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Can a sanction of a final written warning be substituted with one dismissal appeal?
ISSUE Can an employer substitute the sanction of a final written warning with one of dismissal on appeal? COURT’S DECISION In the case [...]
Application of changes to the LRA to TES employees earning below the threshold
ISSUE Whether the employees’ fixed term contracts were cancelled to avoid the ‘deeming provisions’ of the Labour Relations Act (“LRA”)? If so, whether the termination [...]
Prescription of on-demand loans – the Constitutional Court’s decision in Trinity v Grindstone
INTRODUCTION Towards the end of 2016, we drew to your attention a decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Trinity Asset Management (Pty) Ltd [...]
The bounds of the right to strike in support of organisational rights by way of Section 21 of the LRA
Section 21 of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 states that any registered trade union may notify an employer in writing that it seeks to [...]
Appointment of Information Regulator
INTRODUCTION On 7 September 2016, the National Assembly voted in favour of appointing the former IEC chairperson Advocate Pansy Tlakula as the chairperson of the [...]
Increase in minimum wage for hospitality workers
On 10 June 2016, the Minister of Labour published an amendment to the minimum wage for Sectoral Determination 14 which regulates the Hospitality sector in South [...]
New labour judgement confirms that the CCMA has teeth
CCMA and MBS TRANSPORT CC and Five Others [J1807/2015] / [JA94/2015] Since the introduction of the Labour Relations Act, 66 of 1995, (“LRA”) the playing field [...]
The accountability of a group of strikers for misconduct during a strike
Dunlop Mixing and Technical Services (Pty) Ltd and Others v National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) obo Nganezi and Others [2016] ZALCD 9 (11 May [...]
Time to amend the Business Rescue Act?
Business rescue was introduced into our law in May 2011. But is it time for an overhaul? The business rescue legislation has been in place for [...]
REITS – some clarification of the taxation of investment vehicles in real estate in the form of REITS and controlled companies
A traffic standstill is rarely the result of retail specials; however, on 28 April 2016 the greater Johannesburg area had a gridlock on major highways on [...]
The Uber price-fixing ride: what are the anti-trust co-ordinates?
During December 2015, Spencer Meyer instituted a class action lawsuit against Uber Technologies, Inc’s CEO, Travis Kalanick, in the United States. The law suit is based [...]
Far reaching judgment of the recent silicosis class action case
INTRODUCTION The scope and magnitude of the proposed class actions envisaged in Nkala v Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (Treatment Action Campaign NPC and Sonke Gender [...]
What happens to confidential information exchanged between the Competition Commission and sector regulators as the number of co-operation
The protection of confidential information has always been a feather in the cap of the Competition Commission (“Commission”). The Competition Act No. 89 of 1998 (“Competition Act”) distinctly provides [...]
Special voluntary disclosure and exchange control relief
By: The Werksmans Tax Team INTRODUCTION Following the announcement of the Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme (SVDP) in the 2016 Budget Speech and the [...]
Is the alleged transfer of an insolvent business indeed a transfer as a going concern
Mokhele & Others v Schmidt & Others (JS 564/11) 19 May 2016 ISSUE Whether the alleged transfer of an insolvent business was indeed a transfer [...]
Can a strike be rendered unlawful as a result of unlawful acts including acts of violence?
National Union of Food Beverage Wine Spirits and Allied Workers (NUFBWSAW) and others v Universal Product Network (Pty) Ltd In re Universal Product Network (Pty) Ltd [...]
Is a collective agreement valid and binding, despite a dispute as to the authority of those purporting to conclude the agreement?
South African Airways (Soc) Ltd & another v National Transport Movement & others (Case no: J1872/2015, 12 May 2016) ISSUE(S) Whether a collective agreement [...]
The meaning of the term ‘pay back’ in a settlement agreement
Genrec Engineering (Pty) Ltd v Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council and Others [2016] ZALCJHB 213 (17 June 2016) ISSUE What does the term ‘back [...]
The impact of Mitchell judgement on purchases of immovable property from an insolvent estate
In a recent judgement, of City Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality v PJ Mitchell (38/2015) (2015) ZASCA, the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that a hypothec created by section 118(3) [...]
Tread carefully when merging: tribunal imposes massive fine for failure to notify
In the intricate process of acquiring another business or forming a joint venture, firms often forget to check whether the transaction requires the approval of the competition [...]
The duty to disclose business rescue proceedings
On 14 April 2016, the Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”) in the matter of Umso Construction Proprietary Limited (“Umso”) v MEC for Roads and Public Works Eastern [...]
Spotlight on boards and shareholder activism
INTRODUCTION Corporate activism places public pressure on boards to improve both financial and non-financial performance of companies. Non-financial performance would include corporate governance, ethics, executive [...]
New treatment of fractional entitlements in terms of the JSE listings requirements
A recent change to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Listings Requirements, which deals with the manner in which entitlements to fractions of securities are treated, may [...]
Strike action in circumstances where there has been a long delay between the issuing of a certificate of outcome and the subsequent election to embark on a strike
PRASA t/a Metrorail v SATAWU and Others (C190/2016) ISSUE Whether a strike is protected in circumstances where there has been an unreasonably long delay between [...]
Is length of service reason to pay different salaries to employees performing the same functions?
Pioneer Foods (Pty) Ltd v Workers Against Regression (WAR) & others ISSUE Whether length of service is a justifiable reason for paying employees performing [...]
