Employment Equity Act, 1998 (Act No. 55 of 1998)

Code of Good Practice

Integration of Employment Equity into Human Resource Policies and Practices

Part B : During Employment

18. Retention
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SCOPE

 

The retention of all employees, specifically employees from designated groups, is a key challenge for employers given the opportunities for mobility that exist in the global economy. This section identifies some challenges and their implications for implementing employment equity to retain employees from designated groups.

 

IMPACT ON EMPLOYMENT EQUITY

 

Retention of employees from designated groups is critical for achieving and sustaining numerical targets and goals as envisaged in the Act. Employers who seek to retain their talented and skilled employees, particularly those from designated groups, should develop and implement retention strategies.

 

18.1POLICY AND PRACTICE

 

18.1.1Employers may consider identifying trends that exist in their workplaces regarding the reasons for termination. This will enable employers to develop appropriate strategies to retain employees, particularly employees from designated groups. These strategies should be directed at removing barriers that cause termination of employment.

 

18.1.2Employers may consider negotiating retrenchment criteria that deviate from the "last in first out" principle, where the implementation of this principle will detrimentally affect the representivity of designated groups in that workplace.

 

18.1.3Employers could also implement various incentives to promote retention.

 

18.2KEY LINKS TO OTHER TOPICS IN THE CODE

 

18.2.1Induction - An effective induction process should be implemented to integrate employees, particularly those from designated groups, into the workplace.

 

18.2.2Terms and conditions of employment - Equitable and favourable terms and conditions of employment as well as an environment that affirms diversity contribute to long-term employee retention.

 

18.2.3Skills development - Providing equitable training and development opportunities contribute towards employee retention, especially if this is linked to career development.

 

18.2.4Remuneration - fair remuneration contributes to the retention of employees.

 

18.2.5Performance Management and Reward - Recognising and rewarding good performance may contribute to retention.

 

18.2.6Termination - An exit interview may provide information on the reasons for employee turnover.