EDUCATION LABOUR RELATIONS COUNCIL

Established in terms of the LRA of 1995 as amended

COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT NO. 3 OF 2017 18 OCTOBER 2017 EDUCATION MANAGEMENT SERVICE (EMS): PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM (PMDS) FOR OFFICE-BASED EDUCATORS

Education Labour Relations Council

261 West Avenue

CENTURION

0046

1.PURPOSE OF THIS AGREEMENT

The purpose of this agreement is to provide a revised framework for managing the performance and development of office-based educators.

2.SCOPE OF THIS AGREEMENT

This agreement applies to and binds:

2.1The employer, and

2.2All the educators of the employer as defined in the Employment

of Educators Act, 1998 (as amended) whether such educators are members of trade union parties to this agreement or not.

3.THE PARTIES TO COUNCIL NOTE AS FOLLOWS

3.1Schedule 1 of the Employment of Educators Act of 1998 as amended.

3.2ELRC Collective Agreement No 1 of 2008 which dealt with the framework for the establishment of an Occupation Specific Dispensation (OSD) for educators in public education;

3.3ELRC Collective Agreement no 2 of 2009 which dealt with an Education and Management System of office based educators;

3.4The provision on the core duties and responsibilities of educators as contained in the revised Personnel Administrative Measures (PAM) and the job descriptions of office-based educators as adopted by parties to this agreement.

4.THE PARTIES TO COUNCIL THEREFORE AGREE AS FOLLOWS

4.1That the Performance Management and Development Scheme (PMDS) for office based educators as contained in Collective Agreement 03 of 2002 be replaced by the Education 

Management Service: Performance Management and Development System (EMS: PMDS) for office-based educators, attached as Annexure A.

4.2That the basis for decisions on rewards and other measures that require certain levels of performance shall be the applicable regulations in terms of the Public Service Act (1994) as amended.

5.DATE OF IMPLEMENTATION

This agreement shall, in respect of parties, come into effect on the date it is signed in Council.

Any dispute arising from the application or interpretation of this collective agreement shall be referred to this Council for resolution in terms of its dispute resolution procedures.

7.DEFINITIONS

7.1“constitution” means the constitution of the Education Labour Relations Council.

7.2“Council" means the Education Labour Relations Council.

7.3“educator” means an educator as defined in the Employment of Educators Act, 1998t as amended.

7.4“employer" means the employer as defined in the Employment of Educators Act, 1998, as amended.

7.5“Labour Relations Act" means the Labour Relations Act No.

66 of 1995, as amended.

EDUCATION MANAGEMENT SERVICE (EMS): PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM (PMDS) FOR OFFICE-BASED EDUCATORS

SECTION A INFORMATION RESOURCE PACK

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Annual performance assessment: The final performance assessment or review of an employee that takes place at the end of the performance cycle. The result of this particular assessment is the overall annual performance score for the employee.

Assessment instrument: A single performance assessment tool that is used to assess the performance of an individual employee in relation to the achievement of key result areas and core management criteria as contained in the work plan of the performance agreement.

Attribute: An attribute is generally defined to consist of motives, traits and self-concept.

Core Management Criteria (CMC): An element of knowledge, skill, or attribute that is directly related to effective performance in a job.

Department: The Department of Education (A Department as defined in section 1 of the Public Service Act, 1994).

Development: Training and development activities to enhance the employee's competencies and to improve performance.

Education Management Service: Employees who are office based educators on salary levels 8 to 12.

Executive Authority: Minister or Member of the Executive Council.

Feedback: Objective and timely information by the manager/supervisor on the employee's performance against set expectations and standards, understood by the employee, and aimed at improving performance

Grievance rules: The rules for dealing with the grievances of employees in Education, as contained in the Administrative Administration Measures.

Key Result Area (KRA): An area of a job in which performance is critical for making an effective contribution to the achievement of departmental strategies, goals and objectives

Moderation: The review of employee assessment scores by a committee to ensure that they are consistent, fair and equitable across the department through a common understanding of the performance standard required at each level of the rating scale. 

Operational plan(s): This one-year plan is derived from and gives life to the strategic plan by translating the strategic objectives identified in the strategic plan into key result areas and activities with measurable standards, for a particular year for both the Department and components (schools).

Outcome: A broad statement about a specific objective, aim or intent, the achievement of which will require one or more specific outputs to be achieved.

Output: A concrete result or achievement (i.e. a product, action or service) that contributes to the achievement of a key result area.

Performance: Human performance involves (1) people's behaviour or actions, and (2) the outcomes or effects of those actions. Performance is a process in which resources are used in an effective, efficient and productive way to produce results that satisfy requirements of time, quality and quantity, and which are the effect or outcome of the actions or behaviour of a performer in the work process.

Performance agreement: A document agreed upon and signed by an employee and her or his supervisor, which includes a description of the job, selected KRAs and CMCs, a work plan and the employee's personal development plan.

Performance assessment: The measurement, assessment, rating or appraisal of employee performance.

Performance cycle: A 12-month period for which performance is planned, managed and assessed. It must be aligned to the same period as the Department’s annual business plan i.e. 1st April to 31st March of the following year.

Personal development plan (PDP): A requirement of the performance agreement whereby the important competency and other developmental needs of the employee are documented, together with the means by which these needs are to be satisfied and which includes time lines and accountabilities.

Performance indicator: A measure used to gauge the extent to which an output has been achieved (policy developed, presentation delivered, service rendered).

Performance management: A purposeful, continuous process aimed at positively influencing employee behaviour for the achievement of the organisation's strategic goals; the determination of the correct activities as well as the evaluation and recognition of the execution of tasks/duties with the aim of enhancing their efficiency and effectiveness; and a means of improving results from the Department, teams and individuals by understanding and managing performance within an agreed framework of planned goals, objectives, standards and support incentives.

Performance standard: Mutually agreed criteria to describe worjun-terms of time-lines, cost and quantity and/or quality to clarify the outputs and ret^ifaj activities of a job by 

describing what the required result should be. In this framework, performance standards are divided into indicators and the time factor.

Performance review: A structured and formal, at least half-yearly, discussion between supervisor and employee to monitor progress, resolve problems and adjust work plans during the performance cycle, thereby providing an opportunity for improvement before the annual review takes place. If the employee's performance is unsatisfactory or needs to improve or unsatisfactory, the half-yearly review must be in writing.

Rating: The allocation of a score to a KRA, a CMC and/or to overall performance in accordance with the five-point rating scale of the EMS PMDS.

Strategic planning: This is the process by which top management determines the overall strategic direction and priorities, as well as the organisational purpose and objectives and how they are to be achieved.

Strategic plan: The end product of strategic planning, setting out the mission and vision statements and the medium and long-term strategic objectives of the Department. The contents of the strategic plan must be in compliance with the requirements of Chapter 5 of the Treasury Regulations, 2001, and Chapter 1 Part III.B of the Public Service Regulations, 2001.

Supervisor: An official responsible for the allocation of work, monitoring of activities, discussing performance and development, and the performance review and assessment of an employee.

Work plan: A document which is part of the performance agreement and which contains key result areas, associated outputs/activities and their performance standards and resource requirements. 

1 INTRODUCTION

Key role-players in the performance management process are identified. The term “component is used as a generic title for any sub-division of a department.

The EMS PMDS provides a standardised framework for employee performance in a department for office based educator.

Three main levels are involved at:

a)Organisational or Departmental level (Strategic level)

The Executing Authority and the HoD determine the strategic priorities and overall key result areas of the department. Objectives are identified for the priorities and assigned to components within the department.

b)Departmental level (Operational level)

Components undertake the execution of projects and activities that lead to the achievement of the integrated strategic plans.

c)Employee level (Implementation level)

Each employee develops a performance agreement jointly with her or his supervisor.

Key requirements for the successful implementation of the EMS PMDS are the following:

•The institutional framework determines responsibilities for specific aspects of the EMS PMDS. With the Strategic Plan as a basis, the department is able to identify priorities and specific objectives to be achieved by various components. Performance Agreements for all employees enable the department to assign specific performance objectives and targets to its employees. This also enables employees in the department to participate meaningfully in the management of their own perferfifianbe.

2 SCOPE AND APPLICATION

The EMS PMDS applies to all office based educators at national or Provincial Education Department, regardless of seniority or qualification, and who are appointed in terms of the Employment of Educators Act, 1998.

As an employee performance management system, the EMS PMDS is not applicable to departmental, component or team performance management or assessment.

3 SOURCES OF AUTHORITY

The specific sources of authority for employee performance management are:

a)The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996

b)The Employment of Educators* Act, 1998, as amended

c)The Personnel Administrative Measures

d)The Skills Development Act (Act 97 of 1998)

e)The Labour Relations Act (Act 66 of 1995)

f)Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, (Act 4 of 2000)

g)Promotion of Access to Information Act (Act 2 of 2000)

h)Employment Equity Act (Act 55 of 1998)

i)Public Finance Management Act, 1999

j)MMS Performance Management and Development System (1 April 2002)

k)Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000

l)White Paper on Transformation of the Public Service, 1995

m)White Paper on Human Resource Management, 1997

n)White Paper on Affirmative Action, 1998

o)White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery (Batho Pele), 1997

p)White Paper on Public Service Training and Education, 1998

q)Treasury Regulations, 2001

r)Relevant collective agreements

s)Relevant directives and departmental policies

4 GOAL, OBJECTIVES AND PRINCIPLES OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

4.1Goal

EMS PMDS as a performance management system is aimed at improving employee performance. The aim of performance management is to optimise every employee’s output in terms of quality and quantity, thereby increasing the departments’ overall performance.

4.2Objectives

To achieve individual excellence and achievement, the objectives for performance management are to -

a)establish a performance and learning culture in the workplace;

b)improve service delivery;

c)ensure that all employees know and understand what is expected of them;

d)promote interaction on performance between employees and their supervisors;

e)identify, manage and promote employees’ development needs;

f)evaluate performance fairly and objectively; and

g)identify and manage categories of performance that are rated as “performance needs to improve" and “unsatisfactory performance".

4.3Principles

The key principles underpinning effective performance management are the following -

b)Performance management processes shall link to broad and consistent staff development plans and align with the department's strategic goals.

c)Performance management processes shall be developmental, and shall allow for recognising competent performance, and for an effective response to performance that is consistently rated as “performance needs to improve” and “unsatisfactory performance”.

d)Performance management procedures should minimise the administrative burden on both employees and their supervisprS^wRite maintaining transparency and administrative justice.

5 THE PERFORMANCE CYCLE

Performance management at the employee level is an on-going interactive process between an employee and her/his supervisor about the employee's performance. Face-to-face on-going communication is an essential requirement of the process and covers the full performance cycle. For effectiveness of operation the cycle is divided into integrated phases or elements of-

a)Performance planning and agreement;

b)Performance monitoring, developing and control;

c)Performance assessment or appraisal; and

d)Managing the outcomes of assessment

The performance cycle is a 12-month period for which performance is planned, executed and assessed. It must be aligned to the same period as the Department’s annual planning cycle i.e. 1st April to 31st March of the following year. The probation cycle is however linked to the appointment date of employees.

6 PERFORMANCE PLANNING AND AGREEMENT

6.1The Performance Agreement

6.1.1Content of a performance agreement

The performance agreement (PA) is the cornerstone of performance management at the individual level. All employees are required to enter into and sign performance agreement with their immediate supervisor, preferably within one month after the start of the new cycle.

The content of a PA must include the following (refer to Annexure A):

a)Employee data such as the Persal number, job title and salary level etc. as well as a clear job description of the employee, with emphasis on the main objectives, job purpose and the relevant KRAs and CMCs.

b)A work plan containing the KRAs, outputs, activities and resource requirements. (Refer to Annexure B)

c)A personal development plan (PDP) that identifies the competence and other developmental needs of the employee, as well as methods to improve these.

6.1.2Effecting Changes to the Performance Agreement

The employee and his/her immediate supervisor may agree to alter an existing agreement, or enter into a new one during the performance cycle. This is permissible under the following circumstances:

a)if the employee changes jobs during the cycle;

b)if the employee is absent from his/her job for a period of three months or more due to maternity, ill health, study, secondment, travel or any other reason that is acceptable.

If it is known to the employee that he/she will be absent from his/her job for a longer period during the cycle prior to the signing of the performance agreement, such period of absence should be provided for in the original agreement.

Should it be necessary for a new agreement to be signed, such an agreement should take into account the previous work done and new responsibilities to be undertaken if any.

A performance agreement without a completed and signed work plan should be regarded as invalid and of no use in the performance management process.

6.2The work plan

While the performance agreement is the cornerstone of performance management at the individual level, the work plan contains the essence of the performance agreement (see the Guide to the Work plan and template in Annexure B). The work plan describes what an employee is going to achieve within particular time frames, and consists of the following:

6.2.1Key Results Areas (KRAs):

a)These describe what is expected from an employee in terms of his/her job description and focus attention on actions and activities that will assist components and ultimately the department in performing effectively. In the work plan, the KRAs should be broken down into key activities/outputs, time frames, performance indicators as well as enabling conditions/ contextual factors. These are used to indicate how the performance/achievement of the outputs and activities will be measured. KRAs can cover many different aspects of the work such as 

i.Specific tasks or events which the employee should ensure are achieved;

ii.Levels of performance which the employee should maintain and promote;

iii.Actions or situations for which the employee is personally responsible for delivering his/her ‘"unique contribution"; and

iv.Duties and responsibilities related to advice and support given,

b)Each KRA should be broken down into measurable outputs and/or duties/responsibilities and activities. Each KRA should be weighted (in %) according to the importance it has in the employee's/member’s job. The weighting of all the KRAs should add up to 100. No individual KRA may be given a weighting of less than 5% or more than 20%. The weighting should be in multiples of 5.

6.2.2Core Management Criteria (CMCs)

a)These are elements and standards used to describe and assess performance, taking into consideration knowledge, skills and attributes. The CMCs are used to calculate 30% of the employee's assessment score. There are 7 CMCs that are compulsory.

b)60% of the weighting has been prescribed for 4 of the 7 CMCs. The weighting for the remaining 3 CMCs will be agreed upon between the supervisor and the employee.

c)The prescribed weighting for the 4 CMCs for office based educators is fixed as follows:

i.Job knowledge and application (20)

ii.Leadership abilities (20)

iii.Interpersonal relationships (10)

iv.Service to stakeholders (10)

d)The weighting for each of the remaining 3 CMCs will be agreed to by the supervisor and the employee. These CMCs are:

i.Communication

ii.Acceptance of responsibility

iii.Conceptual and analytical skills

e)One way of jointly arriving at decisions on the weighting of a specific CMC is to use the factors of impact and frequency.

f)The greater the impact and frequency, the greater the importance that criterion is likely to have on the achievement of effective performance results. The weighting of all the CMCs should add up to 100.

g)No individual CMC may be given a weighting of less than 5% or more than 20%. The weighting should be in multiples of 5.

6.2.3Calculating the final score

In calculating the final score, each employee must be assessed against both KRAs and CMCs. KRAs covering the main areas of work will account for 70% of the final assessment, while the CMCs make up the other 30% of the assessment score.

6.3Personal Development Plan (PDP)

a)The purpose of the personal development plan is to:

i.identify any performance output shortfall in the work of the employee, either historical or anticipated.

ii.relate this to a supporting CMC shortfall.

iii.plan and implement a specific set of actions to reduce the gap. (The competency gap may relate to any of the CMCs included in this EMS PMDS or any other area of the employee’s knowledge, skill and attribute requirement.)

b)The PDP should include interventions relating to the technical or occupational "hard skiffs" of the job, through e.g.

i.appropriate training interventions,

ii.on-the-job training,

iii.expanded job exposure,

iv.job rotation.

c)The employee and the supervisor are required to take joint responsibility for the achievement of the PDP with allocated accountabilities clearly recorded on the PDP

7 PERFORMANCE MONITORING, REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT

7.1Performance monitoring

Performance at the individual level must be continuously monitored to enable the identification of performance barriers and changes and to address development and improvement needs as they arise, as well as to -

a)determine progress and/or identify obstacles in achieving objectives and targets;

b)enable supervisors and employees to deal with performance-related problems;

c)identify and provide the support needed;

d)modify objectives and targets; and

e)ensure continuous learning and development.

7.2Performance review and assessment

a)Performance review meetings are an integral part of the monitoring process. These reviews must take place as often as is practicable and/or required by circumstances. The reviews are necessary to motivate and to reveal to the employee areas that need improvement and if required, to modify the PA.

b)The supervisor should use all opportunities to discuss the employee’s performance, including meetings, report backs, and informal discussions. An employee’s supervisor shall monitor the employee's performance on a continuous basis and give him/her feedback on his/her performance: at least four times a year - orally, if the employee’s performance is rated as ‘competent’ and above); and in writing if performance needs to improve and unsatisfactory; at least twice during the six months preceding the employee’s annual formal performance assessment; and in writing, on the annual formal performance assessment date.

7.2.1Preparations for performance review and assessment

a)The Supervisor

The supervisor should prepare by

i.reviewing the previous period and objectives and targets for the next period;

ii.reviewing support needed and drafting training and development needs;

iii.seeking appropriate feedback from relevant role-players to support the process;

iv.reviewing and updating all relevant documentation; and

v.identifying interna l/external factors affecting the employee’s performance.

b)The Employee

The employee should prepare by

i.reviewing previous objectives and identifying possible new objectives and targets;

ii.collecting supporting facts on performance delivered;

iii.identifying factors that affected his/her performance;

iv.identifying support that will be needed as well as possible training and development needs; and

v.reflecting on the feedback to be given to the supervisor.

7.2.2Performance review and assessment cycle

a)April - June: This constitutes the period of the first review process. Feedback may occur orally if the employee's performance is rated at “competent' or above, or in writing if it is rated as “performance needs to improve" and “unsatisfactory performance".

b)July - September: ’This is the period of the second review process, and constitutes a “midterm review. Feedback during the midterm review should under all circumstances be in writing. Outcomes of this process should be signed by both parties.

c)October - December: This constitutes the period of the third review process. Feedback may occur orally if the employee's performance is rated at “competent’ or above, or in writing if it is rated as “performance needs to improve” and “unsatisfactory performance”.

d)January - March: This is the period of the final process in the cycle and constitutes an “annual performance assessment'. Feedback during the annual review should under all circumstances be in writing. Outcomes of this process should be signed by both parties. The final assessment discussion must take place at the end of the performance cycle and coincides with the end of the financial year, i.e. March of each year. The assessment score for the employee’s performance is the total of the individual KRA (70%) and CMC (30%) assessment scores.

7.2.3Performance review and assessment discussion

a) The review and assessment discussion must enable and/or afford

i.An employee an opportunity to assess his/her own performance and its contribution to organisational goals and to identify areas of improvement;

ii.the supervisor an opportunity to provide formal feedback on performance over the year and to identify ways of improving what was achieved;

iii.An employee an opportunity to contribute to, and respond to comments regarding his/her performance and identify issues beyond his/her control that limit the achievement of results;

iv.An open discussion between the employ^e-enct-his/her supervisor in which achievements can be fully recognised and ideas for problem solving agreed;

v.An opportunity for a discussion and agreement on an overall assessment score reflecting judgement on the level of achievement attained in terms of the performance agreement; and

vi.An opportunity for the supervisor and the employee to agree on areas of personal development.

7.3 Performance assessment instruments

The annual / mid-year assessment instruments applicable to office based educators (Refer to Annexure D).

The same assessment instrument is used to assess the performance of all individual KRAs and CMCs, as well as the overall performance of the employee. It is the overall performance assessment score that is to be used as the basis of deciding the performance assessment outcome for the employee. The performance review and annual assessment of employees will be based on the following ratings:

The annual performance assessment process involves:

a)Assessment of the achievement of results (KRAs) outlined in the work plan

i.Each KRA must be assessed on the extent to which the specified standards have been met and outputs achieved.

ii.An indicative rating on the five-point scale must be provided for each KRA.

iii.This rating must be multiplied by the weighting given to the KRA as per the performance agreement, to provide a score.

iv.The rating calculator can be used to add the scores and calculate a final KRA score, based on the 70% weighting allocated to the KRAs.

b)Assessment of the CMCs

i.Each CMC must be assessed according to the extent to which the specified standards have been met.

ii.An indicative rating on the five-point scale must be provided for each CMC.

iii.This rating must be multiplied by the weighting given to each CMC as per the performance agreement, to provide a score.

iv.The rating calculator may then be used to add the scores and calculate a final CMC score, based on the 30% weighting allocated to the CMCs.

c)Overall rating

i.An overall score in accordance with the assessment rating is provided as a summary of the outcome of the performance review for KRAs and CMCs.

ii.The assessment rating calculator may then be used to provide a final score based on adding the scores achieved for the KRAs and the CMCs.

7.4Moderation

7.4.1Purpose of moderation

The purpose of moderation is to ensure, as far as possible, that supervisors are evaluating performance in an equitable and consistent manner across the department, with a common understanding of the standard required at each level of the rating scale.

7.4.2Structures involved in the moderation proce

a)National level: A single moderation committee will be established.

b)Provincial Level: Each province will establish a moderation committee.

c)District Level: Sub-committees will be established by the provincial moderation committee.

7.4.3Composition of the Moderation Committee

a)National Level:

The national moderation committee will be established by the Director- General in consultation with Senior Management. The committee will consist, amongst others, of the following:

i.Head of Human Resource Management (Chairperson);

ii.Two (2) representatives from senior management; and

iii. EMS PMDS coordinator

b)Provincial Level:

The provincial moderation committee should be established by the Head of Department (HOD) in consultation with senior management. The committee will consist, amongst others, of the following:

i.Head of Human Resource Management (Chairperson);

ii.Two (2) representatives from senior management; and

iii.PMDS coordinator.

c)District Level:

The District Director will be responsible for the establishment of a moderation sub-committee at district level. The sub-committee will consist, amongst others, of the following:

i.District Director (Chairperson)

ii.Two (2) representatives from the district management team; and

iii.PMDS coordinator.

7.4.4Functions of the Moderation Committee

a)National and Provincial Level:

The functions of the moderation committee will be to:

i.Ensure that there is compliance in terms of the applicable policy/collective agreement.

ii.Provide oversight of the EMS PMDS, especially ensuring that the process for setting performance standards in the PAs is valid and objective;

iii.Detect potential problems in the system (early warning) and advise the Head of the Department accordingly;

iv.Review overall assessment scores in the department to ensure consistency;

v.Make recommendations regarding actions to be considered where managers and supervisors do not properly and fairly execute their responsibilities with regard to assessment and rating in terms of the EMS PMDS.

vi.Submit reports to the DG/HOD on their activities.

b)District level:

i.Ensure that there is compliance in terms of the applicable policy/collective agreement.

ii.Responsible for resolving any differences that may arise

iii.Identify issues of non-compliance with the EMS PMDS collective agreement.

iv.Submit reports to the provincial moderation committee on its activities.

Note: The above processes do not take away the right of an employee to invoke formal dispute resolution procedures if aggrieved by the outcome of the moderation committee.

7.4.5Meetings of the committee

a)Depending on operational requirements, the moderation committees (National/Provincial) will be required to meet at least twice per performance cycle as follows:

i.At the end of the performance cycle: to review and moderate the overall assessment results of the assessment process to ensure consistency within the department;

ii.At the start of the new cycle: to monitor the results of performance planning and agreement activities to ensure compliance and detect potential problems in the system.

b)The district sub-committee should meet at least twice per performance cycle to ensure that employees and their supervisors are complying with all the requirements as required in the EMS PMDS agreement.

c)Additional meetings may be arranged as the need arises

7.4.6Moderation process

The moderation process operates at two levels;

a)At individual level:

The role of the moderating committee is to ensure that supervisors are agreeing with their subordinates on work plans and appraising performance in a realistic, consistent and fair manner.

b)At departmental/district level:

The moderating committee must satisfy itself that departmental plans are developed and the EMS PMDS procedures are followed. This will be achieved by:

i.Ensuring that the supervisors overview the performance management actions and assessment outcomes of their subordinates;

ii.Ensuring that scores given across the department are valid and authentic, and

iii.Ensuring that grievances referred to it are resolved amicably.

7.4.7Discrepancies encountered during the moderation process

a)If a moderating committee identifies deviations or discrepancies, the following steps should be followed:

i.refer back and furnish reasons thereof to the supervisor who had agreed to the rating with his or her subordinate(s); and

ii.This should be accompanied by a request for reconsideration of the rating.

b)Unless it is an overall assessment score adjustment that alters the assessment scores of all employees (as a group) by the same quantum, a moderating committee may not change an individual employee's assessment score, without first referring the issue back to the supervisor who made the initial assessment, or any moderation sub-committee that might have been involved in the process.

c)A moderation committee must keep detailed minutes of all decisions made.

7.5Disagreements and grievances 

In cases of any disagreement between the employee and the supervisor, all efforts should be made to resolve such disagreements at that level.

If any disagreements regarding the moderation of the evaluation of an employee must be dealt with in terms of the grievance procedure as stipulated in Chapter G of the PAM.

8. MANAGING PERFORMANCE THAT IS UNSATISFACTORY (RATING OF 1 & 2)

Supervisors are required to first identify and then, in line with a developmental approach, deal with unacceptable performance of employees under their supervision. The supervisor must comply with the procedural requirements of the Employment of Educators Act 1998 and Personnel Administrative Measures - “Incapacity Code".

9. IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES

The employer will develop guidelines and instruments for the effective implementation and monitoring of the EMS PMDS for office-based educators.