Retrenchment is a sad reality that can turn your world upside down. We offer some important advice should you ever find yourself in this unfortunate position.

MISA, on behalf of its members, consulted at 52 different employers in the second half of 2017 and assisted 207 members who were eligible for the MISA Retrenchment Benefit after being retrenched.

Do not jump ship
It is important that, when you do receive a letter informing you of possible retrenchments, you don’t jump ship! There is a strict process, which is set out in the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (LRA), that has to be followed.

Don’t get fixated on the money
The second word of advice is not to fall in the same trap as so many have: do not get fixated on the monetary value of a severance package, should it come to that.

Numerous MISA members bypassed the consultation process with the assistance of their employer because of the possible payment.

Ask yourself the question, “Will that once-off payment sustain me for an indefinite time?”

Go through the process
Once you have accepted the payment, MISA’s hands are tied and you will never know if your dismissal was really bona fide, or without intention to deceive.

MISA will, on your behalf, consult and reach a joint consensus on various important aspects with your employer. These include:

• Whether appropriate measures were taken to avoid the dismissals or to minimise the number of dismissals
• To change the timing of the dismissals
• To mitigate the adverse effects of the dismissals.
• The method for selecting the employees to be dismissed
• And the severance pay for dismissed employees.

Only after the consultation process has been finalised, a final decision can be taken.

It is therefore to your benefit to go through the process.

Nitesh Patel, head for group real-estate services at Standard Bank says: “You can’t do anything about losing a job, but you can do a lot about the way you approach things going forward.”

Click here for more advice on retrenchment from him.

Remember MISA is just a phone call away!

Article by Tiekie Mocke (Manager: MISA Legal Department).

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