LabourWise is a unique, web-based labour relations advisory service for small, medium-sized and larger businesses. It was founded in 2000 to make labour legislation user friendly, understandable, practical, affordable and accessible. The labour legislation experts responsible for this resource are:

• Jan Truter, a BA LLB (Stellenbosch University) graduate practising as an attorney since 1985 and specialising in labour legislation since 1990;
• Prof Barney Jordaan, formerly from Stellenbosch University, who keeps track of the latest developments on the labour legislation front; and
• Pieter Human, an MPhil (Policy Formulation) graduate from Stellenbosch University who specialises in dispute resolution, workplace discipline and all employment related matters.

The service operates as a monthly subscription (Costing) service, where upon registration (Register now!),members gain full, unlimited access to the LabourWise website and all its associated resources. These resources include:

• Regularly updated, straightforward explanations of labour legislation and how it affects employers;
• Forms that can be used in the daily management of employees and labour relations;
• Generic employment contractsin English/Xhosa, English/Sotho and English/Zulu for temporary and permanent appointments;
• Practical hints for employers about the do’s and don’ts of labour relations;
• A glossary of labour relations terminology;
• Complete labour legislation documents as they become available;
• Regular newsletters & updates that will inform you about any changes in labour legislation with practical advice on how to apply it in the workplace;
• Information about interesting court cases that might be relevant to small and medium-sized businesses;
• Links to other labour-related web sites such as those of the Department of Labour; National Economic and Labour Advisory Council (Nedlac); and the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA); and
• Back-up services including telephonic and email support (Contact us), labour consultations at reasonable hourly rates, referrals to a wide national network of labour consultants, arranging of representation at the CCMA and IR functions in bigger organisations.

LabourWise can also be used as a standardisation tool for owners that run more than one business and have managers in various locations or in branches of the same company. Standardise all labour procedures and rest assured that managers will implement procedures according to the law! For HR practitioners in bigger organisations, use LabourWise to get your line managers’ support to implement labour legislation timeously.

In a nutshell, the LabourWise website is an uncomplicated, safe and cost-effective way of understanding and implementing labour legislation in your business. Use us to take preventive measures to minimise labour issues, or resolve existing problems before they break your company’s bank. Think of us as your long-term labour legislation partner!

See the section Costing for more information about how the LabourWise web service works.