Three categories of dismissals may arise from employers’ operational requirements, retrenchment (termination because the employees are superfluous to the employer’s need), redundancy (termination because the employer no longer has the required skills) and transfers (termination because of the transfer of the whole or part of the employer’s business).

In terms of section 189 of the LRA, paragraph 3. The employer must issue a written notice inviting the other consulting party to consult with it and disclose in writing all relevant information, including, but not limited to:

a) The reason for the proposed dismissals;
b) The alternatives that the employer considered before proposing the dismissals, and the reasons for rejecting each of those alternatives;
c) The number of employees likely to be affected and the job categories in they are employed;
d) The proposed method for selecting which employees to dismiss;
e) The time when, or the period during which, the dismissals are likely to take effect;
f) The severance pay proposed;
g) Any assistance that the employer proposes to offer to the employees likely to be dismissed;
h) The possibility of the future re-employment of the employees who are dismissed;
i) The number of the employees employed by the employer;
j) The number of employees that the employer has dismissed for reasons based on its operational requirements in the preceding 12 months.

The scope of section 189

These provisions are applicable to all employers irrespective of their size, or the number of employees to be retrenched.

For further information on any labour related matters, you can contact
Bernard Reisner:

W.Tel no.: 021 423 3959
Fax: 021 423 2105
Cell: 082 433 8714
E-mail: bernard@capelabour.co.za
Website: www.capelabour.co.za