Unlimited leave can transform local business

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Even though unlimited leave is not a new concept internationally, the news that a local specialist banking group has embraced it has raised a few eyebrows. Nicol Myburgh, Head of the HR Business Unit at CRS Technologies, says this approach necessitates a radical change in thinking from corporate policy-makers.

‘Bottomless’ holidays first appeared in the mid-90s and have steadily spread across US and British firms. Yet South African businesses are still hesitant to adopt this trend, owing to concerns around abuse of such a policy.

“While these concerns are legitimate, organisations that implement an unlimited leave policy can just as easily take it away if it is abused as it is not a minimum requirement dictated by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA). On the flip side, it gives employees the freedom to plan their own lives and shows them how much the company trusts and cares about them,” says Myburgh.

However, he cautions that an unlimited leave policy only makes sense if it makes staff more productive. It is not about maintaining a business-as-usual approach and hoping for the best.

“An unlimited leave policy goes against the traditional thinking of an organisation and requires a complete mindset change from management and staff. The best way to manage such a policy is to start with strict measurement criteria and couple it to specific targets, levels of achievement, and outcomes.”

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How learning agile is HR? See the results from the South African study

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Category: News Articles

Earlier this year, HFMtalentindex, HRworks and a group of esteemed research partners set out to discover the Learning Agility of HR.

Why? All employees need to be agile to cope with the ever-increasing demands of change in organisations. For HR, the need to be learning agile is even more important, as they are the people architects of the organisation.

After surveying South African HR professionals from all levels, age ranges, industries and different types of organisations, we can take a view on the Learning Agility of HR - and the profession’s strengths and development areas.

Below we present some of the most insightful findings. You can also download the comprehensive research booklet for the full results of the study.

Is HR learning agile?

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Unmanned breathalysers safeguard security personnel from the threat of retaliatory violence

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Compulsory alcohol testing is often put into place in hazardous industries such as mining, manufacturing and transport as a safety measure. However, there are certain challenges with the typical approach of using a manned breathalyser. Security personnel administering the tests often live in the same communities as the workers they are being asked to police, and this is problematic on a number of levels. Those being tested are often resentful, and if they have in fact been drinking frequently, resort to physical violence against the guards. Utilising an unmanned breathalyser system that can be integrated into access control or time and attendance solutions solves this issue and provides a number of other benefits.

The Operational Health and Safety (OHS) Act mandates a zero-tolerance approach to intoxication or the consumption of alcohol in the workplace. To prevent contravention of this Act, many organisations implement compulsory alcohol testing before workers are permitted entry. While in theory this would seem to be the ideal solution, the reality is that it is often not as effective as organisations would like to believe. This is down to one thing: the human element.

The security guards doing the testing are seen as the ‘bad guys’ and those being tested often threaten or actually physically harm the guards once they are away from the safety of the workplace.

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