An overview of absence without leave, sick absence and absconding in the local government sector
- Authors: Kalawe, Thozama Mavis
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Absenteeism (Labor) , Local government -- South Africa Civil service -- Labor productivity -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/30430 , vital:30943
- Description: The treatise will investigate, examine and determine how the three types of absenteeism affects the local government sector, the impact absenteeism has on service delivery. The study will examine how the employers and employees are protected by legislation when confronted with absenteeism. The three types of absenteeism, namely absence without leave, desertion and abuse of sick leave can be considered as misconduct which may result in termination of contract of employment. The treatise will unpack these three types of absenteeism in relation to the provisions applicable in South African legislation, policies and collective agreements of the local government. A comparison of the local government policies with public, and private sector will be considered. The case study of local government will be provided wherein the basic services that are provided by local government will be discussed to give a better understanding of how these three types of absenteeism impact on the delivery of such services. Recommendation will be provided regarding research findings and conclusion drawn from literature review.
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- Date Issued: 2018
Assessing the effect of absenteeism in the Eastern Cape Department of Health
- Authors: Simon, Nobuzwe
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Absenteeism (Labor) , Public health personnel , Absenteeism (Labor) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/2271 , vital:27736
- Description: The Department of Health is experiencing repeated negative press releases with the respect to the quality of service delivery in the Eastern Cape. The public sector is an entity that provides a unique service. This is made evident by the services provided such as provision of free health services for primary health care as well as free health services to children under six, disabled and senior citizens. The Eastern Cape Department of Health has developed service standards adopted in 2007 by the Eastern Cape Department of Health. This study aims to determine the casual effect of absenteeism and their relationship to poor service delivery. According to Makhubu (2006) many vacancies in the Eastern Cape Department of Health exist which result in service delivery problems. In terms of the second principle in the Batho Pele Principles the norms and standards which are service standards serves as a baseline where the Department of Public Service and Administration (2007) issued directive that the vacancy rate of any government department should range between ten and fifteen percent Makhubu (2006) further refers to the doctors/patient ratio as one is to three hundred patients (1:300), which is unhealthy and abnormal as the doctor/patient ration in terms of the Health Professional is one is to thirty (1:30). Such cases pose an opportunity to those employees who are within the service to absent themselves from such unhealthy situations and this behavior later result in the exodus (professional drainage) of employee. Schultz, Nel, Gerber, Hassbroek, Van Dyk and Werner (2001:582) define absenteeism as withdrawal of levels of productivity and collegial interaction for a given time to escape a perceived undesirable working environment. This behavior is disruptive to continuous organizational efficiency. Absenteeism is found in two forms that are avoidable and unavoidable. In the unavoidable forms of absenteeism, the situation in unplanned and is governed by external factors, thus it is beyond one’s control and has to be managed differently. Control of absenteeism can exercise by the immediate manager through the human resource section regarding the duration and terms of absence pertaining salary and terms of services.
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- Date Issued: 2016
The management of the antecedents of absenteeism at a motor manufacturing company
- Authors: Mandleni, Oscar
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Absenteeism (Labor) , Motor industry , Production management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8755 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011559 , Absenteeism (Labor) , Motor industry , Production management
- Description: Absenteeism is a complex set of behaviours masquerading as a unitary phenomenon. Absenteeism is a big problem in the motor manufacturing industry, especially, because of the number of processes that are labour intensive. Absenteeism is a multifaceted problem with many antecedents which make it challenging to resolve or contain. Financial impact is one of the consequences of absenteeism on a business, especially when one thinks that the primary objective of a firm in to make money. Absenteeism defeats these objectives through cost incurred for overtime to catch up production losses. Furthermore, in cases where replacement of personnel is necessary, this may include administrative costs related to the time human resource personnel spend looking for replacement employees or the time production management spends re-assigning employees. Absenteeism results in decreased productivity and may affect the quality of the product due to the increased workload and burden put on employees who are at work. Absenteeism is classified into scheduled and unscheduled absenteeism. Although some absenteeism is avoidable, it is important to understand that some absence is unavoidable. This is because people may fall ill, get injured or have unavoidable obligations which may lead to absenteeism. The purpose of this study was to identify the antecedents of absenteeism, with the assumption that once they are identified, they can be controlled, reduced or eliminated and the absenteeism rate thus reduced. The theoretical study focused on defining absenteeism, ascertaining the impact of absenteeism in the workplace, especially in an international organisation in the motor manufacturing industry and discussing the antecedents of absenteeism and strategies that can be used to manage these antecedents. The empirical study consisted of a survey, with a questionnaire as a data collecting tool. The process used to conduct the survey was to distribute the questionnaire among production employees in three operational units; namely Final Assembly, Paint Shop and Body Shop at a motor manufacturing company. Employees were approached, the purpose of the questionnaire explained and they were asked if they would be willing to complete the questionnaire. Employees who agreed to complete the questionnaire were briefed on the contents of the questionnaire and the completion process. The relationship between biographical variables and absenteeism was discussed. For the purpose of this study the following independent variables were discussed: age, marital status, gender, work area, length of service and number of dependents. The empirical study focused on the antecedents of absenteeism, and specifically job, organisational and personal factors, as well supervisors‟ attempts to manage absenteeism. The respondents indicated that they believed absenteeism was a problem in the study and that people stayed away for reasons other than genuine illness. It was recommended that absenteeism figures, such as the overall Gross Absence Rate (GAR) and Absence Frequency Rate for the organisation, and specific work areas and teams, are regularly communicated to employees and displayed prominently to emphasise the importance of attendance. Some suggestions were that: Supervisors should foster a genuinely respectful relationship between themselves and employees which will results in employees feeling obliged to be at work. The company should introduce a day care or crèche at work to allow female employees to bring their kids to work in the event they are unable to be looked after at home. Alcohol and drug abuse should not be seen as an external problem in the organisation but rather as something an organisation should get involved in to assist employee who might have a problem. The first step was to create a channel where employee can feel free to approach the company if they are in need of help. The study demonstrated that it was important to identify antecedents in order to address the real problems related to absenteeism.
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- Date Issued: 2011
The development of best practice guidelines for the contingency management of health-related absenteeism in the motor manufacturing industry
- Authors: Werner, Amanda
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: Sick leave , Absenteeism (Labor) , Contingency theory (Management) , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DTech
- Identifier: vital:9379 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/160 , Sick leave , Absenteeism (Labor) , Contingency theory (Management) , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa
- Description: The research problem in this study was to identify best practices for the contingency management of health-related absenteeism. To achieve this goal, the following actions were taken: A literature study was conducted to identify the scope and impact of health-related absenteeism on organisations and the legal parameters within which health-related absenteeism should be managed. A literature study was also conducted to identify strategies to prevent and reduce health-related absenteeism and strategies to ensure the continuous provision of products and services in periods of high absenteeism. The theoretical study focused on the management of absenteeism, wellness, ill-health/mental problems and HIV/AIDS, as well as contingency strategies aimed at maintaining production and service provision. iii The findings from the literature study were integrated into a model of best practices for the contingency management of health-related absenteeism. This model was used as a basis for the development of a survey questionnaire to determine whether senior human resources practitioners, occupational health practitioners or line managers, who were responsible for the management of health-related absenteeism in organisations, agreed with the best practice guidelines developed in the study. The survey was conducted in the motor and motor component industry in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality and Buffalo City Metropole. The empirical results from the study showed a strong concurrence with the best practices guidelines developed in the study, with the exception of the strategies aimed at maintaining undisrupted production and service provision during periods of high absenteeism. In particular, disagreement was shown with regard to alternative work arrangements such as flexible work-hours, a compressed workweek, telecommuting and job-sharing. Absenteeism, in general, is an issue that organisations are challenged with on a daily basis. The proliferation of various diseases, specifically HIV/AIDS, is contributing to this problem. An integrated and strategic approach is required to deal effectively and constructively with the immediate and expected future impact of health-related issues on absenteeism. Organisations could use the best practices guidelines, identified in this study, as a mechanism to benchmark how well they manage health-related absenteeism
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- Date Issued: 2005