Employee Relations Business Partner

September 13, 2024

Tharisa Minerals

FULL TIME

Purpose of Role
To promote positive employee relations, address workplace issues, and ensure compliance with labour laws and regulations, by providing guidance to employees and management, so as to maintain a harmonious work environment and address all employee concerns. To provide specialist Human Resources support, training and analysis associated with employee industrial/employee relations litigation practices and systems, by implementing, advising on and updating all applicable industrial/employee relations practices within Tharisa Minerals, in order to optimise organisational performance and enhance employee relations and wellbeing.
Role Context
Employee Relations Management

Provide guidance and expert advice to the Tharisa Minerals (TM) employee and management, regarding the implementation of best practice systems, employee discipline, litigation, and all other Human Resources (HR) related systems, practices, and processes, to maintain good employee relations (ER).
Serve as a mediator in resolving employee conflicts, grievances, and disputes, by investigate issues and recommending appropriate solutions, to promote resolution, mediate disputes and facilitate productive discussions between conflicting parties.
Facilitate effective communication between management and employees, ensuring transparency and understanding of company policies and decisions, to ensure that all relevant parties are informed and understand the implications of the matter at hand.
Develop and apply administration systems and practices, in collaboration with HR and management, to ensure consistent application of disciplinary procedures when necessary.
Conduct audits on the usage and application of ER systems and procedures, by key stakeholders, to rectify any shortcomings and misuse.
Advice management on the most appropriate cause of action when making decision on ER functions, to provide guidance on corrective actions and employment terminations.
Provide advice and interpretation services to all key stakeholder, when and as needed, regarding matters relating to the utilisation of ER functions and the integration with other HR functions, to address concerns and decrease possible misunderstandings.
Gather feedback from employees and provide insights to management on potential areas of improvement within the work environment, by working collaboratively with HR, the legal team, and management, to provide guidance on and enhance ER processes and systems.
Conduct internal investigations as required, by remaining professional and impartial until the investigation is complete, to address internal misconduct, while maintain the highest level of confidentiality when handling sensitive employee information.
Contribute towards employee training initiatives, by identifying employees suitable for further training related to the ER business area, to enhance employee engagement, job satisfaction, and overall workplace morale.
Organise workshops and training sessions for employees and management on conflict resolution, effective communication, and ER, to address any areas of uncertainty or concern, enhancing the positive interactions between employees and management.
Train and provide guidance to all TM employee and/or non-HR Manager, by identifying further training needs to ensure the proper application and use of all HR systems and procedures.
Monitor and maintain accurate and organised records of ER cases, by updating employee records, to ensure availability of the needed documentation for future reference, preserving departmental record and statistic concerning ER.
Prepare ad-hoc reports relating to ER statistics, latest developments and challenges faced, to keep management and all key stakeholders informed.

Compliance Management

Stay up-to-date with South African labour laws, regulations, and industry standards to ensure the company's policies and practices are compliant with relevant legislation.
Provide guidance and support to employees and management in understanding company policies, procedures and practices, to address queries and concerns related to ER policies and guidelines.
Review, monitor and maintain all ER and HR systems and procedures, by implementing all elements that are unique to each Business Unit, to ensure that they meet stakeholder expectations, are understood by TM employees, and are compliant with legislation, regulatory requirements and the relevant TM policies.
Monitor the implementation of legislative, regulatory and business requirements (policies and standards) in all TM projects, to ensure that they comply with the established requirements and provide guidance where shortcoming have been identified.

Resource Management

Provide input into required changes in resources (financial or non-financial) to enable the achievement of team and/or own objectives.
Determine resource needs of the team and/or own area of work to achieve business outcomes.
Request and allocate required assets and/or resources for the fulfilment of work objectives to guarantee quality outputs.
Monitor the use of assets and resources within the team and own area of responsibility, by implementing systems and controls, to ensure assets and resources are consistently and appropriately utilised and managed.
Provide staff with day-to-day direction and tasks aligned with Departmental procedures, to enable the usage of less resources more efficiently.

Stakeholder Relations

Communicate with all relevant Departments on issues of the area of speciality. Liaise across the relevant Departments by engaging with the appropriate stakeholders to ensure all stakeholders remain abreast of Departmental objectives, any potential derailers are appropriately managed and duplication of work is avoided.
Communicate with internal and/or external stakeholders, where required, to achieve work objectives and to maintain relationships.
Keep all key stakeholders informed of the latest developments and trend relating to ER functions, to ensure their continuous understanding of the principles, labour laws, and regulations within the South African Mining Industry.

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s Degree (NQF7) or equivalent in Human Resources, Employee/Labour Relations, Personnel Management or Labour Law (LLB)

Job specific experience:

Minimum of 3-5 years Human Resources or Employee Relations experience, of which at least two (2) years should be within the Mining Industry
Experience with Trade Union Shop Stewards, running disciplinary cases, reading and interpret legislation policies and agreements, drafting report and conducting trend analysis
Experience with The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) cases
Ability to work with the full Microsoft suite (i.e., Excel, Word, Power Point, etc.)
Advantageous: Experience in managing pre-arbitration, Labour Court Cases and training/ upskilling of colleagues