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South African Airways – Business rescue practitioners hold the reins
By Bradley Workman-Davies, Director The fate of South African Airways remains inscrutable, and recently there appears to have been some division between the management of SAA [...]
Parental, adoption and commissioning parental leave
By Jacques van Wyk, Director; Michiel Heyns, Senior Associate and Chelsea Roux, Candidate Attorney The provisions in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 [...]
Dismissal due to the breakdown of the trust relationship
By Jacques van Wyk, Director; Andre van Heerden, Senior Associate and Chelsea Roux, Candidate Attorney Issue Whether an act of dishonesty would lead to a breach [...]
Terminating an employment contract and dismissing an employee – how are they interrelated?
By Bradley Workman-Davies, Director A recent case decided by the South African High Court has examined the curious interplay of an employee's rights as they arise [...]
Wereley v productivity south africa: lessons for employers
By Lloyd Abraham, Director On 4 December 2018, the Labour Court in Johannesburg delivered judgment in the matter cited above. The employer (Productivity S.A. /PSA) abandoned [...]
EMPLOYEES MAY APPROACH THE LABOUR COURT DIRECTLY TO ENFORCE THEIR RIGHTS UNDER THE BASIC CONDITIONS OF THE EMPLOYMENT ACT
By Jacques van Wyk, Director; Andre van Heerden, Senior Associate; and Chelsea Roux, Candidate Attorney ISSUE Whether the Labour Court has jurisdiction to determine a claim [...]
THE RESTRICTIONS ON A COMMISSIONER TO DEAL WITH A DISPUTE NOT FORMALLY BEFORE HIM
By Jacques van Wyk, Director; Andre van Heerden, Senior Associate; and Chelsea Roux, Candidate Attorney ISSUE Whether the commissioner acted reasonably by applying section 200B of [...]
SECTION 198A(3)(B) DEEMING PROVISION: LIABILITY FOR THE CLIENT EMPLOYER REGARDLESS OF THE ROLE THAT THE EMPLOYER STILL RETAINS
By Jacques van Wyk, Director; Andre van Heerden, Senior Associate; and Chelsea Roux, Candidate Attorney ISSUE In the case of General Industries Workers Union of South [...]
PARENTAL LEAVE BENEFITS: NEW REGULATIONS TO THE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ACT 63 OF 2001
By Jacques van Wyk, Director; Andre van Heerden, Senior Associate; and Chelsea Roux, Candidate Attorney On 4 November 2019 the Minister of Labour and Employment published [...]
DISMISSED FOR NOT ACCEPTING AN EMPLOYER’S DEMAND – WHEN IS THIS AUTOMATICALLY UNFAIR?
By Bradley Workman-Davies, Director The Labour Relations Act, 66 of 1995 ("LRA"), which generally protects employees in South Africa against (amongst other things) unfair dismissal, as [...]
RESIGNATION WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT – A TALE OF CONFUSION
By Sandile Tom, Director and Dale Adams, Candidate Attorney It is trite law that certain prescribed periods of notice become applicable upon termination of any employment [...]
CARRYING WEAPONS DURING STRIKE ACTION: POTENTIAL GROUND FOR DISMISSAL
By Jacques van Wyk, Director; Andre van Heerden, Senior Associate; and Chelsea Roux, Candidate Attorney ISSUE Whether an employer is justified in dismissing employees carrying weapons [...]
WHERE A FAILURE TO CONDUCT JOB GRADING DEPRIVES AN EMPLOYEE OF BENEFITS IT MAY AMOUNT TO AN UNFAIR LABOUR PRACTICE
By Jacques van Wyk, Director; Andre van Heerden, Senior Associate; and Chelsea Roux, Candidate Attorney ISSUE Whether the failure to implement a performance management system in [...]
NEW CORRECTED MINIMUM WAGE RATES FOR WHOLESALE AND RETAIL SECTOR
By Jacques van Wyk, Director; Andre van Heerden, Senior Associate; and Chelsea Roux, Candidate Attorney On 14 October 2019 the Minister of Labour and Employment published [...]
STRIKE OUT ON THE BALLOT
By Sandile July, Director; Lisa Appelgryn, Associate; and Luyanda Mthimkhulu, Associate Section 23(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 provides that every [...]
HANDS OFF MY RETIREMENT BENEFIT! NOT SO QUICKLY…
By Bradley Workman-Davies, Director and Mishkah Abdool Sattar, Candidate Attorney Providing an employee with retirement benefits, either in the form of a pension fund or provident [...]
Recognising subtle forms of sexual harassment in the workplace
The #METOO movement has correctly focused public attention on inappropriate workplace conduct. After all of the media attention, the obvious ways in which sexual harassment can occur [...]
All beliefs are created equal – or are they?
Did you know that your beliefs may be protected by labour laws? But how far do these protections extend – would you be protected for climate [...]
Salary discrimination not automatically unfair
Unfair discrimination on the basis of an inequality in pay - between male and female staff, or staff of different ethnic or racial groups or any [...]
False workplace racism allegations increasingly punished by courts
The problem of being accused of racism, when the allegation is untrue, is starting to come to the fore and increasingly tested by our legal system. [...]
Secretly Recording Your Boss: Allowable Under RICA But Problematic Under The LRA
By Bradley Workman-Davies, Director Very recently, the Amabhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism challenged portions of the Regulation of Interception of Communication and Provision of Communication Related [...]
The Importance Of Having A Justifiable Reason For Fixed Term Employment
By Andre van Heerden, Senior Associate and Chelsea Roux, Candidate AttorneyReviewed by Jacques van Wyk, Director ISSUE Whether the termination of an employee's fixed term contract [...]
I PAID HIM MORE BECAUSE HE ASKED FOR MORE
By Bradley Workman-Davies, Director Case law is beginning to develop the South African labour law around unfair discrimination which has arisen since the introduction of the [...]
New EEA Form Issued In Terms Of The Employment Equity Act
By Andre van Heerden, Senior Associate and Chelsea Roux, Candidate Attorney Reviewed by Jacques van Wyk, Director Section 27(1) of the Employment Equity Act 55 of [...]
The Failure To Communicate An Extension Of Probation Does Not Always Amount To A Confirmation Of Permanent Employment
By Andre van Heerden, Senior Associate and Chelsea Roux, Candidate Attorney Reviewed by Jacques van Wyk, Director ISSUE Whether an employee is a permanent employee at [...]