Qualification, equity underpin payroll’s growth

Sept. 25, 2012 - PRLog -- This message was communicated to delegates attending the 2012 South African Payroll Association (SAPA) national Conference.

The annual event, held recently in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, attracted C-level executives, payroll practitioners and HR managers from a variety of key industries and sectors.

Keynote presenters included Dr Wynand Goosen and Thembi Chagonda.

Dr Goosen emphasised the role of RPL or Recognition of Prior Learning, towards qualifications.

On why people should qualify, Dr Goosen said qualifications imply the existence of standards, based on unit standards or – in the case of CHE qualifications – on the curricula developed by experts.

“The introduction of occupational profiles will change all of this – as an occupation is profiled, the profile itself also becomes the qualification,” he said.

“The challenge with RPL is to accumulate the required documents for the RPL activity. Most people do not keep past records of performance, so the challenge is often not the proof of workplace competency, but proof of academic competency,” he continued.

According to Dr Goosen RPL against the occupational profile could lead to the attainment of qualifications.

Thembi Chagonda spoke about the purpose of the Employment Equity Act and its impact on payroll.

The purpose of the Act is to achieve equity in the workplace by promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment through the elimination of unfair discrimination (including pay equity).

In terms of the impact of this legislation on the payroll industry – and particularly the proposed Bill of Equal or Similar Work, companies will have to invest in programmes that incorporate a grading system to ensure fairness.

The proposed legislation will compel businesses to review their reporting capabilities in line with new requirements, including EEA reports.