Legal updates and opinions

by Anastasia Vatalidis, Head of Labour & Employment, Sandile Tom, Director, and Benedict Ngobeni, Candidate Attorney On the heels of the Minister of Cooperative Governance and [...]

After a lengthy period of striking - nearly 3 (three) months - over wage increases at Sibanye's gold operations, the time is ripe for the type [...]

Hazardous Biological Agents by Jacques van Wyk, Director, Andre van Heerden, Senior Associate, and Danelle Plaatjies, Candidate Attorney The Minister of Employment and Labour ("The Minister") [...]

National Health Act 61 of 2003 The Minister of Health ("the Minister") published, for public comment various regulations in terms of the National Health Act 61 [...]

COVID-19 in the workplace On 4 April 2022, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs ("the Minister") terminated the national state of disaster. In doing [...]

"No right, including the right to strike, is absolute." (AMCU and Others vs Anglo Gold Ashanti and Others) The right to strike is understood and accepted [...]

Adjusted national minimum wage Following a mandatory annual review process, the Minister of Employment and Labour announced increases to the national minimum wage for 2022. With [...]

Annual earnings threshold increase for 2022 The Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 ("BCEA") empowers the Minister of Employment and Labour to make determinations, [...]

Refusing to accept operational changes in the context of restructuring Explanatory Note Generally, the dismissal of employees to coerce them into accepting a particular employment outcome [...]

The Harassment Code by Jacques van Wyk, Director; Andre van Heerden, Senior Associate; and Danelle Plaatjies, Candidate Attorney Introduction On 18 March 2022, the Minister of [...]

Quotas for employment of foreign nationals by Peter Mosebo, Director and Lisa Appelgryn, Senior Associate   1.  The Minister of Employment and Labour published the draft [...]

Consolidated Direction on Occupational Health and Safety measures As has been recently published, the national state of disaster has been extended by the Minister of Cooperative [...]

Raising grievances in the workplace The issue was whether the dismissal of an employee who continuously raised grievances was substantively and procedurally fair. Summary The dismissal [...]

Signing mutual separation agreements under duress Whether a threat of police action amounts to duress when signing a mutual separation agreement. Summary   The dismissal of [...]

Breach of Covid-19 protocols in the workplace Issue Whether dismissal for dishonesty for infringing the employer’s Covid-19 protocols, was procedurally and substantively fair. Summary The dismissal [...]

Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act by Pieter Steyn, Director 1. In September 2020, the Supreme Court of Appeal ("SCA") declared that the Preferential Procurement Regulations ("Regulations") [...]

Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 130 of 1993 by Jacques van Wyk, Director and Andre van Heerden, Senior Associate On 22 October 2021, a [...]

Dismissal for intimidation and accusations of racism by Jacques van Wyk, Director and Andre van Heerden, Senior Associate Issue Whether the dismissal of an employee who [...]

Basic Conditions of Employment Act ("BCEA') threshold by Jacques van Wyk, Director and Andre van Heerden, Senior Associate  Issue Whether the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and [...]

Termination of the employment relationship in terms of the UI-19 by Bankey Sono, Director and Neo Sewela, Candidate Attorney Very often employers and employees conclude settlement [...]

Mandatory vaccination policy On Friday 21 January 2022, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) delivered a much anticipated first pronouncement on the fairness of a dismissal [...]

Severance pay entitlement - Issue Whether an employee, who continued employment with the same employer after he reached the contractual 'retirement age', was entitled to severance [...]

Covid-19 protocols in the workplace - Issue Whether the dismissal of an employee who attended work whilst awaiting a Covid-19 test result, who continued to report [...]

Entitlement to embark on strike action - Issue Whether intended strike action can be embarked upon where there has been a 10-month delay between the issuing [...]

Resignation vs vaccinated As an employee, what are your rights when an employer places pressure on you to be vaccinated? Should an employee have any objections [...]