Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act No. 66 of 1995)NoticesBargaining Council for the Metal and Engineering IndustriesMain Collective AgreementPart 25. Annexure ASecurity of Employment and Severance Pay1. Retrenchments and/or Redundancies |
1.1 Introduction
Any retrenchment of employees falling under the scope of this agreement must be undertaken in accordance with either Procedure A or Procedure B set out below. The procedure to be used will depend on:
| • | The size of the Company; |
| • | The number of employees that the Company proposes to retrench; and |
| • | The Company’s retrenchment history over the preceding twelve-month period. |
1.2 Procedure A must be applied by those employers who:
| 1.2.1 | Employ 50 or fewer employees; or |
| 1.2.2 | Employ more than 50 employees but who are contemplating retrenching less than the number of employees reflected hereunder: |
| ▪ | For employers of up to 200 employees : 10 employees |
| ▪ | For employers of more than 200 but not more than 300 employees : 20 employees |
| ▪ | For employers of more than 300 but not more than 400 employees : 30 employees |
| ▪ | For employers of more than 400 but not more than 500 employees : 40 employees |
| ▪ | For employers of 500 or more employees : 50 employees; |
and
Where the number of employees retrenched in the 12-month period prior to the date of the notice of invitation to consult, together with the number of employees that the employer contemplates retrenching, is less than the above.
| 1.3 | Procedure B applies to those employers who employ more than 50 employees and who are contemplating the retrenchment of at least the number of employees reflected hereunder: |
| ▪ | For employers of up to 200 employees : 10 or more employees. |
| ▪ | For employers of more than 200 but not more than 300 employees : 20 or more employees. |
| ▪ | For employers of more than 300 but not more than 400 employees : 30 or more employees. |
| ▪ | For employers of more than 400 but not more than 500 employees : 40 or more employees. |
| ▪ | For employers of 500 or more employees : 50 or more employees. |
or
Where the number of employees retrenched in 12-month period prior to the date of the notice of invitation to consult, together with the number of employees that the employer contemplates retrenching, is equal to or exceeds the above.
1.4 For the purposes of this procedure:-
"Notice of invitation to consult" means the notice referred to in clauses 2.1.1 and 3.1.1; and
"Employee" includes all persons employed by the legal entity that is the employer (e.g. a company, a CC or a sole proprietor) and is not confined to scheduled employees in terms of the Agreement.
| 1.5 | This procedure is intended partly as a guide to the relevant provisions of the Act, and partly to establish specific terms regulating work security in the industry. If there is a conflict between this annexure and the Act, the Act prevails, except for those clauses which are intended to supplement the Act. |