BUSINESS ESWATINI SHARES LAYOFFS CHECKLIST

MBABANE – Business Eswatini has shared the checklist for layoffs in terms of the guidelines on employment contingency measures.

The checklist is from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. This follows numerous queries to conclude that some members of Business Eswatini may not be alive to the new guidelines to be observed in these challenging times of COVID-19.

“Members will recall that we have our guiding legislation, the Employment Act of 1980 and Wages Act of 1964, the latter which establishes the Wages Council that is responsible for the setting of minimum terms and conditions of employment through the different Wages Regulations which are sector specific.

respect

“The Wages Regulation, for instance, would contain among others provisions which guide employers in respect of invoking short-time and layoffs in the workplace. These would regulate the number of days and consequent minimum payment. The regulations further make provisions for the number of days within which to consult employees when considering layoffs,” shared the voice of Business Eswatini.

Business Eswatini, through a correspondence copied to this publication, reminded that during the current state of emergency, which is currently ongoing, all the aforementioned provisions had been temporarily suspended and replaced by new protocols as enshrined in the Government Gazette issued on the April 14, 2020.

They are termed the Guidelines on Employment Contingency Measures in Response to the Coronavirus being General Notice No.22/2020.
“Members should accordingly be guided that the effect of the guidelines is to legitimise various temporary employment contingency measures which are meant to mitigate against job losses. For all intents and purposes, the provisions in the guidelines are legitimate for now but remain temporary nonetheless,” stressed Business Eswatini.

Response

According to the checklist as per the guidelines, an employer’s letter applying for temporary layoffs of their employees in terms of Section 5(a) of the Guidelines on Employment Contingency Measures in Response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic, General Notice No. 22 of 2020 should contain  a brief outline of the impact or effects of the current situation on her business and attempts that have been made to explore and exhaust all options that are meant to mitigate against the effects of loss of earnings listed in Section 4 (a) to (e) of the Guidelines.

The employer must also respond to each of the options listed in this section, briefly outlining attempts made to explore and exhaust each one of them as well as consultations held with the employees or their representatives in the undertaking to explain the need to invoke unpaid layoffs.
“Proof of this consultation in the form of the minute of the consultation meeting must be attached on the application letter and must indicate the names of the participants in the meeting and their contacts,” read the guidelines.

Also required is the number of employees to be affected by the temporary layoffs and the fact that the affected employees will not be earning a salary during the layoff period as well as the commencement date and duration of the proposed layoffs.

addressed

Applications must be addressed to the Commissioner of Labour, Mthunzi Shabangu, Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Mbabane, and must be sent through email to  mthunzishabangu@gmail.com; min_labour@gov.sz. For any enquiries, employers can contact on 7606 4209 or send an email.

Due to COVID-19, most companies are in distress and forced to consider temporary layoffs due to loss of income. However, it is being emphasised that layoffs should be the last resort and should be applied for in the ministry of labour and social security.

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