When you run a business, there are numerous human resources (HR) pitfalls that you could fall into that could end up costing you significantly. South Africa’s labour laws are some of the most stringent in the world and are primarily designed to protect employees first. Therefore, you should be very careful with the following things to ensure that you don’t run into trouble due to ignorance.

Poor Hiring Processes

Hiring someone is a serious decision that should not be taken lightly. Once a person is employed, South African labour law makes it pretty tough to dismiss that person without good cause. Unless they commit certain offences and stringent processes are followed, getting rid of an employee that doesn’t fit with the business culture can be difficult.

Therefore, establishing a good cultural fit with the company is important before making your decision, as it can be difficult to undo your employment decision after it has been made.

Failure To Document

If an employee is underperforming, it is vital to provide them with feedback and support. Not only will that feedback help improve the operation of the business and give the employee a fighting chance to come up to the required standard, but also because if you want to get rid of the employee for failure to perform, then you need to be able to prove that you made every effort to bring them up to standard. However, this cannot be proved without a clear and indisputable paper trail.

Documented evidence will show without any doubt that every reasonable effort was made on the employer’s part to help the employee bring their performance up to the required standard within reason. It will show that the eventual termination is fair and cannot be blamed on unfair discrimination or something else that will net them a win at the CCMA.

Not Having Tailored Policies And Procedures

It is quite easy to get hold of generic HR policies and procedures. Many can be found for free to download off the Internet or, in other cases, can be bought for cheap from fly-by-night HR practitioners.

However, generic policies can backfire as many things in them may not apply or may not cover things that you need. Your company may have special or unique circumstances that are not accounted for, which you may only discover when something goes wrong and you realise that you do not have the policy to cover it.

Therefore, it is strongly advised that any policies and procedures that you have put in place are reviewed by an HR professional and tailored to the specific unique needs and circumstances of your business, or you will have no leg to stand on when challenged at the CCMA.

Having proper policies and procedures in place not only protects you as the company but also helps employees know what’s expected of them and also what their rights are.

Companies can make many more pitfalls, such as not providing employee benefits or compensation or allowing a toxic business culture to thrive unchecked. Get a human resources expert to assess your company for any of these pitfalls to avoid unnecessary liability.