by Jenny Reid

The holiday season is coming up and it’s time to start thinking about house sitters and pet sitters. These people will have unsupervised access to your home and your pets for the duration of your holiday. Many things could happen in a couple of days you’re away. 

by Jenny Reid

The Festive Season is coming up and it’s time to consider the casual staff you intend to hire for the holiday rush. Casual staff are a necessity to help when business picks up in various seasonal industries. However, like full-time staff members, casual staff also need to be screened and vetted prior to employment, even in a short-term capacity. 

by Jenny Reid

Many companies have effective pre-employment screening policies, but the need for screening doesn’t end after hiring. Regular rescreening of existing employees at all levels is essential to protect the company from unforeseen issues and to ensure preparedness.

by Jenny Reid

Earlier this year, on 6 May, we all listened in horror as radio stations across the country let us know about a building that had collapsed and 81 people were stuck in the rubble. Awful updates were constantly received with people being unaccounted for, being rushed to hospital in severe condition, or dying. There were allegations that the owner of the building wished to add a storey to the building that the foundations were not built for and that the construction crew allowed and encouraged the cleaning ladies to mix cement for use in the multi-storey building.

by Jenny Reid

Employee fraud, previously called Insider fraud refers to when an employee of your company lies or steals from the company, this could refer to stealing money, maliciously taking access to company assets, or even workplace recognition. Any kind of fraud can negatively affect a company, but employee fraud is becoming a bigger concern than it has been in the past.

by Jenny Reid

In a recent article, there was much controversy about a politician who had been writing Doctor before his name for many years.  On further investigation, he was a “doctor in the ministry of counselling” from Trinity International University, Ghana’s campus in South Africa in 2008. “Trinity is not accredited by the South African Qualifications Authority, the National Qualifications Framework, or the Council on Higher Education for Higher Education Qualifications. Trinity is also not accredited by the Ghana Tertiary Education Committee, although the ‘university’ operates out of Ghana.” Due to the institutions’ lack of accreditation or importance outside of a church, South Africans thought that this “Doctorate” should not count. Nor should this politician refer to himself as a doctor. This poses the question, how relevant is a qualification if it does not bring the required skill set to the party?

by Jenny Reid

Employee Screening is an ever-evolving process, no employee screening policy should be cast in stone and remain that way long term. This process should be regularly reviewed and updated to evolve as the human risk factor evolves. 

by Jenny Reid

CV Reference Checks are a valuable part of the pre-employment screening process as these days, it is incredibly simple to falsify prior employment, references, and education. A CV reference check verifies all the information provided by a candidate in their CV and either confirms the information is factual or proves that the information is false or exaggerated.

by Jenny Reid

Criminal record checks are one of the world’s leading forms of pre-employment checks. Should you be able to deny a candidate employment based purely on their criminal record check?

by Jenny Reid

Often you will hear employers in South Africa complaining bitterly about the complex regulatory landscape that they have to operate in. This now includes the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA). While FICA primarily focuses on combating money laundering and financing terrorism, its impact extends beyond financial institutions to encompass various sectors, including many other businesses and employers. Ignoring FICA requirements can have significant consequences and it is now essential for employers to understand and comply with FICA regulations.

by Jenny Reid

In South Africa, PEP (Politically Exposed Person) and sanctions tests are typically used by financial institutions and certain designated non-financial businesses and professions to comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulations.

by Jenny Reid

With unemployment rates continuing to escalate and the cost-of-living soaring people are increasingly desperate to find work and will stop at nothing to get their job application to the top of the pile.

by Jenny Reid

A “job” is defined as “a piece of work, especially a specific task done as part of the routine of one's occupation or for an agreed price”. A “skill” is defined “as the ability, coming from one's knowledge, practice, aptitude, etc.” Work has traditionally been focused on jobs, completing the tasks required to fulfil a certain job description. However, Deloitte, suggests instead of looking at work as a series of jobs, we should be focused more on the set of skills held by employees and how those benefit the company as a whole.

by Jenny Reid

As we approach December in Southern Africa, we are reminded of the vast difference in how annual holidays are celebrated in the different hemispheres of the world. Here in South Africa, we are preparing for our “long” annual holiday and much celebration over Christmas.

by Jenny Reid

In 2018, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) partnered with the Charles Koch Institute to launch research on individuals with criminal records in the workforce in the USA. In 2021, they revisited the topic with some interesting findings. Recently the 2021 Getting Talent Back to Work Report was issued by SHRM. Whilst the findings are US based, it is worth unpacking the main elements of the report.