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The inadvertent 8c trap
Section 8C of the Income Tax Act 1962 (the Act) includes in a taxpayer's income any gains or losses made upon the vesting of an equity instrument [...]
Jurisdiction in South African Labour Law
Jurisdiction can be defined as the competence of a court to hear and determine an issue between the parties. A court may have limitations to its [...]
When machines make decisions: Understanding the impact of the protection of personal information act, 2013 (“Popia”)
Companies, when obtaining and processing personal information must not mislead and must also provide certain information to the individual data subjects. The data protection regime in [...]
United Kingdom – game of thrones vs game of vapes
The UK Intellectual Propety Office ("UKIPO") has dismissed Home Box Office ("HBO") trade mark opposition filed against the registration of GAME OF VAPES in class 34 [...]
South African copyright bill vs European Union copyright directive – poles apart
Much has been written of late about the South African Copyright Bill which has attracted a significant amount of criticism from various quarters as being opposed [...]
Trade marks: changes to the Canadian trade marks act
On 17 June 2019 the Canadian Trade Marks Act will be introducing several changes pursuant to it joining the Madrid Protocol. The most significant changes are [...]
South African musician Daniel Baron vs David Guetta
A South African artist, Daniel Baron has accused David Guetta of copying his 2016 song, "Children of the Sun". As far as can be seen from [...]
Informal complaint initiation – complaints initiated on a ‘wink and a nod’
INTRODUCTION A recent decision by the Supreme Court of Appeal ("SCA") has given the Competition Commission (the "Commission") some latitude to initiate a complaint against a [...]
Employee’s right to privacy
By Bradley Workman-Davies, Director and Mishkah Abdool Sattar, Candidate Attorney In National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and other v Rafee NO and others (2017) [...]
#METOO in the workplace: how to prevent and address sexual harassment
By Jacques van Wyk, Director and Chelsea Roux, Candidate Attorney INTRODUCTION Awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace has become particularly pronounced over recent years due [...]
The national minimum wage act is now law
By Bradley Workman-Davies, Director On 23 November 2018, the president of the Republic of South Africa ("RSA"), Cyril Ramaphosa, assented to and signed into law the [...]
New system to be launched to expose non-compliance with the national minimum wage act 9 of 2018
By Jacques van Wyk, Director and Chelsea Roux, Candidate Attorney On 7 March 2019, the Department of Labour ("DOL") released a media brief noting that the [...]
National Minimum Wage Bill tabled in Parliament
By Jacques van Wyk, Director and Chelsea Roux, Candidate Attorney The Portfolio Committee on Labour met in January 2019 to discuss a possible amendment to the [...]
Don’t be intimidated into relying on a SARS interpretation note
The SARS states, on its website (www.sars.gov.za), that its "Interpretation Notes are intended to provide guidelines to stakeholders (both internal and external) on the interpretation and [...]
Directors’ liability and the competition commission’s corporate leniency policy for cartel contraventions
The Corporate Leniency Policy ("CLP") was published by the Competition Commission in 2004 and remains the principal tool employed by the Commission in cartel investigations and [...]
Trade Marks: USA and Consent Agreements
Anyone who has a commercial presence in the USA or intends entering the US market will know that the United States Trade Mark Office ("USPTO") is [...]
Employee’s right to privacy
In National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and other v Rafee NO and others (2017) JOL 37705 (LC), the court weighed up the competing interest [...]
Is a pre-suspension hearings necessary for a precautionary suspension?
By Jacques van Wyk, Director and Chelsea Roux, Candidate Attorney ISSUE Whether there is a requirement for a pre-suspension hearing in the case of a precautionary [...]
How long is too long? Suspension of an employee pending a disciplinary process
By Bradley Workman-Davies, Director and Mishkah Abdool Sattar, Candidate Attorney Very often, an employee is suspended while an investigation is conducted into allegations of misconduct, or [...]
National minimum wage amendment bill, 2019
By Jacques van Wyk, Director and Unathi Jukuda, Candidate Attorney On 22 February 2019 the Portfolio Committee on Labour published a notice in the Government Gazette [...]
Use it or lose it!
By Janine Hollesen, Head of Intellectual Property Practice It is important that a trade mark is used as non-use could lead to the cancellation of the [...]
How long is too long? Suspension of an employee pending a disciplinary process
By Bradley Workman-Davies, Director and Mishkah Abdool Sattar, Candidate Attorney Very often, an employee is suspended while an investigation is conducted into allegations of misconduct, or [...]
Mining charter 2018 – key elements in the implementation guidelines
By Chris Stevens, Head of Mining & Resources Practice, Kathleen Louw, Director and Bronwyn Parker, Senior Associate INTRODUCTION The Mining Charter, 2018 was gazetted on 27 [...]
Court victory enables asylum seekers to claim unemployment benefits
By: The Werksmans Pro Bono Team For many years, asylum seekers attempting to claim benefits from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) have routinely been turned away by [...]
Fixed term contracts – how are they justified?
The use of fixed term contracts of employment appeals to employers for a number of reasons, some of which are legitimate and others of which are [...]
