Audit of Residential Facilities, Final report - Division for Social Policy ...

The norms and standards indicate that there should be a variety of policies and procedures inplace to ensure the effective management of the facility; these are noted in the document.ii.Staffing plan – The Guidelines states that there must be a staffing plan identifying thenumber, categories, desired qualifications, experience, remuneration bands andbenefits of staff. While in 80% of the homes management indicated that there was astaffing plan, staff in only 65% of these homes knew of a staffing plan.iii.Salaries – This was a hugely contested issue within the homes. While managementin 77% of the homes indicated that salaries were in line with Labour Relations, staff inonly 34% of the homes agreed with this. Anecdotal evidence from staff meetingsclearly indicated staff unhappiness about salaries with allegations I some homes ofracism and discrimination for the same job positions and no salary increases for staffin some homes for many years. An example is where someone who has worked in ahome for the past 20 years still earns R1 000 per month.iv.HR Policies – While the majority of homes (87%) had an array of HR policies in placeit was clear that in only 67% of these homes did staff know about these policies.These include policies for recruitment, selection and appointment of staff, screening ofall prospective staff (for criminal and abuse records, qualifications, etc.), and aninduction programme for all new employees.The Guidelines state that all HR management policies, procedures, relevant legislation andregulations are to be made available to all staff members.v. Replacement roster – Staff were of the view in 67% of the homes that there wasoften not a replacement roster when staff were ill or had a family emergency and thatthe work was distributed amongst other staff. Management in 80% of the homesindicated that they brought in replacement staff when a staff member could not attendto their work duties due to illness or family emergencies.vi.Care and support for burnt out staff: While the Guidelines indicate that there mustbe a care and support plan for burnt-out staff, in 57% of the homes managementindicated that they did have a plan, even though it was not written while staff in only37% of the homes indicated that such a practice existed.49 | D S D A u d i t o f R e s i d e n t i a l F a c i l i t i e s