LabourNet is not really a software company and comparing it to BambooHR misses the point. It is a labour law and compliance services business that provides software as part of the relationship. For a South African employer with a CCMA problem, that distinction matters more than any feature list.
What you buy is access to industrial relations specialists who will sit in a disciplinary hearing with you, health and safety compliance support, skills development and B-BBEE scorecard assistance, employment equity reporting, and a system to keep the records that all of that produces.
The software
Honest assessment: adequate rather than good. Employee records, leave, disciplinary tracking, training records and document storage all work. The interface is dated and slow next to the international products, reporting is limited, and the mobile experience is poor. Nobody chooses LabourNet for the user experience.
The services
This is the actual product and it is genuinely valuable. Disciplinary and grievance procedures documented properly the first time. Someone who has run hundreds of CCMA matters advising before you dismiss rather than after. Employment equity plans that will survive a Department of Employment and Labour inspection. Section 189 processes handled correctly.
For a manufacturer or a retailer with a unionised workforce, the cost of one badly handled dismissal exceeds a year of this contract.
The cost model
Retainer based and quoted on headcount and service mix. It is not comparable to per employee software pricing because you are buying advisory time. Ask specifically what is included in the retainer and what is billed hourly, because that boundary is where disputes arise.
Who should buy it
Employers with meaningful industrial relations exposure, unionised workforces, high risk operational environments, or B-BBEE scorecard obligations. Businesses that just want to track leave should buy leave software.
AS
ZambiaZambiaSole trader
