National Employee Relations Manager

A specialist warehouse and distribution company has an exciting opportunity for an experienced, customer service-oriented National Employee Relations Manager in Gauteng

To drive compliance in Labour legislation and implementation of interventions in the respective region in line with company strategy thereby mitigating risk to ACMS. To manage internal dispute resolution procedures and provide advice to ACMS Management in the allocated region. External dispute management at CCMA/Bargaining Council for ACMS. To provide professional and competent strategic consulting services to ACMS, manage subordinates, and coordinate team activities to achieve ACMS strategy and departmental objectives. Active engagement with Trade Unions on behalf of ACMS.

• Grade 12
• Bachelor’s Degree - Labour Law
• Admitted attorney would be an added advantage
• Minimum 5 yrs. Labour Relations experience is essential with extensive exposure to CCMA, Conciliation, Arbitrations, litigation, unions etc.
• Training experience would be advantageous
• TES Industry exposure advantageous
• Solid reporting and administration skills

PROCESS

• Accountable for the improvement of quality, service and desired work outputs, advising on procedural and process improvements; enabling adherence to a set framework of policies and procedures.
• Proactively identify process-related operational problems, determine cause and effect and recommend improvements to solve issues based on previous experience and an understanding of the context of the problem.
• Plan for the organization of work outputs and process improvement activities in light of a specific situational context related to an area of specialization.
• Gather relevant information related to specialization activities; collate and integrate into written reports for assessment or appraisal and present as input to managerial reporting or decision-making.
• Externally represent the company at CCMA / Bargaining Councils / Trade Union engagement.
• Manage and track disputes received within required timelines and presented, including tracking of positive or adverse awards in relation to prospects of success identified proactively and impact of performance on results in case presentation.
• Monitor Post for any legal documents received or served on regional offices and follow up with Adcorp entities to check if any legal documents were served on them.
• Ensure operations activities and support received are professionally attended to and closed out within required timelines and status reports provided. (e.g., s189 processes s197 agreements and processes, strike management, organisational rights, complex and, Mass. disciplinary hearings, union negotiations, collective bargaining and collective grievances, etc.)
• Union engagement meetings, e.g. wage negotiations, internal disputes, labour unrest; organisational rights
• Strike Management: Protected and Unprotected; establishing picketing rules;
• Initiator at mass disciplinary enquiries;
• Chairing mass disciplinary enquiries;
• Chairing complex disciplinary enquiries;
• Section 197 consultations;
• Section 189/A consultations (including drafting s189(3) notices, requesting facilitation, termination letters, retrenchment full and final settlement agreements, etc.
• Consultations pertaining to work practices such as a change in working hours, etc.
• IR assistance and support as and when required by operations in regions;
• Vetting separation agreements;
• Attend to union representation verification analysis and reporting;
• Ensure all cases, meetings and operations activities are kept on record.

STRATEGIC CONSULTING

• Strategic consulting with internal and external clients is attended to professionally and timeously, ensuring client satisfaction
• Provide input/guidance on Labour Relations matters to minimize risk;

SYSTEMS MAINTENANCE AND REPORTING

• Ensure accurate and complete documentation for all disputes, queries, ops activities, settlement agreements, awards, recognition agreements, collective agreements and document repository is kept;
• Develop and maintain an effective process for the storage, indexing, sorting, classifying, filing, and communication of all Labour Relations documentation (Google Sheets);
• Consolidate Labour Relations Reports monthly for activities – e.g. stats in region, suspension, dismissals, and settlement/awards report, training activities, root cause analysis and make recommendations to regional management;
• Assist with ad hoc reporting as requested by regional management;
• Evaluate current SOPs and recommend amendments if needed. Draft new SOPs in sections of the business where there are not any.

PEOPLE MANAGEMENT

• Providing guidance to subordinates and managing their activities to ensure efficient and effective professional service.
• Responsible for performance relating to dispute resolution process and administration.
• Managing inputs and outputs of subordinates.
• Ensure regular staff engagement on all levels of the operation.
• Conduct regular surveys with employees to establish management and staff morale.
• Evaluate survey results and provide strategic solutions to improve employee relations.
• Actively engage with staff on the floor and build sound relations.
• Be the go-to person with regard to staff queries.
• Convene regular meetings with staff, department managers and operational managers to discuss any burning issues relating to staff and provide feedback on the same to all stakeholders.

CUSTOMER

• Contribute to a culture of stakeholder service excellence in support of an engagement strategy, which builds positive relationships and provides an opportunity for feedback and exceptional service delivery.
• Provide quality service to clients, operations representatives and relevant management structures avoiding complaints around customer service, turnaround time of query handling and preparation of matters
• Build and manage relationships with external stakeholders (Case Management representatives as CCMA and Bargaining Councils; trade unions, external legal counsels and consultants)
• Build and manage relationships with Unions in line with Adcorp’s vision, mission and values and departmental objectives of client centricity.
• Team player, provide support to the ACMS Operations team

COMPLIANCE AND GOVERNANCE

• Comply with risk and governance policies, implement, and provide subject matter feedback to enhance the development of processes applicable to an area of specialization.
• Periodic (at least quarterly) training interventions and workshops with ACMS Managers within allocated regions on problem areas identified, CCMA matters win and losses and improvements, SOPs and expectations, and external client labour relations compliance requirements.
• Monthly-consolidated reports on IR climate, disputes, root causes, risk areas and trends, and recommendations for improvement. Periodic reports as required by operating entities.
• Staying abreast of sharing, and reporting on relevant news articles in relation to labour relations within South African legislation market changes, union activities, trends, and attendance of seminars, and reporting thereof to regional management for awareness.
• Ensure compliance with departmental Standard Operating Procedures and processes.
• Suggest an improvement to departmental processes, procedures and systems ensuring continuous improvement.
• Ensure compliance with CCMA, Bargaining Council rules and collective agreements, legislation (acts and regulations, in particular, LRA, EEA and BCEA processes and timelines as prescribed