NETCARE LIMITED HUMAN RESOURCES POLICY NUMBER HR14 PREPARED BY APPROVED BY HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR PREPARATION DATE MARCH 2013 ISSUE DATE NOVEMBER 2013 REVISION DATE NOVEMBER 2015 VERSION 5 (2013)
COPYRIGHT WARNING NOTICE This policy and procedure is the property of Netcare Limited. Copyright subsists in this work. Any unauthorised reproduction, publication or translation of the work are acts of copyright infringement and may lead to criminal prosecution. The compilation and input to the guide was obtained from experts in the field. Any changes and alterations can only be made with the approval of the authors. Reference to one gender can be interpreted to imply belonging to either gender. Any deviations from this policy document require the approval from the assigned approval committee. All deviations, comments and suggestions could be emailed to policies@netcare.co.za Page 2 of 17
1. POLICY STATEMENT... 5 2. LEAVE: GENERAL INFORMATION... 5 3. ACCUMULATION OF ANNUAL LEAVE & EXCESSIVE ANNUAL LEAVE BALANCES... 7 EMPLOYEES GRADED A TO C3... 7 EMPLOYEES GRADED C4 TO C5 AND D1 TO D5... 7 4. ANNUAL LEAVE PROVISION... 8 HOSPITAL DIVISION, NETCARE 911 & NETCARE PHARMACIES... 8 PRIMARY CARE DIVISION: (MEDICROSS & PRIMECURE)... 9 5. SICK LEAVE PROVISION... 10 HOSPITAL DIVISION, NETCARE 911 & NETCARE PHARMACIES... 10 PRIMARY CARE DIVISION: (MEDICROSS & PRIMECURE)... 10 SICK LEAVE GENERAL RULES... 10 6. MATERNITY LEAVE... 11 7. FAMILY RESPONSIBILITY LEAVE... 12 8. COMPASSIONATE LEAVE... 12 9. PATERNITY LEAVE... 13 10. UNPAID LEAVE... 13 11. SPORTS LEAVE... 14 12. STUDY LEAVE... 14 Page 3 of 17
13. SHOP STEWARD LEAVE... 14 14. ENCASHMENT OF LEAVE... 15 15. HABITUAL ABSENTEEISM... 15 16. LEAVE REPORTS... 15 17. LEAVE BALANCES... 16 18. ASSESSMENT... 17 19. REFERENCES... 17 Page 4 of 17
1. POLICY STATEMENT Netcare has a formalised policy on leave, the objectives of which are as follows: i. To ensure that all employees receive equitable employee benefits pertaining to leave; ii. To treat employees in a consistent and fair manner as per the current Labour Legislation; iii. To standardise the policy as far as possible in respect of all of the Netcare divisions. 2. LEAVE: GENERAL INFORMATION i. All forms of leave are a condition of service as determined by the Group. Where there is a recognised union, any substantive agreement concluded with such union, will take precedence over this policy. ii. For ease of reference, this policy has been divided into the following categories: a. Annual Leave b. Sick Leave c. Study Leave d. Family Responsibility Leave e. Maternity Leave f. Unpaid Leave g. Sports Leave h. Public Holidays i. Special Leave iii. An application for leave must be submitted for any period during which an employee is not at work, irrespective of the nature thereof and the level of occupation. iv. Properly completed application forms must, where possible, be submitted as follows: a. Annual Leave: where possible, at least one month before the commencement date of leave; b. Study Leave: at least one month before the commencement date of leave; c. Maternity Leave: three months prior to the confinement date d. Paternity Leave: prior notice of intention to take Paternity Leave should be given at least one month in advance; however, the form should be submitted on the first working day after return from such leave. Verbal notification should be given as soon as possible on the first day of absence. Page 5 of 17
e. Sick Leave: on the first day of return from absence. Verbal notification must be given as soon as possible on the first day of absence directly to the line manager or approved alternative. f. Family Responsibility Leave: where possible in advance, otherwise as soon as the employee returns after such absence. Verbal notification must be given as soon as possible on the first day of absence directly to the line manager or approved alternative. g. Authorised Unpaid Leave: where possible in advance, otherwise as soon as the employee returns after such absence. Will only be granted in exceptional circumstances and taking operational requirements in consideration. v. Leave forms must be completed in full, with the following information: a. Full first name and surname b. Cost centre c. Job title and employee number d. Leave Period (dates from and to) e. Type of leave f. Address and telephone number where employee can be contacted during his/her leave. vi. The Employee must sign the form and attach supporting documentation (e.g. death or sick certificate) if applicable, to the leave form before it will be approved. vii. The employee must sign any changes on the leave form. viii. Employees must ensure that their leave form has been authorised by their Manager before proceeding on leave. ix. Line Managers must ensure that the employee qualifies for leave before approving the leave form x. The approved leave should be processed on Kronos immediately. xi. The top white copy approved leave form should be submitted to the Human Resources Department for filing. The Line Manager retains the leave book containing the duplicate copy for audit purposes. Completed leave books should be returned to the Human Resources Department for safekeeping. xii. Employees may not render service during an official leave period. xiii. Annual leave entitlements generally provide employees with at least 21 consecutive days leave within the leave cycle; this normally amounts to at least 15 working days depending on whether the employee works a 5 or 6 a day week. The unused, Page 6 of 17
xiv. xv. xvi. xvii. xviii. accumulated leave from one leave cycle must be taken within the first 6 months of the new leave cycle. Leave encashments may only take place in accordance with the encashment policy. Leave taken in excess of the available leave balance (which results in a negative leave balance) will automatically be deemed unpaid leave. Should a Line Manager wish to authorise the advance of annual leave from the next period, this should be fully motivated to the Regional or National Human Resources Manager for approval. Annual leave may not be taken during the serving of a notice period. Excessive leave will be encashed based on the Structure Package (SP) as defined in the Remuneration Policy. Public Holidays which occur during an employee s period of leave should not be included as part of the leave for non-shift workers. 3. ACCUMULATION OF ANNUAL LEAVE & EXCESSIVE ANNUAL LEAVE BALANCES EMPLOYEES GRADED A TO C3 i. Employees may not accumulate more annual leave hours than the number of annual leave hours entitled to over an 18 month period. ii. When the annual leave balance exceeds this limit, the employee will be required to take annual leave within a three month period. iii. In September of each year, if the annual leave balance has not reduced below the maximum balance after the three month period, an automatic leave encashment will be processed on the payroll to bring the accumulated leave entitlement hours back in line with the maximum permissible balance. iv. Accumulated leave in line with the aforementioned policy requirements will be paid at termination of service. EMPLOYEES GRADED C4 TO C5 AND D1 TO D5 i. Employees may only accumulate annual leave hours up to the maximum number of hours which would ordinarily accrue to such an employee over a 12 month period. ii. Should the employee s annual leave balance exceed this limit, such employee will have up to 31 January of each year to utilise any excessive annual leave and thereafter it will be forfeited. Page 7 of 17
i. Only employees who are within two years of normal retirement may accrue leave beyond the stipulated maximum. ii. Accumulated leave in line with the aforementioned policy requirements will be paid at termination of service. 4. ANNUAL LEAVE PROVISION HOSPITAL DIVISION, NETCARE 911 & NETCARE PHARMACIES i. The annual leave entitlement is determined by employee type and hours of work: a. 42 HOUR WEEK - All employees working shifts are entitled to 210 hours annual leave per annum. b. 40 HOUR WEEK - All employees working Monday to Friday are entitled to 120 hours (1 day = 8 hours). Some identified hospitals are entitled to 136 hours annual leave per annum based on historic collective agreements. This however only applies to employees who were in employment at these identified hospitals before 01 October 2007. c. PHARMACISTS are entitled to 160 hours per annum. d. SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND HODs (defined as grade C4 and above) including all Unit Managers are entitled to 20 working days (160 hours) per annum. ii. On reaching 5 year and ten years' service with the company, an employee will receive additional annual leave hours as follows: a. After 5 years of service, an additional 24 hours annual leave per annum. e.g. after 5 years' service the employee entitled to 120 hours annual leave will be granted an additional 24 hours per annum for long service = 144 hours b. After 10 years of service, an additional 16 hours annual leave per annum e.g. after 10 years' service the employee entitled to 144 hours annual leave (after 5 years' service) will receive an additional 16 hours per annum = 160 hours per annum. Page 8 of 17
PRIMARY CARE DIVISION: (MEDICROSS & PRIMECURE) MEDICROSS i. All permanent employees working 42.5 or 42 hours per week are entitled to 170 ii. iii. iv. working hours annual leave per annum worked and this is accumulated at a rate of 14,167 hours per month. The annual leave entitlement for employees working less than 42.5 hours per week will be pro-rated based on their weekly working hours using the formula: a. Annual leave entitlement = 170 42.5 x Average Hours per Week Fixed term contract employees working 42.5 or 42 hours per week are entitled to 10.667 hours annual leave per month (equivalent to 128 working hour's annual leave per annum) accrued monthly in arrears. The annual leave entitlement for fixed term contract employees working less than 42.5 hours per week will be pro-rated based on their weekly working hours using the formula: a. Annual leave entitlement = 128 42.5 x Average Hours per Week v. The annual leave entitlement for temporary/casual employees is 1 hour s leave for vi. every 17 hours worked. All employees working shifts are entitled to 210 hours annual leave per annum effective from 01 March 2006. All shift employees scheduled to work on a public holiday or weekend will be required to submit a leave form should they not work/not be able to work on a scheduled public holiday or weekend. PRIMECURE i. Permanent employees shall be granted 18 working days paid leave after the completion of one year s service. Annual leave entitlement = 18 days x 8 hours per day (144 hours). ii. On completion of five years service with the Company, employees are entitled to 25 working days leave per annum. Annual leave entitlement = 25 days x 8 hours per day (200 hours). Page 9 of 17
5. SICK LEAVE PROVISION HOSPITAL DIVISION, NETCARE 911 & NETCARE PHARMACIES i. Employees working 5 days per week are entitled to 240 hours in a 3 year (36 month) cycle non-shift workers. ii. Employees working 6 days per week are entitled to 252 hours in a 3 year (36 month) cycle nursing and non-nursing shifts workers. PRIMARY CARE DIVISION: (MEDICROSS & PRIMECURE) i. All permanent employees who work 42.5 or 42 hours per week are entitled to a maximum of 255 hours sick leave within a 3 year (36 month) cycle. ii. The sick leave entitlement for employees working less than 42.5 hours per week will be pro-rated based on their weekly working hours using the formula: a. Sick leave entitlement = 255 42.5 x Average Hours per Week iii. Fixed term contract employees working 42.5 hours per week are entitled to one day s sick leave for every 26 days worked. SICK LEAVE GENERAL RULES i. Despite the entitlement contained above, during the first 6 months of continuous employment an employee is entitled to 1 day of paid sick leave for every 26 days worked. ii. Absences from work for more than 2 consecutive days, or on more than 2 occasions during an 8-week period, may require the presentation of a medical certificate, stating that the employee was unable to work for the duration of the absence on account of sickness. iii. This medical certificate must be issued and signed by a medical practitioner or a person who is certified to diagnose and treat patients and who is registered with the Professional Council. iv. On termination, sick leave has no cash value. v. Sick leave not taken, cannot be accumulated, and falls away at the end of each 3 year (36 month) cycle. vi. Sick leave taken in terms of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, No. 130 of 1993, as amended, shall not be classified as sick leave but Page 10 of 17
vii. as Injury on Duty (IOD) Leave. IOD Leave does not apply to employees who were temporarily disabled as a result of an occupational illness or injury for 3 days or less (refer COIDA, Chapter IV Section 22(2)); in these instances, time off taken as a result of an occupational injury or disease should be processed as normal sick leave. Where an employee has fully exhausted their sick leave entitlement and can demonstrate that sick leave has historically been utilised for an occupational injury or disease, the employee may request consideration by the Regional/National HR Manager for an additional sick leave entitlement equivalent to the aforementioned IOD leave which was processed as sick leave. Sick leave may be utilised by an employee when the employee themselves is required to see a Medical Practitioner, Dentist or Specialist for consultation or medical examination, x-rays, pathology tests, etc., provided the time off requested is reasonable and supporting documentation of attendance is provided after the consultation, procedure or treatment. This leave must be authorised by the Line Manager in advance. Sick leave for the purpose of consultations, for the employee, as set out above, will be capped at 24 hours per three year cycle as part of the sick leave entitlement, unless otherwise authorised by the Regional/National HR Manager in exceptional circumstances. 6. MATERNITY LEAVE i. Maternity leave is granted to employees subject to the following: a. 4 months paid maternity leave is granted at 33% of Basic Salary (Structure Package) only. b. A fifth month, if required, will be granted as unpaid leave. ii. Employees may take accumulated annual leave concurrently with maternity leave. iii. The paid maternity leave is only paid for two pregnancies. Maternity leave in excess of the two will be granted as unpaid maternity leave. iv. Maternity leave must be taken from four weeks prior to confinement unless a certificate from a medical practitioner is provided to confirm that employee is still fit to perform normal duties (i.e. 36 weeks into pregnancy). Maternity leave must be taken for at least 6 weeks after confinement. An earlier return to duty will be allowed with a medical certificate to support an early return. Page 11 of 17
v. Leave and sick leave will continue to accumulate during maternity leave and the employee s bonus or annual increase date will not be changed. vi. The company contribution of both medical aid and retirement fund will continue to be paid in full. It is recommended that the employee s contribution be paid before proceeding on maternity leave, but may be paid during the period of maternity leave. In exceptional cases the employee s retirement fund contribution may be suspended. vii. All arrangements with regard to retirement funding, medical aid and UIF should be discussed and finalised with the Human Resources Department prior to commencement of maternity leave. viii. The Human Resources Department will confirm all maternity arrangements, including date of return to work, in writing, at least 4 (four) weeks prior to commencement of leave. ix. The maternity policy also applies to mothers adopting a baby and is effective from time of adoption. x. The maternity leave policy does not apply to surrogate pregnancies. xi. An employee who has a miscarriage during the third trimester of pregnancy or bears a stillborn child is entitled to maternity leave for 6 (six) weeks after the miscarriage or stillbirth, whether or not the employee had commenced maternity leave at the time of the miscarriage or stillbirth. This must be substantiated by a Medical Certificate. 7. FAMILY RESPONSIBILITY LEAVE i. Family Responsibility leave only applies to employees working more than 24 hours per month and after 4 months of employment. Where an employee s child is sick, an employee is entitled to 24 hours family responsibility leave per leave cycle (pro-rata for part timers). This leave does not accrue. ii. Medical evidence will be required to support an application for Family Responsibility Leave and this will only apply to own, step or adopted children under the age of 16 years. This leave will also apply when employees are required to attend maintenance and/or family court. 8. COMPASSIONATE LEAVE i. In the event of death or serious illness of an immediate family member, employees may apply for compassionate leave to attend to domestic arrangements. Serious Page 12 of 17
ii. iii. illness is defined as an incapacity which seriously impacts the immediate family member s ability to tend to themselves. Immediate family is regarded as: a. Spouse or life partner b. Own, step or adopted children c. Parents and Parents-in-law d. Biological brothers or sisters e. Legally adopted brothers or sisters f. Own Grandparents g. Own Grandchildren Compassionate leave of between 24 to 40 hours per incident (pro-rata for part timers) may be granted at management s discretion. Compassionate leave will only be paid when proof is provided (e.g. death certificate, medical evidence, etc.). 9. PATERNITY LEAVE i. At time of birth of own children, 48 hours paternity leave may be granted with prior written approval of the employer. Pro-rata for part timers. ii. Proof of birth of own child must be provided upon return to work. iii. Paternity leave will also apply in cases of adoption. 10. UNPAID LEAVE i. To provide employees with a facility which will enable them to take unpaid leave in exceptional circumstances. ii. Unpaid leave must where possible be applied for in advance, and a leave form must be completed. iii. Unpaid leave is at management s discretion to a maximum of 3 months and the right is reserved to decline this leave in the event that management is not satisfied with the merit of the application. iv. An employee will be required to take unpaid leave in the event that both Sick Leave and Annual leave have been exhausted. In this event the employee must be advised, in writing, that any absence will be treated as unpaid. v. Unpaid leave must be deducted from salaries in the month following the period of absence. Page 13 of 17
11. SPORTS LEAVE i. To provide an equitable leave entitlement to employees who are elected to represent a Provincial or National sports team, Sports Leave is provided under the following conditions: a. Only NOCSA recognised sports will qualify for this entitlement; b. Where an employee is selected at Provincial or National level, and proof of selection is provided, such employee will be granted up to 42 hours per annum paid Sports Leave; ii. Sports Leave must be applied for in advance and a leave form must be completed. iii. Sponsorship for Sport a. Employees may not approach suppliers for sponsorship. Where financial sponsorship is required, a full motivation in writing should be addressed to the Human Resource Director for consideration. 12. STUDY LEAVE i. All leave for study purposes must be by prior agreement between the Company and the employee and will be given for company approved programme. Timeous submission of the examination roster is essential for proper leave planning. ii. Employees are to submit an application form for leave together with the examination roster, at least one month in advance for proposed study leave. iii. Employees are entitled to the day of the exam and 1 day prior to the exam, i.e. two working days per subject with a maximum of 80 hours per annum. iv. The number of study days leave taken may be increased at the discretion of management. 13. SHOP STEWARD LEAVE i. Details to be obtained from the relevant recognition agreements of the respective union. ii. It remains the responsibility of each Shop Steward to arrange absence from the workplace or unit for the purpose of any Shop Steward functions or in respect of representation of members. The Shop Steward remains an employee of the Employer and the same rules, policies and regulations applies to Shop Stewards. Page 14 of 17
14. ENCASHMENT OF LEAVE i. This policy is in place to ensure that encashment of leave is handled in a fair and equitable manner, and is in compliance with all legal requirements. ii. On a quarterly basis, an employee may encash up to 84 hours annual leave on the following Conditions: a. The employee has taken 84 hours annual leave in the past twelve months. b. The employee has a balance of at least 84 hours annual leave to cover the minimum requirements in the next twelve months. iii. The encashment of leave may only take place via the Hands On time and attendance system and the Vision payroll system during the normal monthly payroll and will be subject to normal taxation. iv. Application for encashment of leave must be made on the Leave Form, and marked "Encashment of Annual Leave". v. All applications for Encashment of Annual Leave must be validated. The Human Resources department to audit all encashments. vi. Leave may not be encashed more than once per quarter i.e. January to March, April to June, July to September, October to December. vii. Annual leave encashment is calculated on Structured Packaged and is paid at the rate applicable in the month in which it is encashed. 15. HABITUAL ABSENTEEISM i. Excessive absenteeism from work will not be tolerated. ii. Should absenteeism be deemed as excessive, an investigation will be conducted as to the reasons for the absenteeism, and depending on the outcome, further action may be taken. iii. If the investigation reveals there is no valid reason for the absence, the habitual absenteeism will be treated as a case of misconduct, and the necessary disciplinary steps as per the disciplinary code will be followed. The outcome of such a process may be dismissal, depending on the severity of the case. 16. LEAVE REPORTS i. All leave is recorded within Kronos and Attendance System. Page 15 of 17
ii. iii. All leave taken or earned is recorded in Hours and Minutes within the Hands-On system. All leave entitlements, leave taken and leave balances are interfaced to the Vision System on a monthly basis. 17. LEAVE BALANCES i. Annual leave balances are visible on the employees Timecard within the Accruals window. ii. All other leave balances may be viewed by selecting View, Accruals Overview once on the selected employees Timecard. iii. To print or view the leave balances, one of the following reports may be generated: iv. Accrual History provides a history of balances, leave taken and leave earned during the selected timeframe. v. Accrual Summary lists opening and closing balances for all leave types for the selected timeframe. vi. Annual leave history lists all Annual leave hours earned and taken during the selected timeframe. vii. Annual and sick leave History lists all Annual and Sick leave taken/earned during the selected timeframe. Page 16 of 17
18. ASSESSMENT C PC NC 1 Is there a dated, documented Leave policy in place? 2 Is the latest relevant Netcare policy available on the intranet? 3 Are all employees aware of the policy? C = Compliant PC = Partial Compliance NC = Not Compliant 19. REFERENCES i. Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 Page 17 of 17