Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / In the early 1990s, South Africa (SA) entered its democratic transition, which created expectations of a dramatic turnaround in the country’s economy.1 The readmission of SA to the global arena introduced the economy to concepts such as globalisation. Globalisation came with some implications and impact that have been widely debated.2 The democratic transition brought a significant change to the job spectrum, generating an increase in Temporary Employment Service (TES) and a decrease in permanent employment.3 The reasons leading to this increase are that subcontracting is beneficial to employers in that this process results in the transferral of social risks to the subcontractor, reducing direct exposure to labour legislation.4 Regarding the pertinence of this issue, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the biggest union federation in the country, and the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), have long called for the elimination of labour brokers.5 COSATU, in its presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Labour in 2009, argued that labour brokers act as intermediaries to access jobs that allegedly exist, and which in many cases would have existed previously as permanent full time jobs.6

Due to employees’ reduced entitlements to the German statutory state pension on the one hand, and the challenge to employers of a skilled worker shortage on the other, employers’ contributions towards occupational pension schemes (OPS) might be an effective human-resources management tool. Thus, the overarching research question is: What is the relevance of OPS for the employment relationship in Germany? Five sub-research questions address the role of OPS in recruitment and retention management, organisational commitment, the potential differences between women and men and between young and old employees and the employees’ psychological contract. The empirical study is a single case study in the financial-services sector. Key findings: OPS are of more relevance for retaining employees than for recruiting them. Their role differs significantly between employees with different generations of the OPS and, therefore, different pension entitlements. Only minor differences can be found between women and men and between younger and older employees. Satisfaction with the occupational pension scheme has no significant impact on organisational commitment. The majority of employees perceived psychological contract fulfilment with respect to the OPS. The contribution to theory is the closure of five research gaps. As far as is known, this is the first study in Germany that analyses the role of OPS in a specified context and from multifaceted viewpoints (recruitment/retention, quantitative/qualitative, men/women, age groups). The contribution to practice comprises the provision of a transferable analysis blueprint of the role of OPS in the employment relationship and the provision of recommendations that relate, among others, to communication and information aspects, cost-benefit calculations and the usage of additional employer contributions as a possible selective reward element.

Globally the domestic worker sector is characterised by a sense of “voicelessness”—an esoteric silence fuelled by a dire need to survive. South Africa is heralded as a global ambassador for the rights of these women. Significant sectoral reforms in recent years regulate the transactional element of this employment relationship through stipulated minimum wages and employment standards. The relational element of this engagement, however, remains underexplored. A decade of global scholarship detailing the hardships that characterise this sector has helped to uncover the plight of domestic workers. The study provided the participants with an opportunity to express their experiences and feelings, and the documented findings will hopefully stimulate more scholarly debate on this issue. It is hoped that the study will engender more sensitivity towards the needs of this vulnerable group of workers and promote positive employment relations within the South African labour market. The study describes the lived realities of domestic workers within the South African labour legislative context through five separate but interrelated journal articles. Article 1 provides a detailed “plan of action” that documents the initial considerations and rationale for the study. Guided by existing scholarly discourse, the research questions are highlighted and the proposed research design is presented. Issues related to trustworthiness are debated. This article constitutes the research proposal that was submitted during the initial phase of this research journey. Article 2 presents a transparent account of the methodological considerations that guided the co-construction of meaning within the South African domestic worker sector. Situated within the interpretivist paradigm, with phenomenology as theoretical underpinning, purposive respondent-driven self-sampling resulted in the recruitment of 20 female participants. All of them can be described as domestic workers in terms of Sectoral Determination 7. The pilot study indicated the value of using metaphors while exploring tentative topics. An interview guide facilitated the exploration of key concepts during our engagement. Rich, dense descriptive verbatim accounts of participants’ lived realities confirmed data saturation. In-depth interviews were transcribed and analysed through an inductive process of data reduction. Emanating themes confirmed that the South African domestic workers sector is far from being voiceless if we are only willing to listen. Making these voices heard constitutes a progressive step in future efforts to empower this neglected sector of the labour market. In article 3 a life-cycle approach is used to explore participants’ lived experiences of their work-life cycle. Each individual progresses through these various phases which are contextualised as a transitional process as a result of their unique circumstances and personal trajectory. Findings confirmed the existence of an institutionalised culture of engagement within the sector perpetuated from one generation to the next. Attempts to exit the sector are unsuccessful due in part to their limited formal education and skills repertoire. The article concludes with the notion that domestic workers are trapped within a never-ending cycle of sectoral engagement, and the possibility of exiting the sector remains “but a dream” for many. Article 4 focusses on the reciprocal interpersonal relatedness that often develops due to the prolonged engagement within the individualised sectoral employment context. Characterised by caring and connectedness, this mutually dignified treatment not only signals but also enhances human flourishing. Participants’ accounts of relational reciprocity are indicative of the enactment of cardinal Ubuntu principles within the employment context. The need for actions that surpass the “letter of the law” in order to enhance flourishing within the South African domestic worker sector is advocated. Article 5 explores the role that legislative awareness fulfils in the everyday lives of domestic workers. Findings indicated that empowerment was an unknown construct for all participants. The participants had little or no confidence in engaging their employers on employment issues; this was due in part to their limited legislative awareness. Domestic workers should thus take ownership of their own empowerment efforts. This will sanction their right to assert their expectations of employment standards with confidence and make use of the judicial system to bring about compliant action. The article concluded with the notion that legislative awareness can result in empowered actions though informed employee voices. / PhD (Labour Relations Management), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

Globally the domestic worker sector is characterised by a sense of “voicelessness”—an esoteric silence fuelled by a dire need to survive. South Africa is heralded as a global ambassador for the rights of these women. Significant sectoral reforms in recent years regulate the transactional element of this employment relationship through stipulated minimum wages and employment standards. The relational element of this engagement, however, remains underexplored. A decade of global scholarship detailing the hardships that characterise this sector has helped to uncover the plight of domestic workers. The study provided the participants with an opportunity to express their experiences and feelings, and the documented findings will hopefully stimulate more scholarly debate on this issue. It is hoped that the study will engender more sensitivity towards the needs of this vulnerable group of workers and promote positive employment relations within the South African labour market. The study describes the lived realities of domestic workers within the South African labour legislative context through five separate but interrelated journal articles. Article 1 provides a detailed “plan of action” that documents the initial considerations and rationale for the study. Guided by existing scholarly discourse, the research questions are highlighted and the proposed research design is presented. Issues related to trustworthiness are debated. This article constitutes the research proposal that was submitted during the initial phase of this research journey. Article 2 presents a transparent account of the methodological considerations that guided the co-construction of meaning within the South African domestic worker sector. Situated within the interpretivist paradigm, with phenomenology as theoretical underpinning, purposive respondent-driven self-sampling resulted in the recruitment of 20 female participants. All of them can be described as domestic workers in terms of Sectoral Determination 7. The pilot study indicated the value of using metaphors while exploring tentative topics. An interview guide facilitated the exploration of key concepts during our engagement. Rich, dense descriptive verbatim accounts of participants’ lived realities confirmed data saturation. In-depth interviews were transcribed and analysed through an inductive process of data reduction. Emanating themes confirmed that the South African domestic workers sector is far from being voiceless if we are only willing to listen. Making these voices heard constitutes a progressive step in future efforts to empower this neglected sector of the labour market. In article 3 a life-cycle approach is used to explore participants’ lived experiences of their work-life cycle. Each individual progresses through these various phases which are contextualised as a transitional process as a result of their unique circumstances and personal trajectory. Findings confirmed the existence of an institutionalised culture of engagement within the sector perpetuated from one generation to the next. Attempts to exit the sector are unsuccessful due in part to their limited formal education and skills repertoire. The article concludes with the notion that domestic workers are trapped within a never-ending cycle of sectoral engagement, and the possibility of exiting the sector remains “but a dream” for many. Article 4 focusses on the reciprocal interpersonal relatedness that often develops due to the prolonged engagement within the individualised sectoral employment context. Characterised by caring and connectedness, this mutually dignified treatment not only signals but also enhances human flourishing. Participants’ accounts of relational reciprocity are indicative of the enactment of cardinal Ubuntu principles within the employment context. The need for actions that surpass the “letter of the law” in order to enhance flourishing within the South African domestic worker sector is advocated. Article 5 explores the role that legislative awareness fulfils in the everyday lives of domestic workers. Findings indicated that empowerment was an unknown construct for all participants. The participants had little or no confidence in engaging their employers on employment issues; this was due in part to their limited legislative awareness. Domestic workers should thus take ownership of their own empowerment efforts. This will sanction their right to assert their expectations of employment standards with confidence and make use of the judicial system to bring about compliant action. The article concluded with the notion that legislative awareness can result in empowered actions though informed employee voices. / PhD (Labour Relations Management), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

The thesis focuses on regulation of transfer of undertakings in the European Union and Czech law as defined by the Directive 2001/23/EC, the so called Acquired Rights Directive. Transfer of undertaking is a term used in labour law to describe a situation of change of employer as a result of legal transfer or merger. The aim of this thesis is to analyse the EU and Czech legal regulation of transfer of undertaking, especially with respect to the case law, its employment consequences, to mutually compare both regulations and finally to examine whether the Czech implementation complies with the Directive. The thesis is composed of four chapters. The first chapter is introductory and analyses the basic terminology of Czech labour law regarding employment relationship, its components and alterations, in particular the alteration of parties to employment relationship. The second chapter deals with the EU regulation of transfer of undertakings under the Acquired Rights Directive and abundant case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It starts with brief description of history of respective legal regulation and then describes the temporal, personal and territorial scope of the Directive. However, the scope that is the most complicated to define is the material scope, i.e. the range of cases to...

The thesis deals with the topic of transfer of rights and obligations arising from employment relationship. On the European level this institute is governed by Council Directive 2001/23/EC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the safeguarding of employees' rights in the event of transfers of undertakings, businesses or parts of undertakings or businesses. On the domestic level, the regulation can be found in the Labour Code in Chapter XV, Part Thirteen in § 338 et seq. The thesis concerns with both regulations and examines the implementation of the Directive into Czech law. It also compares the approach of CJEU and Supreme Court of Czech republic to this issue. The topic is at first briefly introduced in the introduction. The second chapter clarifies the basic terms. Core of the thesis is the third and in the fourth chapter. Big part of the thesis is devoted to defining the scope of the regulation, that means the determination of cases, when it is aplicable. The first part of the third chapter describes the regulation of the directive and the development and current view on this issue of CJEU. The directive applies in cases of transfer of an economic entity which retains its identity. The second part of the third chapter is devoted to its equivalent in the Czech law. The Labour...

This diploma thesis provides comparison of the termination of employment relationship in the Czech Republic and in the UK. Within both legal systems this thesis focus on termination of employment relationship based on legal actions of the participants of the employment relationship as well as based on legal situations independent on the will of the participants of the employment relationship. This thesis also analyses sources of employment law in the UK and it provides an overview of the complex judiciary system in the British employment law matters.

Name of the thesis: Termination of employment relationship for violation of labour law obligations in the Czech Republic and Germany The thesis deals with the comparison of legal regulations of the Czech Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany on the termination of employment relationship for violation of employment obligations. Its main objective is to describe this legislation so that a critical analysis of certain conclusions of supreme courts of both countries can be carried with regard to terms of employee protection as well as the flexibility of employment, i.e. the basic principles of labour law. The thesis can be divided into four parts. In the first (introductory) part, the labour law of the Czech Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany are generally described. This chapter is followed by a description of the current legislation on the termination of employment in both the countries with emphasis on termination and immediate cancellation in case of the Czech Republic. In the case of the Federal Republic of Germany, the description of the applicable legal provisions relating to ordinary and extraordinary denunciations is emphasised. In the final part of the thesis, the findings obtained from previous chapters are compared to each other. From this comparison, conclusions are...

Les parties prenantes demandent aux entreprises d'inclure dans leurs processus de gestion des critères de responsabilité sociale tels que la santé et la sécurité au travail et la lutte contre les discriminations etc. Les normes (ISO 26000, 14001, OHSAS 18001, AA 1000…) sont nombreuses en matière de R.S.E ou de développement durable et témoignent des questions et des difficultés de son opérationnalisation. Les critiques des O.N.G révèlent, entre autre, l'insuffisance de l'engagement des salariés qui sont pourtant au coeur des actions de l'entreprise. Ce travail doctoral s'inscrit dans la recherche des causes expliquant les comportements socialement responsables des salariés. Nous abordons notre recherche sous l'angle de l'Employment-Organisation-Relationship (E-O-R) et inscrivons notre travail dans le concept des contrats psychologiques (Rousseau, 1995). Notre recherche vise à mieux comprendre un phénomène social dont les recherches sont aujourd'hui sous-détaillées et sous-exploitées. Nous avons choisi une entreprise du secteur du travail temporaire et focalisé notre recherche sur les comportements en GRH. Notre recherche est qualitative, ethnologique et à visée compréhensive ; nous montrons que les croyances partagées, les normes comportementales et plus largement les ressources tangibles ou intangibles façonnent les comportements socialement responsables des salariés. A notre connaissance aucune recherche ne s'est appuyée sur notre méthodologie pour répondre à ce problème managérial concret. / Stakeholders require companies to include in their management process social responsibility criteria such as health and safety and the fight against discrimination etc. Standards of CSR or sustainable development (ISO 26000, 14001, OHSAS 18001, 1000 AA ...) are many and reflect the issues and difficulties in its operationalization. NGO‟s criticisms reveal, among other things, the lack of commitment of employees who are at the very heart of the company's shares. This work is part of doctoral research determining causes of socially responsible behavior of employees. We discuss our research in terms of the Employment Relationship-Organization-and inscribe our work in the concept of psychological contracts in organizations (Rousseau, 1995). Our research aims to better understand a social phenomenon whose research is currently under- detailed and underutilized. We chose a company in the temporary work sector and focused our research on behavior in HRM. Our research is qualitative, ethnographic and explanatory; we show that shared beliefs, behavioral norms and broader tangible or intangible resources shape the socially responsible behavior of employees. To our knowledge no research has been based on our methodology to meet this specific managerial problem.

O presente trabalho possui preponderantemente a natureza de pesquisa teórica, sem, contudo, olvidar-se aspectos empíricos, documentais e históricos. As múltiplas naturezas decorrem da relevância dos fundamentos teóricos e do caráter imprescindível dos documentos existentes e da história por de trás das normas pertinentes. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi a busca de um critério jurídico que sirva como alternativa à solução ofertada pelo Tribunal Superior do Trabalho por meio da Súmula n.º 363 aos empregados que prestem trabalhos à Administração Pública à míngua de prévia aprovação em concurso público. Pretendeu-se demonstrar a necessidade de se diferenciar os trabalhadores que ignoram a prestação de trabalho para a Administração Pública daquelas que têm conhecimento da natureza jurídica de seu empregador em um cenário em que o concurso público é pressuposto formal sem o qual o ato jurídico que vincula os sujeitos da relação de emprego é invalido. Como referências teóricas foram utilizadas a teoria geral do Direito do Trabalho, em especial dos contratos de trabalho, a teoria geral dos atos jurídicos, nomeadamente as teorias da nulidade e da ineficácia, a ponderação de princípios, a harmonização de princípios, a boa-fé e, ainda, a teoria geral da prova em razão das repercussões processuais do estudo. Por fim, como resultado, demonstrou-se que a utilização da boa-fé como critério diferenciador da concessão de direitos aos empregados que trabalhem para a Administração Pública sem a prévia aprovação em concurso público proporciona harmonização entre o princípio do valor social do trabalho e os princípios regentes da Administração Pública. / This work has mainly the nature of theoretical research, without, however, forgetting is empirical aspects, and historical documentary. The multiple natures derive the relevance of the theoretical and the essential nature of existing documents and the story behind the relevant standards. The aim of this study was to search for a legal test that serves as an alternative to the solution offered by the Superior Labor Court by Precedent n. 363 employees who provide jobs to government starved prior approval in tender. It was intended to demonstrate the need to differentiate Worker who ignore the provision of work for the Public Administration of those who have knowledge of the legal nature of their employer in a scenario in which the tender is formal assumption without which the legal act that binds the subject of the employment relationship is invalid. Theoretical references were used the general theory of labor law, especially of labor contracts, the general theory of legal acts, including the theories of invalidity and ineffectiveness, the weighting of principles, harmonization of principles, good faith and also the general theory of proof because of the procedural implications of the study. Finally, as a result, it was shown that the use of good faith as a differentiating criterion for granting rights to employees who work for the Public Administration without prior approval in tender offers harmonization between the principle of the social value of work and governing principles of public administration.