Broker ban to encourage skiving

Cape Town - A ban on labour broking is likely to cause a high increase in worker absenteeism, an expert said on Monday.

Labour broking agencies were helping keep absenteeism levels and productivity in many companies at acceptable limits, Johnny Johnson, chief executive of Corporate Absenteeism Management Solutions said in a statement.

"Banning labour broking will most likely have a corresponding high impact on absenteeism because the employees of labour brokers have a lower absenteeism rate than that of the permanent workers at an employer."

Draft laws on labour broking were due to be tabled within the next financial year and expected to contain added regulations against labour brokers.

According to Johnson, the absenteeism rate for employees at labour brokers, who provided employment for more than 500 000 people, was less than one percent, at an average of 0.8%.

This was equivalent to each employee taking only two days sick leave per annum.

The average absenteeism rate for all other employees was almost three percent, which equated to each employee taking seven days sick leave per annum.

If workers currently employed by labour brokers were now employed directly then it was expected the average absenteeism rate would increase to at least three percent.

The expected increase in absenteeism would cost employers an extra R1bn in direct costs and at least another R2bn in indirect costs. The indirect costs could be as much as 10 times the direct costs at certain employers.

"Labour brokers manage their absenteeism more effectively because their service to their clients is dependent on their employees being reliable and at work on a regular basis," Johnson said.

Employees who worked through labour brokers were also more likely to be more productive, knowing that if they did a good job in one placement, they would readily be placed again.

Poor attendance impacted on the productivity levels of whole teams and was often unquantified in companies, Johnson said.

"From a financial perspective, if companies keep absenteeism rates low and productivity levels high, thereby improving efficiency, retrenchments may be avoided or delayed with increased profitability."

- Sapa