MANAGING EMPLOYEE RELATIONS: TESCO

Managing Employee Relations: Tesco



Managing Employee Relations: Tesco

Introduction

Tesco (the group) is a leading retailer in the UK and is one of the largest food retailers in the world. It also sells non-food goods such as electrical goods and clothing. Tesco is headquartered in Hertfordshire? the UK and employs about 440?000 people. The group recorded revenues of GBP47?298 million (approximately $94?736.5 million) in the financial year (FY) ended February 2008? an increase of 10.9% over 2007. The operating profit of the group was GBP2?791 million (approximately $5?590.3 million) in the FY2008? an increase of 5.4% over 2007. The net profit was GBP2?130 million (approximately $4?266.3 million) in financial year (FY) 2008? an increase of 12.2% over 2007. One could think that employee benefits as a practice area is in its infancy, with few Tesco firms offering a specialised and dedicated focus on the retirement, medical, life and collective investment industries and their interface with the employment environment. The core group is made up of four partners, Graham Damant, David Geral, Bob von Witt and Francisco Khoza. All four are members of the Pension Lawyers' Association of South Africa (PLA) and the International Pension and Employee Benefits Lawyers Association (IPEBLA). Graham, Bob and David are also members of the Tesco Society for Labour Law (SASLAW). Graham has served as an acting judge of the Labour Court and he and David have served on a number of surplus apportionment tribunals. Bob and Francisco have served as independent trustees on multi-employer funds.

The Employee Benefits Group draws on the specialised assistance of a number of experienced practitioners in our Johannesburg (Sandton), Cape Town and London offices and our associated Kenyan office, including Michelle David (general pension and healthcare law), Chris Todd (public sector funds, dispute resolution), Priyesh Modi (pension law, administration contracts and due diligence), Betsie Strydom and Mogola Makola (tax), Armando Aguiar and Jason Smit (dispute resolution), Thabang Masingi (rules, due diligence and incentive schemes), Claire van Zuylen (FAIS, insolvency and insurance), John Brand (training and mediation), Tanya Viljoen (forensic).

At Tesco we are pleased to offer a service and a group of experienced practitioners who are guiding clients in an environment which is not in its infancy, but rather rapidly entering its troubled teens. With massive legislative interventions by way of amendments to the Pension Funds Act in 1996 and the introduction of a new Medical Schemes Act in 1998, the Employee Benefits Group has had its hands full advising employers, pension funds, medical schemes, plan trustees, pensioners, administrators and employees, among others, about the intricacies of plan governance, administration, investment and risk strategies over the past dozen years or so.

The introduction of compulsory 50% member representation on plan management boards and the creation of the pension funds adjudicator's office significantly impacted the way the life and medical industry operated. This led to much more regulatory and consumer attention on what was previously a relatively opaque aspect of our economy. The introduction of legislation in 2001 to regulate the apportionment and ...