Research showing a decrease for sales staff
There is always competition in the world that we live in, and the same can be said for being able to find work. Some competitive aspects include being able to stand out as the best from the other candidates, to beat your way to the top overcoming all odds. However, when it comes to specific job titles, it’s hard to see growth potential going forward in a world where the constant evolution of technology and online business is what it comes down to.
In a recent March update on the job market in South Africa, Adzuna’s research noted that sales employees saw the biggest loss in advertised salaries, down at least 10% across all sales business titles. Drops in the amount of vacancies for sales staff were also recorded, although not large, when compared to a year previously.
When it comes to online jobs and certain high demand niche job markets such as IT, for instance, or finance, one can see that something like sales may not stand out as important. Both IT and finance jobs and their relative salaries grew by between 20% and 30% from September 2016 to March 2017.
Not all is bad news for sales professionals, however. Adzuna did mention that since many salespeople earn higher salaries in reality due to commission or bonuses, these figures may not tell the entire story. One assumption is that firms are paying more on performance in an effort to tighten their belts in a tough economic climate.
Online versus people
Another factor at play in the sales world may be digital sales, which require less manpower or relationship building, taking over a good deal of the work that sales staff do. When it comes to using social media and other online means to make income and to showcase a business’s products, doing it online is often very effective, especially for g
Read more: Sales Jobs Decline in SA, does online account for that?
BY lvan lsraelstam, Chief Executive of Labour Law Management Consulting. He may be contacted on (011) 888-7944 or 0828522973 or on e-mail address:
While a great many labour law decisions are based on whether the employer’s actions were ‘reasonable’ fathoming what this means is extremely difficult because the concept of reasonableness has a strong subjective element.
The term ‘reasonable’ is used in many ways in labour law and industrial relations. For example, this concept comes up when the following questions are asked:
Progression was proud to take part in the “Walk for Epilepsy Awareness” on the 26th of March held in Sandton. The walk commemorated and celebrated “International Purple Day”, an international epilepsy awareness day, dedicated to educating people about epilepsy.
A crowd of enthusiastic and passionate people made their way from Sandton City to Mercedes Benz, where they were met by refreshments, loads of sweets and fun entertainment.
A fun and exciting day was had by all, the Progression team included.
Supporting and bringing awareness to those who live with epilepsy and other disabilities is an important, and often overlooked, responsibility for all South African citizens and starts with education.
Epilepsy, which is also known as a seizure disorder, is a common condition that affects the brain and nervous system. It has been estimated that approximately one in every 100 South Africans will suffer from epilepsy at some point in their lifetime. Thus, having someone who suffers from epilepsy as one of your employees or colleagues is a realistic probability. This reinforces the importance of growing your knowledge regarding epilepsy and its impactin the workplace.
A Progression employee who was diagnosed with epilepsy in 1999, sheds some light on the condition.
Up until 28 February 2017, the tax legislation in respect of retirement benefits stipulated that a South African resident who is employed outside of the Republic is permitted to receive tax free, the proceeds of the retirement benefits which accrued in a South African retirement plan, when they were working overseas. Simply put, if an employee was seconded overseas but remained on the South Africa retirement fund, the portion of the fund credit on withdrawal which is attributable to the period when he was employed overseas, would be tax free.
The applicable legislation was contained in section (9)(1)(g) and 10(1)(Gc) of the Income Tax Act. The latter section caused heated debate and some confusion regarding the tax status, however, this was clarified in late 2014 when SARS issued a Binding General Ruling No. 25. This ruling stipulated that the portion of a pension which has accrued to an employee and which relates to services rendered outside of the Republic, will not be subject to tax.
From 1 March 2017, this exemption will no longer apply. Only the proceeds from a foreign retirement fund will qualify as tax free. This has a significant impact given that the policy of many South African companies is to keep their outbound expats on the South African retirement fund.
The legislation which has changed this is The Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 15 of 2016 which was published in the Government Gazette on 19 January 2017 and states:
Read more: The case for an Offshore Retirement Fund for South African expats
BY lvan lsraelstam, Chief Executive of Labour Law Management Consulting. He may be contacted on (011) 888-7944 or 0828522973 or on e-mail address:
Employees who report employers for committing illegal or otherwise irregular acts are protected, in the first instance, by the Constitution of South Africa.
Secondly, the Protected Disclosures Act no.26 of 2000 (PDA) specifically protects employees from reprisals as a result of having made a protected disclosure. This applies whether the disclosure in question is made to authorities within or outside of the company/organisation concerned.
While the PDA encourages genuine disclosures it requires the employee, when making an external disclosure, to at least hold a genuine belief that the employer has acted wrongly.
Thirdly, the Labour Relations Act (LRA) also protects whistle blowing employees under sections 186(2)(d) as well as under section 187(1)(h).
The latter section of the LRA makes it automatically unfair
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