Latest Articles
Tread carefully when dismissing incarcerated staff
Employers have, for some time, toiled with the vexed question of to how to deal with incarcerated employees. The Labour Appeal Court (LAC) in SAMANCOR Tubatse Ferrochrome v MEIBC & others (Case No.JA57/08) addressed this conundrum providing some clarity. In this...
Pain of retirement age dismissals
Dismissals that occur after normal retirement age present employers with a specific set of circumstances that differ markedly from all other forms of dismissal. Section 187(2)(b) of the Labour Relations Act states that a dismissal based on age is fair if the employee...
Sangoma training does not qualify for sick leave
A Labour Appeal Court judgment caused quite a stir in addressing leave applications to attend Sangoma training, with many commentators erroneously reporting that the judgment confirmed that it created new law compelling employer’s to accept unregistered Sangoma, or...
Strike guidelines are particularly relevant at this time of year
Various myths and facts are associated with strike activity, especially given the heightened emotions and tension which accompanies strike action. To begin with, it is roundly assumed by employers that employees choose strike quite willingly and without consideration...
Picketing & the LRA
Section 69 of the LRA deals with the rights of strikers, and their supporters, to picket, which is further dealt with in the LRA Code of Good Practice on Picketing. This right to picket can be traced back to section 17 of the Constitution which provides that everyone...
Pre-hearing suspension
Employers will frequently consider it necessary to suspend an employee, on full pay, pending the outcome of an investigation into suspected misconduct on the part of the employee, and/or to similarly suspend an employee pending the outcome of a disciplinary hearing....
Over hasty retrenchments fall foul of the law
Employers have still not universally grasped the meaning of a bona fide consultation process when undertaking a consultation process pursuant to a proposed retrenchment. I still, in my own firm, still come across employers who are of the understanding that a...
Re-hearing disciplinary hearings is possible at times
Disciplinary procedures typically have supplementary appeal procedures which make provision for employees who feel unjustly wronged by a disciplinary hearing to appeal the hearing verdict and/or sanction. But what if it is in fact the employer who feels aggrieved on...
Procedural fairness in discipline demystified
All cases of alleged unfair dismissal are assessed on the basis of two criteria, substantive (which we look at next week) and procedural fairness. Whilst an ex-employee’s remedy for procedural unfairness does not include reinstatement, what is available to an employee...
Employees cannot withdraw a resignation at will
On occasion, employees seek to withdraw their resignation. The facts of the case were, in the main, common cause. The employee had an altercation with her manager in a store, after which she submitted a letter of resignation giving her employer 24 hours notice that “I...
IR Audits benefit employers and employees alike
Dismissals that occur after normal retirement age present employers with a specific set of circumstances that differ markedly from all other forms of dismissal. Section 187(2)(b) of the Labour Relations Act states that a dismissal based on age is fair if the employee...
Key employment contract provisions
Our firm is frequently required to guide clients in the drafting of employment contracts. As is to be expected, the wording and structure of an employment contract is extremely important. All too often, employers and employees regret not having paid enough attention...