Humans of RCL FOODS – Jayce Naicker

A trip down memory lane with our longest-serving employee

There are not many people these days who can say that they’ve worked for the same company for 50 years; Jayce Naicker, our Group Payroll Manager is one of them.  Jayce is a hard worker, a solution finder, a team player and a lover of people. In fact, he says, “My purpose in life is to be successful, have fun, and make people laugh. I want to leave a smile on the faces of those I love, those I meet, and those who remember me long after I am gone.”

As he prepares to say goodbye to his ‘work family’ in March, Jayce shares some of the highlights of his journey with us.

Jayce joined Rainbow as a Wage Clerk in January 1974, at the tender age of 17. The business was still privately owned by the Methven family and people wore ties and dustcoats to work, regardless of their position. He remembers travelling from Durban to Hammarsdale each day on the ‘company transport’ – a commercial vehicle with a canopy and benches that left at 5:30am and returned at around 6.30pm after a13-hour workday.

Back then, all administration processes were manual. The payroll clerks calculated employees’ net pay mentally and most of them knew the tax tables by heart. A big change came in 1977 when a mainframe computer system was introduced.  Finding it easy to adapt, the youthful Jayce seized every opportunity that arose to help Rainbow migrate to increasingly automated systems.

In the 1990s he was promoted to Payroll Controller, which he says was a huge opportunity for a person of colour, and further promotions and responsibilities followed. A major highlight was being appointed as Payroll Projects Manager in 2010, responsible for the implementation of the SAP system for the Chicken, Epol and Group payrolls. When the company acquired Foodcorp, he also led the migration of Foodcorp payrolls onto SAP, followed by that of a major platform customer few years later. One of his most meaningful accolades was receiving the “More Speed” HR Award at the age of 63.

Jayce is grateful for the support of his wife Malie and their family, and all those he has worked with over the years. “You made me look good,” he quips.

Thank you for the amazing impact you made at RCL FOODS, Jayce. May you continue to have fun in your retirement.