THE JAMAICA Employers Federation (JEF) will be launching a new series on labour market legislation entitled "Inn Chambers", on the 26th March 2003.
This novel series, held every two months up to October, will see the coming together of subject experts on OSH, Pension, Industrial Relations Practitioners, Attorneys-at-Law and members of Academia in one place, as they seek to share information with each other in an effort to deepen the understanding of labour market legislation by the stakeholders.
It is the view of the Federation that this series will deepen understanding as it seeks to counter the apparent weakness in the understanding and interpretation of labour related laws. These weaknesses, manifest themselves in the ease at which some employers innocently abandon their rights or incorrectly address issues due to their unfamiliarity with the relevant laws and procedures. Additionally, the series will be of practicable help to those small or medium size companies or businesses which are not able to employ employee experts as they will benefit from the know how of the experts in attendance. By bringing together various practitioners, the Federation will be helping to throw-light on this crucial area so that individuals and organisations can become more confident and competent when dealing with labour market legislation.
The series must not be seen as one designed solely for persons in Human Resource Management and those who are Industrial Relations experts. On the contrary it is designed for persons who manage people issues and for those who by virtue of their jobs come in contact with institutions such as the Ministry of Labour, the Industrial Disputes Tribunal and other Statutory bodies and thus have an interest in either refreshing their knowledge or in some cases improve on that knowledge.
The discussant nature of our series will be such that, those who have a general, as opposed to a specialist interest in the proposed areas of discussion, will feel most comfortable and welcomed which will make these series of programmes most informative, rewarding and relevant.
Participants will bring their expertise and wealth of knowledge on issues, such as the poorly understood labour laws, the Pensions Act and the newly proposed Occupational Health and Safety Act; the consequences of the country's imminent accession to the treat establishing the Free Trade Areas Americas (FTAA).
The series kicks off with "Signing on the Dotted Line"; Understanding Legislation governing Employment Policies and Employment Contracts which will focus on the following:
- Critical assessment of legislation governing/impacting on employment/ engagement
contracts
- "Necessary" contract clauses
- Outline of Issues impacting on contract clauses
- Probation, termination/ Repudiation, benefits, conditions of employment
- Protection and Relief for breach of contract
- A question of definition: Contract of/forEmployment
- Critical analysis of the ABCs of Outsourcing
- Examining Common Law, case law, case law & statutes that have implications
for contracts
- Presentation of good/best practices in contract drafting/ management
- Unmasking common pitfalls and how to avoid/prevent them.
The Series will take place at the JEF Conference Room, 2A Ruthven Road, Kingston 10.
