General HR Information
So, you’ve gone through the interview process, you’ve signed the contracts, and you’re finally here at Montego Pet Nutrition. In this organisation, we work hard, we also care about each other and strive to do our best for ourselves, our team and the organisation as a whole.
The information you are now accessing was put together by people who’ve been where you are now, and who want to make your first few months at Montego Pet Nutrition as easy as possible.
As a valued part of the team, we hope you will share our goals towards success. Montego Pet Nutrition is committed to the highest quality of service in all aspects of our business. We believe that each employee contributes directly to the growth and success of the company, and we hope you will take pride in being a member of our team.
We hope that your experience here will be challenging, enjoyable, and rewarding.
ONBOARDING
At Montego Pet Nutrition we consider Onboarding for our new employees an essential element of ensuring that new employees are well informed and oriented as soon as possible.
On-boarding:
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Enables new employees to settle into the company quickly and become productive and efficient members of Montego Pet Nutrition within a brief period.
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Ensures that new employees are highly motivated, and that this motivation is reinforced.
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Ensures that employees operate in a safe working environment.
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Provides new development opportunities.
Our Human Resources office provides an onboarding process for all new employees. This includes an explanation of remuneration and benefits as well as general organisatoinal information that will enable a new employee to feel welcome and well-informed from the start.
All new employees will have received the following documents:
1. Offer and Contract of Employment
2. Indemnity documentation
3. Employee access and confidentiality agreement (POPI act)
The following information and overviews will also be included in the process:
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Marketing & Culture - Our history, culture, vision, mission, values, goals, and objectives.
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Health & Safety – Emphasising our commitment to ensuring a safe working environment for employees and visitors.
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Food Quality & Safety (HACCP) – Providing our employees with information and training to ensure that our facilities comply to the highest standards.
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Tour of premises – It is important to us that new employees feel oriented and informed regarding their immediate work environment, we will therefore take you on a tour to experience our facilities and meet your new colleagues.
In addition to our Organisational Onboarding Programme offered by HR in the first few days of your employment, your manager will also participate in the Onboarding process in an ongoing capacity. Please feel free to ask questions!
PERSONAL APPEARANCE
Every employee of Montego Pet Nutrition is an Ambassador for the Company. Accordingly, dress, grooming, and personal cleanliness standards contribute to the morale of all employees and affect the business image Montego Pet Nutrition presents to customers, the public, and visitors.
Employees are expected to present a clean, neat, and tasteful appearance during business hours or when representing Montego Pet Nutrition's appearance. Employees should dress and groom themselves according to the position's requirements and accepted social standards. This is particularly true if the position involves dealing with customers or visitors in person. Your dress style while at work must reflect appropriate workplace professionalism, keeping health and safety applicable to your job and work environment in mind.
COMPANY MANDATED WORKWEAR
The company provides appropriate work wear to certain areas of work for the main purpose of creating a conformed and safe work environment.
This workwear is custom made to ensure compliance to legislation and food safety best practices. Based on your area of work you should at all times comply with the correct wear of your uniform and inform HR if any of these garments need replacing.
Apart from the pictures above, the office attire guide can also be viewed in your employee folder provided by HR. You must ensure that your uniform is clean and neat for every day / shift. Safety shoes will only be replaced after 12 months for those employees who require safety shoes.
WORK HOURS
CLOCKING/TIME KEEPING PROCEDURES
The Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) stipulates that the employer must record the working hours of all employees. All employees are thus required to either complete an attendance register or register on the company’s clocking system.
CLOCKING SYSTEM
The employee’s personal details will be entered into the clocking database on the company’s computer network. Their fingerprints will, thereafter, be manually enrolled onto the Clocking system by a HR employee and their templates will be sent to the relevant access points. It is imperative that all employees’ clock in and out with the start and end of shift / working day, including lunch times. Also important to note is that shift workers may not leave their shift or clock out before the shift officially ends.
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If you forget to clock in / out, please inform your direct Supervisor / Manager immediately.
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If you are unable to scan your fingerprint(s) please contact the payroll administrator to re-load you on the clocking system.
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Should you experience any problems with the system, inform your Supervisor / Manager of the problem.
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A Supervisor / Manager must then inform the payroll administrators immediately.
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If you failed to follow the above steps, you will not be renumerated for that day / shift.
Employee hours are calculated by means of a time sheet summary reconciled daily. This summary is managed, and the necessary adjustments are made in the event of staff or shift changes. The summary accurately captures and details an individual’s clocking.
It is, therefore, in the best interest of the employee, should he/she wish to ensure an accurate wage calculation, to diligently record his/her hours of work at the start and end of a workday / shift. Please do not leave your shift before the shift time ends, in other words, do not leave your shift (e.g., 20 minutes before the end of the official shift time).
LEAVE
PAID ANNUAL LEAVE BENEFIT
5-day employees receive fifteen (15) days per annum (1.25 days per month)
6-day employees receive eighteen (18) days per annum (1.5 days per month)
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Annual Leave – must be submitted to your Supervisor / Manager at least two (2) weeks in advance.
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You are responsible to ensure that your leave was submitted, and a leave form was signed.
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If your leave application was not submitted to your Supervisor /Manager and if your Supervisor / Manager did not approve your request, you are not allowed to go on leave.
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This can be seen as absence without leave (AWOL) and could cost you your job.
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Always remember to keep a few days as balance for the December (Festive Season) shut down period.
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This is compulsory leave, and your annual leave will be used for the days off during this time.
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A Block Leave system is used to manage leave applications and to ensure that operations run smoothly.
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The HR Officers manage this system together with Supervisors / Managers.
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Consultations are held with the employees at the start of the year to discuss their choice of leave dates.
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Because of the nature of our business, production employees are allowed two (2) Ad Hoc / Emergency leave days outside of the Block Leave period and only if they have sufficient leave days available.
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Annual leave can be used in minimum increments of one half-day (0.50).
UNPAID LEAVE
Full-time employees who must take leave and do not have leave days available (sick or annual) must take leave without pay.
The option for Unpaid leave can be used in minimum increments of one half-day (0.50). In exceptional incidents where an employee’s Annual or Sick leave is depleted, Unpaid leave must be indicated on the Leave form with approval from the Supervisor / Manager. Requests will be reviewed based on several factors, including operational requirements and staff availability.
Unpaid leave may not be granted concurrent with a period of notice of termination of the contract of employment.
SICK LEAVE BENEFITS
Montego Pet Nutrition provides paid sick leave benefits to all eligible employees for periods of temporary absence due to illnesses or injuries.
During the first six (6) months of employment, an employee is entitled to one day's paid sick leave for every twenty-six (26) days worked. When the six (6) month period ends, the balance will be added to the three (3) year period.
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5-day employees = thirty (30) days over a period of three (3) years
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6-day employees = thirty-six (36) days over a period of three (3) years
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The three (3) year sick leave cycle is calculated from the day you start working at the company – not from the beginning to the end of the year.
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You are obliged to inform your Supervisor / Manager within two (2) hours of starting your shift that you are sick and will not be able to report for duty.
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After two (2) consecutive days of absence or if you have been off sick on more than two (2) occasions in an eight (8) week period you must hand in a sick note from a registered medical practitioner.
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If a sick note is not received and sick leave was not submitted to your Supervisor / Manager, you will not be paid for these days.
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If your sick leave balance is depleted, you can either utilise your annual leave in exceptional incidents or unpaid leave will be captured.
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Sick leave can be used in minimum increments of one half-day (0.50).
FAMILY RESPONSIBILITY LEAVE
Compassionate leave, or “Family Responsibility Leave”, as per the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, is leave granted to provide for paid time-off during a family crisis.
Employees employed for longer than four (4) continuous months and for at least four (4) days a week are entitled to Compassionate leave, or “Family Responsibility Leave. All employees qualify for this leave benefit. You will receive three (3) days paid Family Leave annually, calculated on the date you started working for the company.
Family Responsibility leave can be used in minimum increments of one half-day (0.50).
This leave can be utilised for paid time-off during a family crisis.
Only applicable to your immediate family:
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Employee’s spouse or life partner
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Parent / Adoptive parent
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Grandparent / Grandchild
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Child / Adoptive child
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Sibling = Brother / Sister
Only to be used:
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When the employee’s child is sick
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In the event of death of the employee’s immediate family
Paternity or Adoptive leave – ten (10) Days Unpaid leave
To be used when a child is born or when a baby is adopted.
MATERNITY LEAVE
Maternity Leave of four (4) months is granted to female employees for birth and confinement, in accordance with the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, and in terms of the Montego Pet Nutrition’s policies and procedures, which makes allowance for:
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Employees with less than a completed year service: four (4) months’ maternity leave without pay.
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Employees with between one (1) and two (2) years’ service: four (4) months’ maternity leave with fifty percent (50%) base pay rate.
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Employees in employ for more than two (2) years: four (4) months’ maternity leave with full base pay rate.
An employee may commence maternity leave -
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Four (4) weeks before the expected date of birth, unless otherwise agreed; or
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On a date from which a medical practitioner or a midwife certifies that it is necessary for the employee’s health or that of her unborn child.
No employee may work for six (6) weeks after the birth of her child, unless a medical practitioner or midwife certifies that she is fit to do so. The employee must complete a leave form for Maternity Leave stating the date on which the employee intends to commence maternity leave and when they return to work.
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
Montego Pet Nutrition will grant holiday time off to all employees on South Africa’s Public Holidays.
Given that you are required to work as prescribed by operational requirements, you may be required to work on a statutory public holiday, in which instance you will be paid double (x2) time for the number of hours the employee worked on that day.
Double time means you are paid 1 x more your hourly rate for hours worked on a scheduled working day, therefor receiving your pay for the day/shift, and receiving an additional amount for actual hours worked on the public holiday. If it is not a scheduled working day you will receive two times (x2) your hourly rate for actual hours worked. Please note that there is a salary threshold applicable, please discuss this with your HR Representative.
Public Holidays are as follows:
January - New Year’s Day
March - Human Rights Day
April - Good Friday
April - Family Day
April - Freedom Day
May - Worker’s Day
June - Youth Day
August - National Women’s Day
September - Heritage Day
December - Day of Reconciliation
December - Christmas Day
December - Day of Goodwill