Employers have the right to retrench employees. This is regulated by Section 189 and 189A of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995. Due to the current economic climate, retrenchments have become more frequent for obvious reasons. Employers should ensure that their fixed-term contracts are managed correctly to avoid disputes, should they need to make [...]
One of the essential aspects of an employment contract is that the employee must perform specified and/or implied duties for the employer. The employer has the sole discretion to determine the duties to be performed and the standard to which those duties should be completed. Should an employee fail to meet the standard of performance [...]
Regular readers of the Consolidated Employers Organisation forums would be very familiar with the various manners in which the employment relationship can come to an end. The more common termination methods, to name a few, are dismissal for misconduct, dismissal for incapacity, dismissal for poor work performance, dismissal for operational requirements and then, of course, [...]
The issue of unilateral changes to employment terms and conditions has become a pressing one, as employers want to remain competitive during these challenging economic times. Having a proactive workforce that can adapt to operational changes is important. However, employers are cautioned to be mindful of the consequences of unilaterally changing employees’ working conditions without [...]
It may frequently happen that parties to a contract conclude a written agreement only to find later that there is an error in the agreement, and what has been stated in the agreement is not what either or both parties intended. The legal question is whether such an error is reasonable (iustus) and therefore excusable, [...]
In our recent articles, the Consolidated Employers Organisation has focused on the legislative framework that constitutes Labour law in South Africa. The framework of legislation is in place, amongst others, to protect the rights of both employees and employers by providing a framework of basic Labour Laws that must be adhered to, such as the [...]
In this series of articles, we have canvassed the concept of limited-duration contracts and the various legalities and nuances. For the purposes of this article, the focus will be on a slightly lesser-known type of limited duration contract, which is regulated in a different way and manner as opposed to the "ordinary" type of limited [...]
The purpose of this article is to highlight the rationale and justification for entering into a fixed-term contract whilst comparing the stark differences between a fixed-term contract as opposed to a probationary clause in an employment contract. These two concepts are often misinterpreted or misunderstood by employers, and it is vital that the legal context [...]
A Collective Agreement is defined in the LRA as a “written agreement concerning terms and conditions of employment or any other matter of mutual interest” concluded between a registered trade union and employer. If there is a majority union in the workplace, the agreement may also bind non-union members. Employees who are not parties to [...]
A fixed-term contract is a contract designed to be for a specific period or until the completion of the project for which the specific contract was entered. Fixed-term contracts come to a natural end at the time stipulated in the contract or at the arrival of a specific event. A frequently asked question is whether [...]