PLACEMENT

AND
ORIENTATION
LETTER OF APPOINTMENT OR
CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT

 Every employee who is appointed to a

position in an organisation must be
issued with a contract of employment
LETTER OF APPOINTMENT OR
CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT
 The contract of employment should include the following:
 The position for which the employee is to be appointed
 The salary the employee is to earn and how often the employee will be
paid
 How the employee is to be paid, for example cash or bank transfer
 The starting date of employment
 The benefits the employee will be entitled to, for example medical aid and
provident fund
 The increase date if applicable
 The number of days annual leave due per year
 Hours of work
 The security procedures of the organisation
 A probationary period where necessary
 A clause binding the employee to abide by the rules and regulations of the
organisation
 A clause detailing the terms for termination of employment
 Signature of acceptance
DUTIES OF THE EMPLOYER
 To pay remuneration

 To receive the employee into service

 To provide work for the employee

 To provide leave

 To ensure safe working conditions

 Miscellaneous duties, for example keeping of records

and not victimising employee
DUTIES OF THE EMPLOYEE
 To enter into service on the agreed date and begin
doing the work that the employee undertook to
perform

 To perform his or her tasks diligently and competently

 To obey all the employers lawful and reasonable

instructions

 To act in good faith and promote the employer’s

business. (Keeping information regarding the
business confidential and the employee may not
compete with the employer for business or be
dishonest in any way).
TYPES OF CONTRACT
 Casual employment

 A fixed term contract

 Permanent Contract with a Probation

Period

 Permanent Contract without Probation

Period
CASUAL EMPLOYEES
 The Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 defines
a casual employee as “a day worker who is employed by the
same employer on not more than three days in any week”

 The employer terminates automatically after that day’s work

 If the casual employee works for the same employer on an

on-going basis, then after a reasonable period of time, that
employee may develop an expectation of continued
employment

 If the employer decides not to carry on with the employment

relationship between himself and the casual employee, the
casual employee may be able to claim that he has been
unfairly dismissed if he had a reasonable expectation that
his Contract of Employment would be renewed.
CASUAL EMPLOYEES
 If the employer intends terminating a casual
employee's employment and the casual
employee has worked for the employer for a
reasonably long period, it is advisable not to
terminate the working relationship unilaterally

 The employer should follow the procedures that

are expected of him as if he was dealing with a
permanent employee.
FIXED TERM CONTRACT
EMPLOYEES
 In terms of the Act, the failure to renew a fixed term contract
of employment when there is a reasonable expectation on
the part of the employee that the contract will be
renewed is construed as an unfair dismissal

 Employees that are employed on a fixed term contract are

not excluded from the Labour Relations Act and the Basic
Conditions of Employment Act

 These employees enjoy all the rights like a permanent

employee

 Employees on fixed term contracts also enjoy rights such as

freedom of association, the right to strike and the right to
seek relief in the appropriate court when an unfair labour
practice has been alleged.
PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEES
 The probation period refers to the time stated in the
contract of employment (commonly three months) in
which the employee must demonstrate that he/she is
capable of doing the job

 For probation to be fair it needs to be of a reasonable

period taking into account the nature of the job an
employee is doing

 The employer needs to bear in mind that the employee

under the probation enjoys all the rights accorded to other
full time employees
PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEES
 The employer needs to have substantive grounds for
terminating the contract and those must have been
brought to the attention of the employee during a process
of a fair procedure

 For the purpose of incapacity (performance) dismissal,

the employee under probation must receive the required
feedback; training, guidance or counselling that is needed
for a satisfactory performance.

 The Act also directs that the employee under probation

should only be dismissed after having been given an
opportunity to improve.
PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEES
 If the employee has to serve probation, the probationary
period must be included in the letter of employment and
the contract of employment.

 Should there be a need for the

extension of the probationary period
for whatever reason that must be
reduced to writing and signed by
both parties and form an addendum
to the contract of employment.
ORIENTATION OF NEW
EMPLOYEES
 Once employees have been hired the organisation
should take the responsibility to orientate them to the
new workplace, meaning they should be introduced to
the organisation, their work units and their jobs.

 This helps to provide the employee with an accurate

perception of the organisation and protects the employee
from misleading information
ORIENTATION OF NEW
EMPLOYEES
 Employees receive two types of orientation:
 Orientation to the organisation
 Departmental and job orientation

 Possible topics included in an orientation programme are:

 Department functions
 Job duties and responsibilities
 Policies, procedures, rules and regulations
 Tour of the department
 Introduction to department employees