With more than 16 years’ experience in COIDA or better known as Workman’s Compensation, including Management and adjudication of claims.  Visiting members (Employers) every second year were clearly not enough for the fast growing business economy. The need for the service was clear and COIDA Consulting (Pty) Ltd was established in the heart of the beautiful Eden district.

One of the questions that frequently arises is ”if an employee is involved in an accident, travelling to and from work, will the employee be covered by COIDA?”

In order for the worker to claim, the accident should ”arise out of and in the course of an employee’s employment”. It should have occurred while the worker was on duty and should have been part of the worker’s scope of duty. This means that the accident should have occurred because the employee was on duty, at work, doing what he or she was employed to do as per his or her job description.

From the above mentioned information it is clear that an employee, who is travelling to and from work, would normally not be on duty and secondly not be doing what he or she was employed to do. When I drive to work I am not on duty yet and secondly it does not form part of my job description. If such an employee is involved in an accident, it will not be deemed to be an injury on duty.
However, Section 22(5) stipulates that “”the conveyance of an employee free of charge to or from his place of employment for the purposes of his employment by means of a vehicle driven by the employer himself or one of his employees and specially provided by the employer for the purpose of such conveyance, shall be deemed to take place in the course of such employee’s employment.””
All businesses classified to fall under Classes IV (Mining) and XIII (Metal) and reporting accident and diseases to Rand Mutual Assurance, can take out additional cover for their employees travelling to work and back. The benefits payable are the same as under COIDA, but will be for travelling by any means i.e. car, taxi, bicycle or by foot and an incident occurred whilst on the direct route from home to work, or work to home, but excluding assaults.
COIDA is not covering all incidents that occur whilst on duty and both the employer as the employee have responsibilities as stipulated by the Act. Non-compliance of COIDA can result in a fine or even jail sentence to the employer. Prevention is better than cure, so make contact and ensure that your reporting procedures are in place, in order to deal with all unforeseen events at the workplace.

The Council has been established by the Debt Collectors Act 114 of 1998 to regulate the occupation of debt collector.  The Act came into operation on 7 February 2003. The recovery of debts plays an integral part in the economy of South Africa. Due to the escalating levels of unpaid debt it is also an industry that affects or has the potential to affect the majority of most South Africans on a day to day basis. As a result much has been done to improve and regulate the debt collection industry.

Even though much has been achieved in ensuring that the recovery of debts is done in an ethical manner in accordance with the Act, Regulations and Code of Conduct for which the industry should be congratulated, there is still work that needs to be done.

VISION:
To ensure the fair recovery of debt by enforcing the Act, Regulations and Code of Conduct

MISSION:
· To exercise control over debt collectors by:
· ensuring compliance with our enabling Act, Regulations and Code of Conduct
· encouraging the training and development of debt collectors
· reviewing and reforming our enabling Act, Regulations and Code of Conduct
· reviewing and reforming disciplinary procedures
· To develop and maintain fair disciplinary justice in line with the rules of administrative justice
· To appoint, develop and retain a competent and dedicated staff complement
· To develop and maintain a dedicated and efficient Information Technology system
· To ensure financial sustainability, integrity and accountability
· To educate the consumers on debt recovery processes and
· Market and promote the Council.

LEGISLATIVE MANDATE

To provide for the establishment of a Council, known as the Council for Debt Collectors; to provide for the exercise of control over the occupation of debt collector; to amend the Magistrates’ Courts Act, 1944, so as to legalise the recovery of fees or remuneration by registered debt collectors; and to provide for matters connected therewith.

The broad mandate is formalized in more detail in the Act as follows:

The objects of the Council

The objects of the Council are set out in section 2(2) of the Act: to exercise control over the occupation of debt collector. This provision in the enabling legislation is supplemented by other provisions in the Act, the Regulations and the Code of Conduct promulgated in terms of the Act. Broadly speaking the aims of the Council are to:

· regulate the occupation of debt collectors
· regulate the recovery of fees
· register debt collectors
· issue registration certificates
· the investigation of complaints against debt collectors and
· where appropriate, institute disciplinary proceedings against debt collectors for misconduct.

In short, the Council for Debt Collectors regulates the occupation of debt collector, ensures that debt collectors are registered with the Council and protects the public by the investigation of complaints and the institution of disciplinary proceedings where necessary.
Information obtained from www.cfdc.org.za (with written permission)

By:  Klip-ini-Bos

Amazing how everyone, after media exposure, is so concerned about the Honey Bees under stress and yet each idea gets presented as an entity and not as part of Biodiversity –   without the one (pollinators) there can be no others (fynbos, flowers and fruit).

Getting a job after years of school or study initially seems like a pretty easy task: Find an advertisement, write a letter with your CV attached,
Entering the real world of real work is as much a marketing job as it is to sell a new product include a large number of testimonials from lecturers, pastors and friends, and the job is yours!

Unfortunately, this is not so easy. Bear in mind that in South Arica, only about 20% of matriculants find jobs after school – leading to an extremely high unemployment statistic for young people. Even young people with post matric qualifications struggle to find jobs.

. A lot of preparation and thought need to go into the planning and execution of the job hunting process. Let us look at the general pitfalls that cause many applicants to not get the call for a first interview:

Failure to distinguish yourself from the next candidate
Unless you are extraordinarily lucky, the person who makes the decision about whether to invite you for an interview does not know you from a bar of soap. This means that you have to impress the decision maker within a very short time so that he/she reads your CV in detail. Reports indicate that this decision is made within the first 8 seconds of the person picking up your CV.
You have no choice but to put very careful thought into the first impressions that a potential employer forms of your correspondence. There must be something about your application that is different from all the other hundreds of applications!

Supplying too many facts, but too little real information
The employer seldom wants to know how many siblings you have, whether you were class leader in grade 6, or your achievements in badminton. What counts is whether you are reliable and able to do the job without requiring supervision all the time.
In a casual letter, such information may serve as an appropriate introduction. However, the potential employer has to read your CV and covering letter as part of a day that is stacked and packed with reading material from more important sources: Bank statements, customer replies, tender documents, supply contracts –therefore, if your application does not immediately grab the attention of the reader, your chances of landing an interview are very slim.

Failing to prove that you meet all the requirements of the position
Bear in mind that the potential employer is simply interested in finding someone who can do the job without too much supervision. He is very seldom interested in your skills on the sport field (unless the position is directly related to sport); if you were an athlete in your school or varsity days, list these in a brief paragraph at the end.
All advertisements list the basic requirements in terms of qualifications and skills; prove in your cover letter that you have these skills.
Yet, there is still more to prove: Carefully screen the job outputs listed – these may not relate directly to qualifications and skills, but will from the substance of the results eh is expecting from a successful candidate. Make sure that you understand these outputs, and show on paper that you are in fact in a position to deliver these results.

How to excel
Garden Route Business Services provides guidance and assistance in preparing for the job hunt. For a small fee, they will compile your CV professionally, assist you in drafting a covering letter in response to an advertisement of job vacancy, and provide basic guidelines for that first interview.

Contact the specialists at 082-854-6960 (Johan) or 083-321-7120 (Francois) for further information and assistance.
Get that inside lane to a job!