With the recent spate of fraudulent qualifications having surfaced among high-ranking members of South African state-owned enterprises, the requirement of checking that your employees have the qualifications they say they have is crucial. You, as an employer, are allowed to verify that a candidate’s qualifications are legitimate using the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) Verifications Search.
There is a plethora of case law that deals with qualifications as a requirement for a job. For example, in the case of the Chemical Energy Paper Printing Wood and Allied Workers Union obo Fakude/Sasol Synfuels (2016)25 NBCCI 8.36.1 also reported at [2016] 9 BALR 923 (NBCCI):
- B was employed as an electrical technician. She had, allegedly, completed all the requirements for her qualification which qualified her as an electrical technician. She was only waiting for it to be conferred.
- In B’s contract of employment, her employer stipulated that should she not furnish proof of her qualification within three months of her starting at the company, her contract would be terminated.
- When the period allocated to her, in which she could furnish the proof of qualification, had elapsed, and she had not furnished said proof, her contract was terminated.
- A case was referred to the CCMA where, the employee stated, that she had been granted an extension to complete her degree.
- However, the CCMA Commissioner said that it was clearly stated in her contract that the employer was totally within their rights to terminate the employee’s contract of employment should the proof of qualifications not be furnished.
- The CCMA thus upheld the dismissal.
The Human Resources (HR) division for your business is crucial. However, sometimes – especially in small businesses – it’s not always possible to have a dedicated HR manager. This means that the person who you assign to taking care of HR needs to have an overview of the fundamentals of HR. Global Business Solutions’ HR Training for Non-HR Managers will equip your people with all the knowledge that they need to run the HR arm of your business successfully. On this course, they’ll learn fundamental skills such as writing job specs, how to manage your employee relations and everything in between! Click here for more information.