at work and they try and contact him again, leaving messages all over.

Saturday (day three), Jane again advises that George has not arrived at work and again they try and contact him, leaving messages for him everywhere.

Sunday (day four), Jane makes the call again to advise Mike that George has not arrived for work.

Monday morning early George arrives together with a long story of how he was kidnapped.  Mike, who was furious, now feels remorse about his anger and now starts feeling pity for his traumatised employee instead. A thought keeps popping into his head however because for someone who was kidnapped and physically restrained (as per George’s story) and held without food or water in a dark room, there is no visible signs of any trauma.  Mike decides to ‘keep it tidy’ and asks George for the Police Case Number and hospital records where George was ‘checked out’ to ensure that he was okay, for the records.

Several days later after much nagging, George breaks down and admits that there is no case number as he did not report it to the police and he did not go to the hospital because well, there was no kidnapping.  The actual event that took place was that George went out drinking with his friends on the Wednesday evening and they continued to drink through the night and then all of Thursday too.  At some point it was decided in their alcoholic haze that they needed an excuse as to why none of them had gone to work and they came up with the kidnapping story.  The alcoholic binge had continued through Friday and Saturday as well and George had slept through Saturday night and all day Sunday which is why he was able to return to work on Monday morning.

Furious again, Mike brought disciplinary charges against George for being AWOL (following the correct procedures of course) and George was found guilty.  The days that he had been off were calculated as unpaid leave and the money was deducted from George’s salary.  George’s elaborate story also had consequences.  George was demoted and lost his title of Manager and Jane was promoted into his position.

That concludes the examples of the difference between ‘Desertion’ and being AWOL.  Next time we will look at a new topic.

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