Over the years, outsourcing of information technology services has become standard practice for most large scale companies. Outsourcing involves a service provider's employees performing tasks or services for the hiring company. Due to the nature of outsourcing arrangements, the employees involved are integral to the delivery of the services, which can sometimes blur the lines regarding who their employer is. In South Africa, employment relationships are governed under the Labour Relations Act, 1995 ("LRA"), amongst other pieces of legislation. Section 197 of the LRA states that if there is a transfer of a business as a going concern, the contracts of employment between the transferor employer ("old employer") and its employees are automatically transferred to the transferee employer on the same terms and condition of employment that employees enjoyed with the old employer ("new employer").
As such, section 197 of the LRA has an impact on outsourcing arrangements that companies should take heed of when considering outsourcing any of their IT services or functions.
IT outsourcing is the use of third party service providers to effectively deliver IT services and solutions that are required in a company's business. Outsourcing in the IT industry has become popular due to benefits that businesses can gain when using this model. The advantages of outsourcing include:
After years of relentless advocacy and sustained public pressure by residents of St. Catharines, the City has issued a sweeping Property Standards Order to the owners of the former General Motors ...