benefits of nursing recruitment services

The Benefits of Expert Nursing Recruitment

Do you have a nursing shortage? Are your clients and patients not fully satisfied with their care? You may want to rethink how you are recruiting nurses. Healthcare providers often hire their own nursing professionals based on the same recruiting methods used in the rest of their organisations.

This means they may end up with a team of unqualified or inexperienced nurses who do not always have the core skills and requirements to deliver in this type of environment.

Many issues stem from hiring unqualified staff, so healthcare-based organisations need a nursing recruitment partner that uses a systematic, objective and comprehensive hiring progression. Greys Nursing Services uses an in-depth recruiting process that brings unique advantages to both the healthcare provider and the hired nurse.

This article explores the benefits of healthcare providers who leverage a flexible and permanent nursing services partner that uses an expert recruiting process.

Greys Nursing Services

Greys Nursing Services offers nursing staff who are professional, competent and have a diverse range of skills to provide your clients with world-class care at every step of the way.

We are an operationally minded, entrepreneurial, and client-first healthcare service provider offering healthcare organisations a complete nurse staffing solution. As a client, you can fill critical positions in your healthcare team with outsourced professionals such as:

  • Caregivers
  • Ward Aides
  • Registered Nurses
  • Enrolled Nurses
  • Enrolled Nursing Assistants
  • Special Nursing Assignees

With Greys Nursing Services, you are in control. You can increase or decrease your outsourced nursing staff at any time, giving you greater flexibility in your operations.

We can efficiently deal with any seasonal changes in your requirements while still providing you with dependable professionals focused on bringing you value.

Who does Greys partner with?

Rooted firmly in the solid foundation of the MASA group of companies, Greys Nursing Services is a trusted industry leader with over forty years of experience in the medical sector.

By cultivating long-term relationships with clients and staff alike, we can obtain the highest level of care and service with every placement. Greys offers specialist nursing professionals into many establishments, including:

  • Care Facilities
  • Retirement villages and Old Age Homes
  • Frail Care Facilities
  • Palliative Care Facilities
  • Home-based Care/Home Care Nursing
  • Private Hospitals and Clinics

Organisations partnering with us can rest assured that only the most qualified, caring and capable staff are placed within their healthcare facility to deliver the highest level of care possible.

The nurses we provide are our employees, so we can handle everything to do with their administration, management and other operational tasks, including:

  • Contract management
  • Full wage administration
  • Human resources/personnel
  • Industrial/labour relations
  • On-site staff management

Greys Nursing Services sets itself apart by providing the quality management and administration that brings your organisation significant advantages behind the scenes.

Ultimately, our partners can leverage a comprehensive nursing solution that handles the vital elements while clearing up more time to optimise client and patient care.

The recruiting process

Expert recruitment is a hallmark of Greys Recruitment and the MASA Group of companies. As a leading nursing services provider, we only work with highly qualified professionals that go through a rigorous vetting, hiring and training process geared to deliver the utmost value to your organisation, clients and patients.

Greys Nursing Services uses a detailed nursing recruitment process that makes it easy to find, hire and onboard nursing staff. We go beyond industry best practices to set a higher standard of recruitment, which encompasses the following procedures:

Face-to-face interview and reference check

After tapping into our pool of candidates and sourcing prospective hires, each nurse will undergo an in-person interview. A face-to-face interview allows us to assess a candidates personality, communication skills and whether they will fit your organisational culture.

The reference check goes the extra mile to verify a candidates experience and the various roles, tasks and overall performance exhibited with their previous employment.

Criminal and ITC checks

We can run a criminal check on every nursing candidate upon the client’s request to ensure that they have no criminal record.

Verifying applicant registration documents with SANC

Verifying our candidates’ documentation is an essential part of the process. We check all the relevant registration documents with the South African Nursing Council (SANC) for registered nurses, enrolled nurses and emergency nurses.

Medical Tests

We can conduct medical tests for each nurse at the request of our clients and concerning the job at hand. This step is a sensitive but crucial requirement for certain health care facilities that we conduct with our nurses’ privacy and the client’s specifications in mind.

Induction to company policies

As part of the training process, we also focus on inducting nursing staff into a clients’ company policies. This step ensures that nursing staff are aware of your expectations and company protocols.

On-site nursing orientation

We can also provide one day of on-site nursing orientation to accommodate nursing staff in their new nursing environment. As part of this process, we record feedback from you as the client to improve and offer better nursing services through our staff.

Mobilisation of nursing staff

Once the initial recruitment process is complete and we have adequately vetted, hired, trained and onboarded our nursing staff, we will go ahead and mobilise them to the nursing site within the agreed-upon date.

We assign candidates on a contractual or ad-hoc basis per your staffing requirements and manage our nurses’ performance throughout the contract period. Essentially, you benefit from the utmost flexibility, allowing you to structure the contract based on your organisation or facilities’ needs.

The comprehensive solution

This nursing recruitment process offers more value than hiring an agency that simply provides nursing staff. Our clients benefit from the expertise, professional insight and high-level nursing services that we offer. In turn, nurses enjoy working with a professional recruitment company and being part of an empowering nursing community committed to nursing excellence.

All nursing staff undergo this comprehensive recruitment process to ensure they will be a valuable addition to your nursing team. An expert recruiting process brings more value because we can present a nursing team that is ready for work and committed to providing excellent nursing services at all times.

The next step

When it comes time to recruit nursing staff, Greys Nursing Services offers a more advanced nurse recruitment process that will benefit your nursing practices and clients on multiple levels.

Contact us to leverage expert our recruiting process and gain the nursing services you need to improve nursing standards, patient care and healthcare delivery.

Outsourcing HR and Industrial Relations

Outsourcing HR and Industrial Relations: 3 Questions Companies Should Answer

A company’s human resources and industrial relations departments are among the most critical aspects to success. HR and IR handle everything from the recruitment process, payroll tasks, admin, and ensuring that all internal and external processes are running smoothly. Staying on top of this ensures that your company maintains strong relationships with key stakeholders and ensures the organisation is advancing in your industry.

When problems arise in these areas, companies can suffer on a short and long-term basis and be time wastage, costly errors, higher turnover rates and lower productivity levels – leading to a decrease in revenue. It is essential to have a solid HR & IR solution to empower your company on all levels, and if you are looking to strengthen these departments, where exactly should you begin?

This article will explore three questions that companies can answer before outsourcing human resources or industrial relations to a staffing agency and how you can take action on your answers to make the best of this powerful exercise.

 

The three golden questions

If you outsource your human resources or industrial relations, it’s crucial to find a staffing agency that can provide services in line with your requirements. At MASA, we know that every company is unique, and by understanding your needs, you can get a personalised solution to fit these needs.

Suppose you are looking to partner with an outsourcing agency for HR and industrial relations. In that case, these are three impactful questions that your team and key stakeholders can ask and answer beforehand:

  • What are your current challenges?
  • How do you want your outsourced HR or IR services to look?
  • What is your final goal or return on investment?

Each of these questions will lead you to uncover and establish your company’s exact needs and what type of solution will be best for you. Naturally, one powerful question can lead to many more questions, so take the time to explore each one thoroughly and do your due diligence in answering each one.

1. What are your current challenges?

With the above question, you can uncover your current problems and assess whether an outsourced solution is right for you. An important thing to consider with this question is who will be asking it. If the HR manager, CFO, or CEO are the ones to ask, you can get critical insights into your company’s goals and challenges.

Gaining insights from your workforce will also give you deeper insight into the challenges your company faces on a day-to-day basis. Find out which HR & IR-related tasks your employees are currently facing, where the bottlenecks are, and how you can potentially overcome them through outsourcing.

By listing out exactly your challenges and expectations in advance, an outsourcing agency will be clear on what to expect and how to best tailor their services according to your needs.

2. How will you structure your outsourced HR or IR services?

With this question, the company’s key stakeholders can establish precisely how they would like their human resources & industrial relations team to operate and how much autonomy should be given over processes.

With a fully outsourced solution, there will be no need for an internal team. However, if there is a requirement to have employees who can manage certain outsourced services internally, this question could answer how much autonomy should be given over HR and IR.

This is an excellent time to consult with prospective outsourcing companies, do your research and find out what services they can offer. Once you have this information, you can strategise on what your company needs, whether it’s a short or long-term commitment, and how it can benefit you.

3. What’s your final goal or return on investment?

An important thing to consider with this question is what value you want to get out of the outsourced solution. What are your goals for this partnership? To reduce costs or increase productivity – you must lay down these expectations before signing any contracts to ensure that both parties are on the same page.

This question is to establish the company’s final goal or return on investment (ROI). Setting an objective and knowing how you will measure it beforehand can help ensure that your outsourced team is working towards this end result, not just completing HR & IR tasks but also making sure they align with business objectives. If there are no specific requirements, outsourced services can be structured to meet the company’s overall goals.

Your team can lay out clear key performance indicators (KPI’s) and a projected timeline of your outsourced solution. This will help you outline milestones or targets for you and the outsourcing agency to reach in your partnership. It will help keep both parties aligned and ensure that you are meeting your goals of HR & IR

How to take action on your answers

If you want to make the best of this exercise, you should involve the key stakeholders within your company in answering all three questions. This will ensure that you cover all the bases before outsourcing your human resources and industrial relations and getting a personalised solution to meet your needs.

Develop clear goals and KPIs that your company would like to achieve and a timeline for your partnership with the outsourcing agency. Ultimately, it is about ROI and ensuring that outsourced HR & IR services meet your business needs. Use these key questions to help you get the results you want from your solution.

MASA supports companies with our Specialist HR & IR solutions throughout all stages of business growth and development. We are on-hand to help your team with their human resources or industrial relations needs so that you don’t have to worry about them again.

We take the time to understand our clients’ needs before recommending any outsourced HR or IR solutions because every company is unique and deserves custom-tailored services. If you are interested in outsourcing your human resources or industrial relations, get in touch with us today.

Check out our earlier article to learn more about outsourcing with the right agency.

greys recruitment leveraging the power of technolofy and continuous innovation

Greys Recruitment: Leveraging the Power of Technology and Continuous Innovation

Technology has completely revolutionised employee recruitment by making it easier for employers to connect with temp hires and facilitate a seamless hiring process. This rapidly evolving world of technology is available for smart companies globally, from the social media applications we use every day to advanced artificial intelligence software.

At Greys Recruitment, we use technology to keep up with the latest trends and changes in the market and provide the optimum service for our clients.

We gear each system and software to obtain the closest fit between organisation and employee with every placement and source the highest quality of white-collar professionals for your needs.

This article explores the history and evolution of the recruitment industry, why you should hire recruitment specialists, and how Greys leverages technology to deliver the highest level of recruitment services at a world-class standard.

If you are looking for more immediate assistance with recruitment, head straight to our website contact page to get in touch with trusted employment specialists.

The history of recruitment

There was once a time when finding new candidates was as simple as word of mouth or placing an advertisement in the local newspaper. Candidates would navigate directly to a company and physically present their CV for review by prospective employers and complete the interview process in person.

By the 1990s, computers could store employment records in a more compact digital format than paper, and early Applicant Tracking Systems emerged to store candidate information.

Meanwhile, household desktop computers and the internet allowed early adopters to source candidates and job openings on company websites, online job boards, and targeted digital advertisements. Recruiters, clients, and candidates began to interact via email alongside traditional mail, phone calls, and in-person meetings.

The evolution of recruitment

Today, recruitment has mainly become technology-driven, with job seekers, companies and recruitment agencies familiarising themselves with various digital tools and resources to find and apply for jobs.

Artificial intelligence has emerged as a core tool in the recruitment process. Companies hire recruitment specialists who leverage automation tools to enhance recruitment processes and streamline communication, administration, and data processing.

Society’s reliance on digital communication channels such as social media, email and video calls has also increased, with candidates and companies using these platforms to showcase their offerings and communicate directly with each other.

These platforms facilitate easy and rapid access to a wealth of information for both employer and candidate, opening up new opportunities for potential temp hires while enabling employers to identify the best fit for their requirements.

Employers can also streamline internal processes with intuitive technology that has been built in-house or sourced from reliable software providers. Each tool helps ensure effective communication between departments and maintain a smooth hiring process within an organisation.

Why you should hire recruitment specialists

No matter how much new technology influences and improves recruitment, far more goes into finding the right candidate for the role. The human element is still the most complex and impactful factor in the hiring process, and it takes a blend of training, experience and specialised skills to achieve the best results.

These factors are why hiring a specialist recruitment agency can benefit companies that need more than technology to source and attract top talent.

Recruitment agencies like Greys are experts at matching personality, skills, ambitions and expectations to experience, abilities, work demands and potential to achieve the best outcomes for all involved.

By combining advanced technologies with the expertise of recruitment specialists, you can leverage the best of both worlds to make recruitment more efficient and effective for your company.

Technology is complex

Although technology has made it relatively easier to source and hire qualified talent for your needs, employers cannot underestimate the complexity of these systems.

By hiring a recruitment agency, you do not have to develop your own specialised department to manage complicated HR systems or pay for yearly updates and subscriptions for the latest software. You will also benefit from the additional cost savings of not training recruits on these complex systems.

For HR professionals to remain effective in their roles, staying abreast of the industry’s technological trends is essential. By partnering with recruitment specialists, you can mitigate the risk of falling behind in the ever-evolving economic landscape and give your competitors a run for their money.

Greys Recruitment: Innovating through technology

Greys Recruitment thrives on innovation and the pursuit of continuously improving our client service to provide you with measurable results. We are a preferred supplier of temp hires for blue-chip corporates globally and aim to stay at the forefront of the industry through technology and best practices.

Our in-house digital experts, designers, developers, and software engineers continuously track market trends and improvements to advance our systems.

Some of the technology we use

IT, Payroll, Digital and Administration Systems are never static. Greys specialises in sourcing the best candidates online by implementing cutting-edge digital channels, SEO practices and push and retrieval technology.

Some of the technology we use in the recruitment process includes:

Job aggregators

In the past, applicants typically sought opportunities directly from company websites, classified advertisements, or personal referrals, but today, about 41% of most recent hires discovered their current position through an aggregator.

These sites and services, which are essentially search engines for job searchers, use artificial intelligence and proprietary algorithms to match applicants with employment that match their abilities and requirements. Job aggregators are becoming increasingly popular as big data enables more relevant job matches for applicants.

Recruitment marketing software

Studies show that more than 90% of the job market is candidate, not employer, driven. Today’s job seekers have more power and confidence to reject a position they find unappealing.

On the other hand, technology allows job seekers to apply for random jobs they find online, which can lead to an influx of unqualified and uninterested applicants.

Our team uses recruitment marketing software to help prospects discover and apply for the right opportunities. We use specific marketing principles and best practices in the recruiting procedure to automate the distribution of job advertisements and improve the quality of our results.

Applicant tracking systems

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are a standard tool for recruitment agencies that have embraced HR technology.

An ATS is a kind of human resources software that we use to manage the application process digitally. It functions as a digital database for all applications – the perfect replacement for pen-and-paper applications.

This program allows us to automate the numerous steps in the application process, allowing our expert HR personnel to focus on more essential activities such as evaluating candidates and payroll services.

HR Metrics

At Greys Recruitment, our human resources team continually generates, collects and reports on crucial data. By gathering HR metrics, we can leverage this data to find valuable insights into an organisation’s HR processes.

Most importantly, human resources metrics allow us to tailor our hiring processes to your requirements to attract higher-quality candidates in the recruitment process.

For example, data might help us better understand the kinds of candidates who tend to perform best in their position, which is the information we can use to create better job posts that clearly outline applicant requirements.

The metrics might also offer insights into which recruitment channels will perform the best for your company, allowing you to allocate only the most necessary amount of resources and budget when filling positions in the future.

Step into the future

In the end, recruitment is all about lowering costs by shortening the time it takes to fill a position while simultaneously enhancing candidate quality and cultural fit, resulting in higher engagement and lower staff turnover.

These benefits will never come from technological advancement alone. To effectively impact the recruitment experience, it is best to leverage both the power of technology and the expertise of employment specialists to get the best results.

Enlist the right partner today by connecting with Greys Recruitment. We’re experts in providing the leading technology-driven strategy, allowing you to advance your organisation, lower expenses, and improve the long-term quality of your workforce.

Visit our website to dig deeper into our services, and check out our blog page for more industry insights and valuable information from your trusted experts in the recruitment space.

10 benefits of outsourcing staff during peak season

10 Benefits of Outsourcing Staff During Peak Season

Many companies face peak season staffing problems. They have too much work for their current staff, but they don’t know where to find more qualified employees.

Your company needs to take advantage of peak seasonal demand instead of falling behind and losing out to the competition.

Companies can outsource peak season staffing by working with an expert outsourcing agency and hiring peak-season employees to help them meet the deadlines and workloads that come with higher business demands.

In this article, we’ll discuss ten benefits of outsourcing staff during peak season and why it may be best for your company to invest in outsourcing services.

Benefit One: Time savings

The first peak season staffing benefit is that outsourcing will give your company more time to focus on its core business. Your staff can work their regular hours at the office while peak-season employees handle the workloads you need to be completed when there is extra work on the table.

If you want to hire peak season staff for a set amount of time but don’t know if they will handle the workloads and responsibilities required, you can benefit significantly from having an outsourced solution geared towards your needs.

Additionally, it is easier to let go of peak-season employees if they are not meeting the requirements of their jobs. There does not have to be a fixed or permanent contract that binds you to your temporary employees, which will save you the time spent from having to go through the hiring process again.

Benefit 2: Cost-savings

Peak season outsourcing allows your company to save more than just time; it saves you money by avoiding staffing costs that come with peak season demands. By hiring temporary employees or outsourcing peak-season staffing, you minimise costs that come with sourcing, vetting, hiring and training staff in-house.

These include the cost of hiring staff to work during peak seasons and paying for benefits including health insurance, paid sick days and vacation time.

Another cost-saving opportunity is having your admin and payroll costs taken care of by an expert outsourcing agency. Outsourcing peak-season staff ensures that you don’t have to hire extra HR employees who can focus on payroll and admin tasks.

Benefit Three: Improved Quality

Another peak-season staffing benefit is that outsourcing will help your company improve its quality of work. Hiring specialised, temporary employees ensures you have a team of experienced professionals working on your projects and tasks during peak seasons, which improves the quality of your company’s services and products.

Specialised staff will already have experience in your industry – especially if they are coming from an agency that recruits candidates specifically for your niche.

Additionally, peak-season employees work on tasks and projects that they would typically do during their off-seasons, meaning there is less of a learning curve for completing these tasks and projects, leading to improved quality.

Benefit Four: More flexibility

Top outsourcing agencies offer more flexibility when it comes to your seasonal demand and staffing needs. Not only will peak-season staff work on the same tasks they would in a regular job, but their services are also available when you need them most.

On-demand hiring gives you the flexibility to hire peak-season staff for a set amount of time, even if you don’t know whether they will be able to work for the entire peak season. You can also hire peak-season staff that work from home or your own office, ensuring you’re not wasting time and money on employees who don’t work out.

Peak-season staff outsourcing also gives you more decision-making flexibility regarding who is working on your projects.

This flexibility also makes for a better customer experience because they can contact the same people throughout their interactions, leading to less confusion about handling specific tasks or problems, especially if there are multiple peak seasons.

Benefit Five: A competitive advantage

Another peak-season outsourcing benefit is that you can gain a competitive edge over your competitors, promoting better business for your company. Outsourcing peak-season staff ensures you’re able to offer the best possible services and products for your customers, no matter the industry of your company.

One way this is beneficial is that peak-season outsourcing helps provide a more reliable business model.

This reliability means peak-season employees understand your industry better and can offer more insight into solving problems related to peak seasons, providing a competitive advantage over companies that do not outsource peak-season staff.

As well as this, outsourcing peak season staffing gives you access to experienced professionals who can share their peak-season knowledge with your company, which could lead to building a more experienced team.

Benefit Six: Improved Company Culture

Top outsourcing agencies are masters of recruitment, meaning they can source suitable candidates to fit your company. Peak-season staff are usually more qualified for these jobs and projects, leading to a more experienced team.

Recruiting from an expert outsourcing agency means peak-season employees can offer insight into your industry, which could help you understand how best to manage those moments of high stress and demand.

Expert recruitment also allows you to improve your company culture and build a more diverse team of peak-season employees, fostering a more positive and enriching culture within the company.

Benefit Seven: Improved Morale

The intensity of peak season can be overwhelming for your internal team, leading to stress, burnout and declining morale in your workforce. Bringing on fresh employees ready to work and bring value to your company can be a massive boost during peak season.

Your company can access professionals who have more experience working in different industries and bring new skills and insights to the table by outsourcing peak season staff. Having this expertise on your side can increase motivation and productivity among staff, which is good for company morale.

Benefit Eight: Easier Onboarding

Outsourcing agencies already recruit and screen candidates for their client’s peak season needs, which means peak-season candidates can be ready to start working for a company sooner rather than later.

Expert outsourcing agencies go beyond the sourcing and hiring of temporary employees, as they will also help manage a streamlined onboarding process. Your company will find it easier to onboard these recruits as you will not have to go through the typical time-consuming hiring process.

Outsourcing during peak season makes the onboarding process much easier by ensuring that you don’t make any hiring mistakes when the pressure is on.

Your onboarding program could include factors like how the peak-season projects will run, peak-season expectations and goals, or any other information that might be relevant to their role. This process is a massive advantage over working with peak-season employees who do not access this information.

Benefit Nine: Improved Collaboration

When hiring qualified staff for the peak season, your company can experience improved collaboration internally and with your clients and suppliers.

Peak-season candidates work with agencies that typically serve various companies in many industries – meaning that these employees have a better understanding of peak season challenges other companies may be facing. This experience can make it easier to collaborate with suppliers and clients – another reason why hiring peak-season staff is beneficial.

Higher-level outsourcing agencies will also handle both human resources and industrial relations, which means that peak-season staff can work with your internal team and the broader industry to create better relationships between different parties.

Benefit Ten: Easier On-Going Staff Training

Outsourcing peak season staff means peak-season employees will have access to ongoing training and development when it is needed the most.

A top outsourcing agency will offer your company more than just temporary staff that you hire directly – they can also provide your company with continuous support, including peak-season training and development from expert professionals.

Leveraging ongoing training and support means your company can spend more time on the projects at hand – ultimately cutting down peak-season stress levels and increasing your overall productivity.

The sky is the limit

These benefits show just how much outsourcing peak season staff can improve company morale, collaboration, and productivity within an organisation during peak season. By partnering with a trusted outsourcing agency, your company will be able to focus on the things that matter most, ultimately increasing efficiency, staff motivation and overall productivity while lowering your bottom line.

If you are looking for peak-season staffing or peak season staff, contact MASA today. We provide a personalised staffing solution for businesses of all sizes with different goals, KPIs, and requirements, ensuring that your company meets its needs when it matters the most.

You can browse our website for a comprehensive look at our services and visit our blog for more thought-provoking articles from your leading outsourcing partner.

 

how equal treatment legislation impacts staff outsourcing

How Equal Treatment Legislation Impacts Staff Outsourcing

South Africa is one of the most culturally, racially, and economically diverse nations on the planet, with an economic landscape that reflects this diversity in every industry, company and working individual.

In 1998, legislators passed the Employment Equity Act (EEA), No. 55, to guarantee that everyone in South Africa has equal opportunity and fair treatment at work. The act protects employees and their rights from discrimination by the employer and ensures equal pay for equal work regardless of their demographics, such as age, gender, and race.

In 1995 a law was passed that strengthens equal treatment legislation in South Africa. This law is called the Labour Relations (LRA) Act 66, purposed to regulate the temporary employment industry and the relationship between outsourcing agencies like MASA, their employees and the clients outsourcing to meet their needs.

The Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) 75 of 1997 also applies to temporary employment services, focusing on securing temporary and permanent employees’ accurate documentation and remuneration.

Essentially, if you are looking to outsource your staff to a temporary or permanent employment specialist, it is essential to understand how equal treatment legislation affects your decision to outsource.

Knowing the rights of temporary employees and the roles of your outsourcing partner and your company will ensure that you maximise the potential of your workforce while maintaining fair and equal employment practices.

This article examines the Employment Equity Act alongside the Labour Relations Act and the supporting Basic Conditions of Employment Act, and discusses the impact of equal treatment legislation on your staff outsourcing solution.

 

If you are seeking more urgent counsel in regards to staff outsourcing, you can contact MASA to speak to South Africa’s leading experts in the employment space.

The Employment Equity Act

 

Employment Equity Act (EEA), No. 55 is the law that promotes equity in the workplace, ensures that all employees receive equal opportunities and that employees are treated fairly by their employers.

The law also prohibits employers from discriminating against their workers, either directly or indirectly, via employment policy or practice based on race, religion, gender non-conformity, nationality origin or political opinion.

 

The purpose of the EEA is to achieve equity in the workplace by:

  • Developing fair treatment and equal opportunity, as well as combating all forms of unlawful prejudice.
  • Enforcing affirmative action policies to compensate for disadvantages in employment that certain categories of people (such as black individuals, women, or persons with disabilities) have suffered so that they are equally represented in all occupational sectors and levels throughout the workforce.
  • The law applies to all workers and employers, except for the South African National Defence Force, National Intelligence Agency, and South African Secret Services.

 

What is your responsibility as the employer to ensure that the EEA is being implemented? 

 

A designated employer must prepare and implement a plan to achieve employment equity, which must:

  • have objectives for each year of the plan,
  • include affirmative action measures,
  • have numerical goals for achieving equitable representation,
  • have a timetable for each year,
  • have internal monitoring and evaluation procedures, including internal dispute resolution mechanisms, and
  • identify persons, including senior managers, to monitor and implement the plan.

 

Does the EEA apply to you as a staff outsourcing client?

 

To understand whether the Employment Equity Act applies to you as an outsourcing client, we must first understand what a “designated employer” is. To do this, let’s move on to the Labour Relations Act.

 

The Labour Relations Act

 

The Labour Relations Act (LRA) Act 66 of 1995 outlines who exactly is the employer of a temporary employee. To put it simply, the outsourcing agency, or the one providing the temporary employment services, is considered the designated employer as long:

 

  • the work is not longer than three months
  • the employee earns under the minimum threshold of R211,596.30 per annum

 

If the employee earns above this threshold, or the work they are hired for continues after three months or for an indefinite period, the client is deemed the designated employee.

These factors ensure that temporary employees are hired for work that is indeed temporary. It also ensures that if temp hires go beyond the pay grade and duration period of their temporary position, they are adequately compensated and treated equally like permanent employees.

 

So, back to our initial question:

 

Does the EEA apply to you as a staff outsourcing client?

 

Simple answer: Yes, it does.

Where an outsourcing agency commits an act of unfair discrimination on the express or implied instructions of a client, both the agency and the client are jointly and severally liable.

The employee may institute proceedings against the outsourcing agency, the client, or both, where there is joint and several liability or the employee (earning below the threshold) is deemed a designated employee of the client.

Both the outsourcing agency and you as the client must ensure that the fundamental rights of the temporary employee are upheld. Clients are expected to hold outsourcing agencies to a high standard when managing temporary employees, which is why it is essential to partner with a trusted outsourced service provider.

 

Reasons to partner with a trusted outsourcing agency

 

Staff outsourcing is an empowering way for your company to gain qualified employees on a temporary or permanent basis according to your needs. When outsourcing temporary employment specifically, you have fewer obligations to uphold as a client, such as equal access to benefits.

However, equal treatment legislation still applies to you as a client through joint and several liabilities, so it is important that you partner with the right agency that knows how best to support your business needs while ensuring equal employment practices across all temporary hires.

 

There are many vital points to check before you trust a staff outsourcing agency:

  • They have extensive experience in staff sourcing and employment
  • They have a proven track record of hiring quality temporary staff that meet equal treatment legislation requirements and fit your culture
  • They will be accountable to provide you with the best service delivery possible
  • They will handle the documentation of the employee, such as written particulars
  • They have extensive risk management protocols in place, including liability cover

 

A leading outsourcing agency like MASA goes beyond the status quo to uphold equal treatment legislation and protect clients from unnecessary legal issues.

As a client, you can rest assured that all employee terms of engagement are aligned with the latest changes in legislation and that you have the expertise of our specialists on your side for any legal concerns that you may have.

 

We indemnify and hold clients harmless against claims and costs of any nature arising out of a contravention by the Agency of the provisions contained in:

  • section 198(4) of the LRA
  • section 82 of the BCE
  • section 52 of the EEA

 

At MASA, we are also specialists in human resources and industrial relations administration. We handle everything from candidate vetting, site administration and payslip delivery to payroll and accounts, CCMA attendance, and dismissals.

 

Are you getting equal outsourcing services to this?

 

Ultimately, equal treatment legislation is in place to protect both you as the client and your temporary employees. It is up to outsourcing agencies such as MASA to help you understand equal treatment legislation and how it impacts staff outsourcing sourcing clients like yourself.

By partnering with an expert outsourcing agency, you can effectively manage equal treatment practices across your current and future temporary employees and ensure equal treatment compliance in your staff outsourcing journey.

Contact MASA to leverage the highest level of staff outsourcing services and bring the specialised skills, knowledge and expertise that will give your company the competitive advantage.

Knowledge is power, and there is always something new you can learn to stay ahead in your industry. Check out our blog for more value-packed reads, or talk to us directly for consultation with trusted experts in the employment space.

 

demed employment: what companies should know before outsourcing staff

Deemed Employment: What Companies Should Know Before Outsourcing Staff

In today’s working world, outsourcing your staffing needs to a temporary employment specialist can be a decisive move for your organisation. A top outsourcing agency will offer a flexible, cost-effective and expertly-managed solution that is clear to understand from the onset and stays in compliance with South Africa’s labour legislation.

The Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 and its amendments outline the roles and responsibilities of a temporary employment specialist and its client. The relationship between these two parties is unique, and there is one key concept to understand before signing on the dotted line and partnering with an outsourcing agency: deemed employment.

This article dives into the concept of deemed employment, what this means for outsourcing agencies and their clients, and how your company can use this knowledge to make the best of your staff outsourcing solution.

What is ‘deemed employment’?

The Labour Relations Act (LRA) 66 of 1995 is designed to protect all employees and promote economic growth and good labour practices. As a client looking to outsource your staffing needs, it is vital to understand the LRA as it applies to your company to avoid any potential legal issues, save costs, and manage a smooth staff outsourcing process.

According to the LRA, as long as a temporary employee earns below a certain threshold (R211,596.30 per annum), they are considered an employee of the outsourcing agency and not the client. This entails that the outsourcing agency is responsible for drawing up the contract and paying the employee.

However, the amendments made to the LRA in 2015 introduce the concept of “deemed employment,” which states that after three months of working for the client, a temporary employee is deemed a permanent employee of the client and must be treated as such.

The criteria for deemed employment, as outlined in the LRA, account for a situation where:

  • The temporary employee is assigned to the client for longer than three months
  • They are not a substitute for a temporarily absent employee of the client
  • They are not assigned to a particular work category that is agreed to be a temporary service

In this circumstance, the outsourcing agency will no longer be considered the employee’s employer once three months has expired. This process is automatic, and there is no transferring of employment from the outsourcing agency to the client.

The outsourcing agency and the client can either end the contract immediately or renegotiate new terms to move forward in a beneficial way for all parties involved.

This part of labour legislation ensures that temporary services are provided and encourages companies to approach staff outsourcing with the employees’ best interests in mind.

It is important to note that the judgment applies to employees of outsourcing agencies earning below the Basic Condition ogf Employment Act (BCEA) earnings threshold mentioned earlier (R211,596.30 per annum), i.e. lower-paid employees. The judgment does not apply to “substitute” employees or fixed-term contract employees. However, employees of outsourcing agencies who are employed on a fixed-term basis are covered by the judgment.

What does this mean for you?

So, knowing this part of the labour legislation, how can your company develop a mutually beneficial relationship with an outsourcing agency and its employees? How can you ensure that your contract considers every possible outcome and works out for all parties involved?

Clarify your needs beforehand

Identifying your company’s needs beforehand is the first step to ensuring that temporary employment benefits all involved parties. Deemed employment places an unfair burden of uncertainty on employees and outsourcing agencies alike. By clearly defining your organisation’s requirements for hiring temporary staff, you can take the guesswork out of your company’s obligations to both parties.

Dig deeper into the roles that need filling and the requirements of your latest season or project, so you can gain a more comprehensive idea of how long your company will need temporary staff.

For example, you may require a team of staff members to help with a large project that you have just started. You can then hire an outsourcing agency for this job and create a temporary contract based on the estimated time frame your company needs these workers. This way, there is no confusion about whether or not the deemed employment provision will apply to your company.

It also gives the employees more security, knowing that there’s a limit on how long their job will last. It also allows you to rest assured that your staff are indeed hired temporarily and do not become permanent employees.

You also need to ensure that your outsourcing agency is aware of what it needs to include in its contracts with temporary staff, so both parties are clear about their roles from day one. By being transparent about your organisation’s needs and understanding the responsibilities of both parties, you can minimise risk while maximising benefits in this partnership.

Partner with a trusted outsourcing agency

The most important way to ensure that your outsourcing experience is fruitful is to partner with an outsourcing agency you trust. Deemed employment or not, your company needs to have faith in the outsourcing agency it partners with and vice versa.

Partnering with a trusted agency will help you navigate the often murky world of temporary employment and ensure that your outsourcing experience is beneficial for your company and provides peace of mind for all parties involved.

It’s best to be upfront about your temporary staff requirements from the start of your relationship so that both parties can clarify their roles within this arrangement. This transparency will minimise any perceived or actual impropriety and the chances of a misunderstanding on both sides.

With a reputable outsourcing agency on your side, you can rest assured knowing that the contract will be honoured and that they will meet all of your needs laid out early on. They will also take responsibility and ensure that all necessary documentation relating to the temporary staff you hire is in order, so there are no misunderstandings between yourself and your outsourcing partner.

Knowledge is power

Deemed employment is a complex subject that companies need to know when outsourcing staff or engaging temporary workers, but it needn’t be a headache or bring significant risks to your company.

Take the time and put in the effort to identify what you need from an outsourced workforce while also ensuring that all parties involved know their roles and responsibilities within this arrangement. Both your business and any temporary employees can benefit significantly from such a relationship.

If you are looking for expert counselling and trusted advice in the field of labour broking and staff outsourcing, contact MASA today. MASA is a leading temporary and permanent employment specialist providing expert staffing solutions.

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