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The right to a fair hearing trumps the contract of employment
By: Jacques van Wyk, Director and Andre Van Heerden, Senior Associate and Yusha Davidson, Candidate Attorney ISSUE Can an employee be dismissed, without due process, simply because [...]
Automatically unfair dismissals versus legitimate dismissals for operational requirements: the importance of the ‘true reasons’ for the dismissal
By: Jacques van Wyk, Director, Andre van Heerden, Senior Associate and, Unathi Jukuda, Candidate Attorney ISSUE Whether, in dismissing employees, the employer was exercising its right to [...]
Corroborative evidence is required to establish intoxication
By: Jacques van Wyk, Director, Andre van Heerden, Senior Associate and, Unathi Jukuda, Candidate Attorney ISSUE Whether an employer can dismiss an employee who fails a breathalyser [...]
The Employment Equity Amendment Bill, 2018
By Jacques van Wyk, Director and Yusha Davidson, Candidate Attorney The Employment Equity Amendment Bill, 2018 ("Bill") amends specific provisions of the Employment Equity Act 55 [...]
Five reasons to register trade marks beyond your home territory
In our September 2017 edition of Legal Werks, the top ten reasons to register trade marks were identified notably the significant value and extensive protection trade [...]
Is an employee able to avoid a disciplinary hearing or disciplinary sanction by resigning?
It is trite law that employees may resign from his employment, either with immediate effect or on notice, thereby unilaterally terminating the employment relationship. The employer [...]
Paternity leave
By Jacques van Wyk, Director and Yusha Davidson, Candidate Attorney The Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 ("BCEA") presently entitles a female employee to [...]
Struggle songs in the workplace
By Jacques van Wyk, Director and Yusha Davidson, Candidate Attorney ISSUE Is the singing of struggle songs in the workplace racist and if so, does it [...]
Draft Employment Equity Regulations, 2018
By Jacques van Wyk, Director and Yusha Davidson, Candidate Attorney The Minister of Labour has published the Draft Employment Equity Regulations, 2018 ("Draft Regulations"). The Draft [...]
Director liability – OHSA/NEMA
This memo is intended to provide high level guidance on director liability under the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 ("NEMA") and the Occupational Health [...]
Reporting obligations of directors in terms of the Companies Act, No. 71 of 2008 – reckless trading and personal liability
Directors are obligated to report financial distress – failure to do so might result in personal liability. The Companies Act No. 71 of 2008 (the Act) [...]
Kenya: SONY is not well-known
By Janine Hollesen and Donvay Wegierski, Directors In Sony Corporation vs Sony Holdings Limited the Kenyan High court dismissed the Japanese corporate's trade mark opposition to [...]
South Africa: reliance on trade marks in company name objections
By Janine Hollesen and Donvay Wegierski, Directors A further reason to register trade marks is that they can be relied upon in company name objections. The [...]
China: motivation for e-commerce to act against counterfeiting
By Janine Hollesen and Donvay Wegierski, Directors On 31 August 2018, China introduced legislation making online operations accountable. Online service providers who fail to monitor their [...]
Dismissing an employee for refusing to obey instructions
By Jacques van Wyk, Director and Yusha Davidson, Candidate Attorney ISSUE Can you dismiss an employee who refuses to obey instructions? SUMMARY An employee can be [...]
Johannesburg CBD fire – health and safety at work
By Bradley Workman-Davies, Director The recent fire which broke out in a government building in central Johannesburg lead to the tragic loss of lives of three [...]
Labour Webinar
Our Labour experts discuss the implications of the proposed amendments to the Labour Relations Act (LRA) relating to industrial action.
Limiting employment claims: protection where it is needed
South African labour laws are renowned as being progressive and protective of employees' rights, and labour dispute resolution procedures are intentionally designed to provide expeditious and [...]
Tightening up on the offshore trust rules
The general principle is that South African resident individuals who have settled offshore trusts are taxed on the income and capital gains of that trust (or [...]
Probono@Werks
WILLS WEEK - 2018 ProBono.Org hosted a Wills Week from 23 to 27 July 2018. Lawyers from various firms in Johannesburg and Pretoria were invited to [...]
South Africa: trade marks as valuable assets to raise funding
By Janine Hollesen and Donvay Wegierski, Directors The registration of trade marks has numerous advantages one of which is that as registered trade marks are assets [...]
Labour bills sent for assent
By Jacques Van Wyk, Director and Yusha Davidson, Candidate Attorney The National Minimum Wage Bill, the Basic Conditions of Employment Amendment Bill, the Labour Relations Amendment [...]
Can you dismiss an employee for making racist comments in the workplace, which the employee believes to be friendly and inoffensive according to the employee’s culture?
By Jacques van Wyk, Director and Yusha Davidson, Candidate Attorney ISSUE Is the dismissal of an employee, who compares a fellow employee to a monkey, fair, [...]
Non-standard forms of work and the gig economy
By Bradley Workman-Davies, Director and Megan Livingstone, Candidate Attorney South African labour law creates extensive rights and protections for employees, but it is sometimes difficult to [...]
Can you dismiss an employee who refuses to adhere to the alternative plan implemented to avoid mass retrenchment?
By Jacques van Wyk, Director and Yusha Davidson, Candidate Attorney ISSUE Is it fair to dismiss an employee for refusing to comply with the recovery plan [...]
