Dear Reader

Welcome to this week’s Labour Bulletin. I hope you’ve had a stress-free week…with little or no irritation from an annoying colleague.

What’s in your latest issue of Labourwatch

If you’re a subscriber to the Labourwatch newsletter, you would’ve received your exciting new edition. It covers all the following topics:

• You need to retrench, but who’s the first to go...
• Constructive dismissal cases are hard to win! Until now…
• Use these 4 tips to prevent a constructive dismissal claim...
• Challenge your employee if you suspect he resigned voluntarily...
• Cure end-of-year blues with these 15 tips...
• Use these tips to deal with the symptoms…and stop negativity in its tracks...
• Does cosmetic surgery qualify my employee for sick leave...
• Your 5 step plan to implement an ergonomic programme...

And much more…

I know you all need to know about these topics and you can’t afford to miss out. Have a look at how you can keep up-to-date in just 15 minutes a month.

Hire the right person the first time

The recession is officially over! We can get up, dust ourselves off and get on the road to recovery. As the New Year rushes at us you might be looking at hiring new people. You’ll be very picky because you want to work with only the best people in this challenging time.

Advice from an expert who’s been through it all!

Michael Masterson from our sister newsletter, Early to Rise, had this to say about recruiting employees…it’s good advice!

It takes time and effort to hire good people, but it's well worth it. Here are the four most important things I've learned:

1. Make the commitment. Anything worth doing is worth doing well. You can't expect to hire great people if you spend just a few hours working on it. I don't like interviewing, so I have to resist the impulse to hire the first decent person who comes along.

2. Look for the right things. Intelligence is important. But I'd put it third on my list. The two most important things to look for are attitude and aptitude.

3. Flee flaws. Generally speaking, a job candidate is at his best during the interview. If something about him seems "wrong," don't ignore it -- especially if it concerns qualities that are important for the job. I've found that the personal quirks that surface during an interview are like the tip of an iceberg. What you see is a very small part of what you will have to deal with later.

4. Don't worry too much about specific experience. Yes, it's good to know that the person you hire can do the technical work from day one. But on day seven or day 14, you'll wish you had opted for the better, though perhaps untried and unproven, prospect.

Don’t forget the legal aspects of recruitment

You can also get the legal ins and outs about recruitment and more practical advice and tips from the Labour Law for Managers Handbook and the Practical Guide to Human Resources Management Handbook. They give you all the help you need to get the right person the first time!

Until next time…

Kind Regards

Sarah-Jane Bosch
Managing Editor:
Labour Law for Managers Practical Handbook
Labour Watch News