Manager: Employee Relations – Johannesburg Ref No: MER/08/2023 at City of Johannesburg

Primary Function:

• Provide strategic expert labour relations oversight, advisory, advocacy, counsel, and support, ensuring consistency and quality of collective agreements, labour policies and procedures. Work with a team of HR professionals and Line Managers to address employee relations issues by providing advice and direction, including providing counsel and support to managers in addressing employee grievances. This includes developing and implementing policies, procedures, and programs to ensure compliance with employment equity legislation, analyzing data to identify recruitment, retention, and career advancement opportunities for members of designated groups, and developing strategies to increase diversity.

Key responsibilities:  

• Assist with the development of the HCM strategy.
• Develop the employee relations implementation plan.
• Develop, prepare, and implement employment equity plan across JCT.
• Manage the collective bargaining process around conditions of services, disciplinary code and grievance procedures and rules of engagement.
• Monitor and manage disciplinary grievances an appeal actions and progress for managers and more senior positions.
• Advise on and assist with Employment Equity plan.
• Support senior management in advising on the implementing disciplinary procedures and grievances.
• Manage labour cases (collective and individual ER matters) including monitoring and managing the receipt and resolution of grievances by relevant managers; scheduling of disciplinary and grievance enquiries; reviewing and managing the escalation of cases and grievances; reviewing and managing the development of charge sheets, outcome reports and sanction letters and reviewing and managing the referral processes of employees to AEP and rehabilitation facilities.
• Manage and monitor all labour cases, dispute resolution at the CCMA, disciplinary processes, incapacity hearings etc including representing the organization at the CCMA at all disputes resolution phases.
• Identify and facilitate the appointment of presenting and presiding officers (disciplinary/ Appeal)
• Brief legal counsel to properly prepare for Labour Court and relevant cases.  
• Develop and manage a sustainable working relationship with organized labour and ensure compliance with all agreements and processes.
• Ensure the management of grievance (investigations), misconduct and dispute matters.
• Facilitate resolution of grievances and complaints
• Initiate formal and informal disciplinary enquiries.
• Facilitate formal disciplinary processes including investigation, prosecution, suspension, and appeals.
• Work with the company’s wellness service provider to increase participation in lifestyle management programs, increase compliance rates for preventative screenings and preventative medicine.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Labour Relations Management or Human Resources Management (NQF 7) or equivalent
• 6 years’ management experience in Labour/Industrial Relations matters or in highly unionized environment preferably in a Local government sector
• Experience in a generalist human resource management environment
• A Postgraduate in Labour Relations / Labour Law/ Human Resources Management is advantageous.