As Head of Department or manager, it is important that staff members are allocated equitable and reasonable workloads. It is your responsibility, in the scoping of jobs and allocation of responsibilities, that a fair distribution of work is determined.

What is a fair workload?

In assessing whether staff have a fair workload:

• Listen to what your staff are saying as regards workload issues. If there are performance problems, you may need to determine whether work overload is a contributing factor;
• HoDs/managers are encouraged to network with other HoDs/managers who have similar jobs and processes. If HoDs/managers need advice on who to contact, please consult your HR Generalist;
• Look at your own departmental data as regards transactions and how different posts may be handling different number of transactions;
• Where feasible, to do benchmarking with other jobs, in the institution or externally, as regards transactions or processes;
• Do the job yourself for a while or work on particular processes that are a dominant part of the job to assess how long these take. It is acknowledged that this is onerous but it has been done by some managers within the institution, particularly in response to staff complaints of work overload;
• Use your own experience of different staff working in the same job and how they have coped;
• Consult your HR Generalist. In the scoping of job profiles and in working with Heads of Departments or line managers, the Human Resources Division will provide advice if, in our opinion, jobs are overloaded. The HR Division will also be aware of other similar posts in the institution and can provide job profiles for these.

What about overtime?

It is also the HoD/manager’s responsibility to ensure that over-time because of excessive workload is managed and that more sustainable, longer-term solutions are found.

Please remember that in terms of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, staff should not work more than

• 10 hours per week to a maximum of 60 hours per week or by collective agreement, 15 hours per week to a maximum of 65 hours per week;
• 12 hours per day.

Last Modified: Sun, 22 Jan 2012 14:49:20 SAST