2025 Managing Poor Performance: Protect Your Business, Protect Your People Webinar

Poor performance? Here’s how to handle it without the headache

Managing poor performance and incapacity is a major challenge for today’s managers and HR professionals. It drains time, lowers morale, and often leads to costly CCMA disputes — with employers losing around 70% of these cases.

Join Andrew Levy, South Africa’s leading labour expert, for a practical, insight-rich webinar that will equip you to manage poor performance fairly, efficiently, and confidently. With nearly 50 years of experience, Andrew shares his proven, stress-free approach to tackling these issues – legally and effectively.

What you’ll learn:

• Key differences between poor performance and incapacity (illness or injury)
• How much time must be given to improve – and when none is required
• Managing the underperforming probationer
• What’s required in terms of training and support
• Dealing with poor performance after promotion
• Navigating the boarding process when sick leave is exhausted
• What to do if an employee denies poor performance
• Is “not fitting in” a valid reason?
• What about the yo-yo employee?

Look at the questions we will tackle and see if you recognise them!

1. What are the differences in handling incapacity- poor performance, and incapacity-illness or injury?
2. How do misconduct and poor performance differ and why is this vital?
3. What does the new code of good practice on dismissal say about handling poor performance?
4. How to tell how much time is needed to improve?
5. When is it not necessary to give any time to improve at all?
6. What about the employee who is a dead loss, and will never improve?
7. Why is gross negligence ground for immediate dismissal?
8. What are the different rules for managing the executive and the subject matter specialist?
9. What are the essentials a counselling letter must contain?
10. Why must the poor performer be paid notice?
11. What if I promote someone into a new position and they don’t shape up?
12. Why are the new rules on probation a major gift to employers?
13. What about the yo-yo employee who repeatedly performs and relapses?
14. How do I handle the employee who blames it all on sunspots, aliens, the railways, their broken alarm clock, and refuses to take responsibility?
15. How do I avoid getting entangled in the web of endless counselling?
16. What is the ‘marginal’ employee, and how do I manage them?
17. What are the key take-away points from the cases on incapacity?
18. Is ‘chemistry’ – the failure to fit in grounds for dismissal for incapacity?

Don’t miss this essential session – arm yourself with the skills to act decisively, legally and fairly.

About Andrew Levy

Andrew Levy is one of South Africa's best-known labour resources and is the presenter of the Annual Labour Law and Practice Update Webinar.

He has been in the labour field for over forty years, has written four books on labour law and practice. Andrew with Masters degrees in both labour economics and labour law has consulted to a wide range of large, small, local and international organizations on the management of industrial relations.

He is a well-known commentator on South African labour matters in local and international radio, television and the press. His firm, Andrew Levy Employment, is based in Johannesburg, and provides consultancy, training and research.