The Employment Relations Act 2007 (ERA), the Health & Safety at Work Act 1996 (HASWA), the Accident Compensation Act 2018 (ACA) primarily establishes the terms and conditions of employment for all workers of Fiji, the relationship between the workers and the employers and the regulatory obligation the government has to manage the said relationship in terms of the workers’ rights, cost of doing business and management’s prerogative to manage. Employers and their business plans present the opportunity to a working relationship. The business plan establishes the objectives of any given business and the policies direct people who are expected to carry out the responsibilities designed to realise the said objectives.
Employment relations and recruitment
Recruitment is based on the specific strategic needs of the organisation and is governed by the minimum labour standards set out in Part 5 (Sections 21 to 41) of the ERA. The moment an employer and an employee enters into an agreement, the employment relationship between the two parties commences. Normally a letter of offer is made to the successful candidate who has been assumed to possess the specific qualifications and the prescribed skill set sought to carry out the functions of the advertised position. When the offer is accepted and properly formalised a contractual and legally binding relationship is forged between the parties.
Employment relations and the contract of service
The terms and conditions of employment is part of the contractual obligation. Any conditions that is below the minimum labour standard (i.e. wage rates, allowances, leaves, etc, established by the Wages Regulation Order and the ERA) is unlawful. An employer may give more or better conditions than the standard established by the law but never less. All contracts must conform with Part 5 of the ERA of which a template is included in Schedule 2 as follows: Schedule 2 (Section 38) Particulars of written contract of service for individual employment contract Name of Employer: Registered Office of Employer: Name of Worker: Address of Worker: Place of Work: Type of Work: Days/Hours of Work: Wages/Salary: Holidays and Leave: Entitlements: Disciplinary and Grievance Procedure: Duration of contract: Signed by: Employer: Worker: Date: In vetting current templates to ensure compliance with the ERA one needs to only use the above template for benchmarking purposes. As long as all features in Schedule 2 is in your template rest assured that you are compliant. Any contract that reflects a job description that is in tune with the policy that is properly aligned to the organisations business plan and compliant with the law is a practical contract that when managed well (consistently) shall exude total productivity and efficiency. On the basis of this contract the legitimate expectation of the parties is prescribed in terms of conduct, execution and self determination.
Employment relations and the governance of the contract of service
In terms of the minimum labour standards (in the Fijian context this means the implementation of the International Labour Conventions ratified by government over the years) these provisions are not negotiable and breaches thereof are subject to both civil enforcement and criminal prosecution. The labour officers and the Ministry of Employment is responsible for the designing of regulations to ensure compliance of all of the said MLS accordingly. This is the power bestowed upon them by Part 4 of the ERA. Readers are encouraged to read their contracts and understand what they are agreeing to do before final endorsement. On December 9, 2020 we will address “Disputes and grievances arising out of the employment contract and the issues that come along with it”.
Contacts The IR Unit can be contacted on: 1. Noel Tofinga- Industrial Relations Consultant Email: irconsultant@fcef.com.fj Phone Contact: 9994995 2. Kelera Batibasaga- Industrial Relations Consultant Assistant Email: irassistant@fcef.com.fj 3. Debbie Whippy- Industrial Relations Consultant Assistant Email: irassistant@fcef.com.fj
* Noel Tofinga is an industrial relations consultant. The views expressed in this article are his own and does not necessarily represent the views of this newspaper.
