The usual clause on job descriptions that indicates that an employee is required to perform “Any other duties,” has been denounced by the National Labour Commission.
According to Dr Mrs Bernice Welbeck, Director of Administration and Human Resource at the National Labour Commission (NLC), the clause, which has been a source of many workplace conflicts, need to be avoided in job description because of its vagueness.
“What does ‘any other duties’ mean. If that any other duty is significant and has to be performed why won’t it be stated clearly and directly in the job description?
“For instance if that other duty is assumed to involve the task of running photocopies for the office, why can’t it be stated clearly in the job description that you are required to run photocopies for the office,” she asked.
In an interview with ADR Daily in Accra on the issue, Dr Welbeck stressed that every work task should be measurable and appraised.
“How can you measure and appraise a task that is not defined. Does any other duty include going to the market for your boss?
Dr Welbeck explained the refusal by subordinates to perform errands and unrelated tasks by their managers, has resulted in employee dismissal disputes that have been filed at the Commission and the labour court.
She said while the managers maintain that such tasks assigned the workers are covered by the “Any other duties” clause, it is often found that those tasks are highly unrelated to the actual jobs of the workers.
She urged Human Resource Managers to help in avoiding such disputes by clearly defining job descriptions in employment contracts.
“Every job should be defined and analysed to determine what it should contribute to the overall objective of the business
“Once you effectively define the purpose of the job, you can then create job description with well defined tasks that that can be measured by performance,” she stressed.
By Edmund Mingle/ www.adrdaily.com
