Dear ISA members
Reward and Remuneration project
Rumours that the Reward and Remuneration (R&R) project has been shelved are untrue, according to the HR Executive Manager, Ms Nimee Dhuloo. The 6 streams are working together to finalize the process by May 2015.
The major challenge is that there is no financial backing to the process as yet but the idea is to complete the project and start phasing it in, starting with the lowest paid levels and going upward as funds become available.
As Labour we must be mindful that not all staff will be affected by the process as some staff members are earning way above the scales. The idea is to bring all staff members who are below the entry grade of the new scale up to par. The outliers – meaning those staff earning above the pay grade – will have to be ring-fenced with further discussion and agreement with Labour for these staff. To level the playing fields, some key decisions have to be made to have equitable salaries across the board.
The job profiling is almost complete and the job evaluation has commenced. We request our members to actively participate in this process by giving feedback so that we can escalate to the Reward and Remuneration committee.
The employee evaluation proposition (EVP) has been completed and will shortly be communicated across the NHLS. This describes what the NHLS offers employees over above their cost-to-company (CTC) package. The CTC is being calculated by the Salaries Department. The CTC will have a slight impact on some of the staff salaries and this is attributed to the pension fund contributions. The details of the range and staff affected are not yet known. Also, staff packages can differ from one another, depending on their medical aid cover and the pension contributions but in principle the salaries will be equitable in terms of the R&R project. It is expected that the CTC will be implemented on 1 April 2015 and HR will have a one-on- one discussion with every staff member. If you are unhappy with the CTC, please inform HR and your union.
The cost to company is not necessarily a bad thing. It now means that medical aid, the housing subsidy and scarce skills allowance will be part of the package and when unions negotiate, it will be on CTC. This means that all your allowances will increase accordingly with your year-on-year inflationary increases.
Many staff believe that the thirteenth cheque must be outside the CTC but one must understand the concept. Staff have never “lost” their thirteenth cheque. It is part of your CTC and you can annually make provision for your thirteenth cheque or you can enjoy the money every month. There are benefits to having your thirteenth cheque as part of your salary i.e. both the NHLS’ and your pension contribution will be more month to month and when you retire, you will be at an advantage. But should you make provision, obviously it will come out of the salary.
Remember that when we negotiate an increase on CTC, the portion for thirteenth cheque goes directly into your salary portion and you can make a decision whether or not you want to increase your 13th cheque or not. Should you not, then your pension contribution from the employer will be more. Note that if you make tax provision on your 13th cheque monthly , you will not be taxed at the end of the year. So if you made provision for R500 per month, you will get R6000 tax free in your salary in the month following your birthday month.
Please go to the intranet and you will see the updates on the Reward and Remuneration project. If you have any queries or questions, please direct them to ISA Head Office (isaho@mweb.co.za).