GUIDE ON TRANSFER AND RINGFENCING OF STAFF
NATIONAL MACRO ORGANISATION OF THE
STATE, 2014
GUIDE ON TRANSFER AND RING-FENCING OF STAFF - NMOD 2014
TABLE OF CONTENT
ITEM
PAGE No.
1.
Introduction
2
2.
Objectives of the guide on transfer and ring fencing of staff
3
3.
Scope of Applicability
3
4.
Transfer Principles
4
5.
Ring fencing of Employees
6
5.1
6
The process of ring fencing
6.
The grievance procedure
9
7.
Transfer and Ring fencing Code of Conduct
10
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GUIDE ON TRANSFER AND RING-FENCING OF STAFF - NMOD 2014
1. INTRODUCTION
After the 5th democratic general elections the Cabinet was announced on the
25th of May 2014, which introduced a number of changes to the previous
configuration of Cabinet. The names of Ministries and the functions attached to
the Portfolios were in some instances different to the previous configuration. In
some instances new Ministries have been created. Some Ministries have a new
Deputy Ministers. In yet other cases the ministerial portfolios have been
renamed. These changes create a challenge for the administration, as they
have a direct impact on the administrative structures in support of the adjusted
functions of numerous Ministers and Deputy Ministers.
The impact of these changes being introduced goes beyond renamings. At the
departmental level functions will need to be transferred between departments
and to new departments. Some departments will be split. These processes will
be complex and require proper planning and management. Many public
servants working in affected departments will also be affected by all these
changes. This document sets out guidelines and principles for the determination
of ring-fencing and transfer of staff from all the departments to be affected by
macro organizational changes, irrespective whether it emanates from ministerial
portfolio changes or other appropriate reasons. The principles are informed by
previous experiences of function transfers in the public sector reorganising and
restructuring.
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GUIDE ON TRANSFER AND RING-FENCING OF STAFF - NMOD 2014
2. OBJECTIVES OF THE GUIDE ON TRANSFER AND RING FENCING OF
STAFF
The objectives of this guide are to –
2.1
Provide strategic guidelines for the transfer of all affected employees, in all
the affected departments in a manner that ensures that service delivery in all
affected departments will not be unduly negatively affected by these changes;
2.2
Ensure that all employees to be affected as a result of these macro
organizational changes are not disadvantaged or unfairly prejudiced in any
way as a result of the transfer processes etc;
2.3
Develop fair procedures that are legislatively compliant, not disruptive of
service delivery and that minimise claims and disputes;
2.4
Provide a platform for interaction and consensus between the various
stakeholders in relation to the transfer processes etc;
2.5
Encourage and maintain the accountability of all stakeholders to the process;
2.6
Aid the achievement of effective and efficient service delivery, and to ensure
consistent service delivery across the transfer processes.
3.
SCOPE OF APPLICABILITY
This guide on transfer and ring fencing of staff shall be applicable to all
departments affected by macro organizational changes, when transferring and
ring fencing affected employees (including permanent, fixed term and casual
employees, irrespective of their level and designation.) of and between the
relinquishing and recipient departments.
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GUIDE ON TRANSFER AND RING-FENCING OF STAFF - NMOD 2014
4.
TRANSFER PRINCIPLES
4.1
The following are important principles that shall guide the transfer of
employees as a result of the macro nomenclature changes:-
4.1.1 All employees to be identified for transfer as a result of the scoping report and
HR staff ring fencing shall be transferred to the recipient department in terms
of Section 14 of the Public Service Act, 1994. The transfer of the functions
will take place in terms of Section 3 of the Public Service Act, 1994 and Part
III H of the Public Service Regulations. The Regulation stipulates that:
• If the Minister or a Premier of a province makes a determination
regarding the transfer of functions between departments
• the relinquishing department shall transfer all concomitant resources,
including personnel, to the receiving department;
• the recipient department shall co-ordinate the transfer;
• the recipient department shall accept accountability for the functions on
the date of the transfer;
• the accounting officer of the relinquishing department shall retain
accountability for matters originating prior to the date of transfer;
•
the transfer of personnel shall take place with due regard to the
requirements of the Labour Relations Act; and
• the transfer of funds shall take place in accordance with the
requirements of paragraph 6.5 of the Treasury Regulations.
4.1.2 Employment security is a priority, in terms of which the parties agree that no
employee shall be negatively affected as a result of the transfer and ring
fencing processes.
4.1.3 During the process of transfer, the following principles should be given effect
to:
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GUIDE ON TRANSFER AND RING-FENCING OF STAFF - NMOD 2014
4.1.3.1 Both the relinquishing and recipient departments should equitably
have access to skilled or competent human resources as a result of
the transfer processes. Therefore; no unfunded posts should be the
subject of the ring-fencing process, except that they should be
identified for abolition prior to ring-fencing
4.1.3.2 Fairness; and
4.1.3.3 Consultation in the spirit of goodwill between the relinquishing and
recipient
departments,
as
well
as
affected
staff
and
their
representatives;
4.1.4 The principle that function follows structure and staff follows function based
on validated job content shall be applicable;
4.1.5 Affected employees in acting positions shall have no automatic right to
permanent transfer within those positions;
4.1.6 All affected employees will be transferred to the recipient departments on the
same salary level as the current post they occupy;
4.1.7 No automatic upgrades to higher level posts during the ring fencing and
transfer process will apply – the normal post grading arrangements will
remain in force;
4.1.8 Transparency in terms of the decision-making process as well as
implementation should underpin the process;
4.1.9
Voluntary separation packages (VSPs) shall not be considered in light of the
principle that the process of macro organizational is founded upon a nonretrenchment guarantee and reasonable accommodation.
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GUIDE ON TRANSFER AND RING-FENCING OF STAFF - NMOD 2014
5 RING FENCING OF EMPLOYEES
This is the process used to group or draw an imaginary ring around ‘like’
employees, i.e. all employees whose core job it is to work in a particular
department or function that is being transferred to a new department. It is
done for the purpose of transferring staff into the new department within the
spirit of the above-mentioned principles.
5.1
The Process of Ring fencing:
When preparing to transfer, the first step is to determine who the affected
employees are, and that is done by ring fencing them according to their daily
functions. In practice, this entails attending to the following –
5.1.1
Clean-up of the approved establishment to validate the establishment
and to remove all unfunded positions
5.1.2
Separation of core functions must be guided by the mandates
(strategic objectives) of the affected departments, e.g. mariculture is
addressed as part of the Marine Living Resources Act, 1998.
5.1.3
Based on the functional separation, posts need to be identified and
quantified.
5.1.4
Following this, the incumbents of the posts must be identified for
transfer to the recipient department. This involves:
•
Obtaining a detailed listing of employees currently employed within the
functions to be transferred;
• Receive and sign off personnel files;
•
Identify employees on secondment or temporary/fixed term contracts;
•
Listing of ring fenced employees to be signed off by manager;
•
Draft letter of notification to ring fenced employees;
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GUIDE ON TRANSFER AND RING-FENCING OF STAFF - NMOD 2014
•
Notify ring fenced employees that they have been identified as part of
the functions that shall be transferable;
•
Manage any objections that may arise from the ring fencing process;
•
Obtaining a payroll printout of employee benefits schedule;
•
Conducting an audit on evaluation of especially annual leave, length
of service and related benefits;
•
Prepare a budget in respect of liabilities for accrued annual and sick
leave; and
•
Timeously address issues relating to liabilities in respect of accrued
employee benefits, such as, leave credits, pro-rata service bonuses,
long service awards, etc.
5.1.5
Where resources are partly devoted to more than one function, they
should be ring-fenced on a proportionate basis.
5.1.6
The issue of support services is more complicated and requires a
different approach. Support functions render services to the whole
spectrum of functions in the affected Departments. Should these
functions be ignored, it may mean that the recipient departments would
not be able to take over the affected functions over as “a going concern”,
with the result that the delivery of such functions in the recipient
departments would be weaker than was the case when the function was
executed in the relinquishing departments.
5.1.7
To determine the pro rata portion of support posts, staff and other
resources for transfer to the recipient departments, the following
approach should apply:
•
The total establishment should be purified to reflect only line function
posts (e.g. Water Affairs & Forestry) by deducting all support posts
(HR, Finance, Provisioning Admin, Security, etc.) from the total
establishment.
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GUIDE ON TRANSFER AND RING-FENCING OF STAFF - NMOD 2014
•
This would leave only the posts devoted to core functions. If 60 of
these are devoted to Water Affairs functions, and 40 to Forestry, it
would mean that a ratio of 60/40 should be applied to the support
services posts to determine how many should be identified for transfer
to the recipient department.
•
For purposes of ring-fencing, the following functions should be treated
as support functions:
•
Internal Audit
•
Communications
•
HR Management and Development
•
Legal Services
•
Financial Management and Supply Chain Management
•
Information Management and Technology
•
Auxiliary Services (including security, transport, registry, etc.)
•
Corporate Governance (e.g. Strategic Management, Monitoring and
evaluation, Programme and Project Management
5.1.8
The identification of supervisory and management posts, staff and
resources present similar problems than those involved with support
functions. Many supervisors and managers are tasked with overseeing
and directing functions that has been identified for transfer, as well as
those that will remain in the department. It is necessary to quantify the
extent of their involvement based on the ratio of posts/staff under their
command or supervision tasked with the implementation of affected as
well as unaffected functions. Once this has been determined it is
possible to indicate whether the posts occupied by managers and
supervisors should be identified for ring fencing or not.
5.1.9
Relinquishing Departments should not fall in the trap of trying to retain all
or most of supervisory and management posts, merely because it is
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GUIDE ON TRANSFER AND RING-FENCING OF STAFF - NMOD 2014
perceived that such incumbents are not fully (100 %) devoted to the
functions that are being relinquished. If 10 supervisory / management
post incumbents are 30 % devoted to the function to be relinquished, 3
should be identified for transfer.
5.1.10
Incumbents should be transferred with the identified posts. Relinquishing
departments should not try and retain specific staff, unless with
agreement of the recipient institution.
6.
THE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
For the purpose of grievances relating to the transfer and ring fencing process,
the following process shall be used –
6.1
An employee who feels aggrieved by the transfer and ring fencing
decision shall have the right to lodge a grievance in accordance with the
provisions stated below. Grievances lodged outside the ambit of the
grievance process shall be dealt with in accordance with the normal
grievance policy and procedure.
6.2
An employee who feels aggrieved at a migration decision shall have the
right to lodge a grievance in writing, through the Departmental Project
Team (DPT) made up of representatives from both the relinquishing and
recipient department, to the DG of his/her respective department within 5
(five) working days from the date of his or her transfer letter.
6.3
The internal grievance procedure of that respective department shall be
applied in handling any lodge grievance.
6.4
It shall be the responsibility of the aggrieved employee to provide DPT
and DG with all relevant information that he or she may have at his or
her disposal and that may assist the DPT and DD to give the grievance
proper consideration.
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GUIDE ON TRANSFER AND RING-FENCING OF STAFF - NMOD 2014
6.5
The relevant DG shall have 5 (five) working days to make a decision.
This decision shall be delivered to the DPT for delivery to the aggrieved
employee.
6.6
If the aggrieved employee is still not satisfied with the outcome of the
above grievance procedure he or she shall be entitled to follow the
external processes of the bargaining council and made available by law.
6.7
In a nutshell any disputes might arise shall be co-operatively resolved
through consultation.
7.
TRANSFER AND RING FENCING CODE OF CONDUCT
All parties involved with this transfer and ring fencing process, be it directly or
indirectly, agree to adhere to the following code of conduct that shall regulate
their relationship throughout the entire process:
ALL PARTIES AGREE TO:
7.1
Adhere to the principle of confidentiality, and treat the proceedings and
decisions of the various placement processes with confidentiality until
formal publication thereof.
7.2
Principles and criteria should be applied consistently across all levels of
the organisation and by all involved in the process.
7.3
Maintain impartiality, and recognise and communicate that the process is
not personal.
7.4
Conduct
oneself
in
a
manner
beyond
reproach,
displaying
trustworthiness and honesty.
7.5
Act in the best interest of the organisation at all times.
7.6
Ensure that no discrimination, favouritism or nepotism takes place.
7.7
Adhere to a policy of no bribery, corruption or forgery.
7.8
Ensure that no actions or decisions are taken as a result of undue
influence from external parties.
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GUIDE ON TRANSFER AND RING-FENCING OF STAFF - NMOD 2014
7.9
Take accountability for decisions and actions.
7.10
Display commitment to the process through punctuality, discipline,
preparing well in advance, giving due notice in terms of attendance at
meetings, and not unnecessarily postponing activities. In the event of
non-attendance at more than two meetings, the individual shall be
removed from the Project Team and/or the Committee.
7.11
Strive to reach consensus where decisions are required.
7.12
Declare any conflict of interests, such as when reviewing the role of a
friend.
7.13
Adhere to placement guidelines and policies as well as procedures and
legal requirements at all times.
7.14
Act according to the Code of Conduct.
Nothing contained in this guide on transfer and ring fencing and specifically the
above code of conduct shall constitute a waiver by any affected employee to
exercise any of his/her rights granted to him or her in terms of the law.
PREPARED BY THE DPSA
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