The recent judgments in Sayiti v Sun International Management Limited (JS1019-16) [2023] ZALCJHB 104; (2023) 44 ILJ 1613 (LC) (17 January 2023) and Sun International Management Limited v Sayiti (JA13-23) [2024] ZALCJHB 411 (21 October 2024) present crucial insights for employers navigating the sensitive interplay between operational needs and religious accommodation in the workplace. Initially, [...]
One condition of a valid agreement is consensus between parties to the agreement. The Labour Court echoed these sentiments in Motor Industry Staff Association and Another v Eastvaal Motors (Pty) Ltd (JS927/2019) [2024] ZALCJHB 256 (17 July 2024), where a dispute surrounding the implications of transferring a business or part thereof was considered. The case [...]
In this case, the Respondent argued that the individual Applicants were dismissed for allegedly intimidating their colleagues into joining the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU). On the other hand, AMCU claimed that the five members were dismissed around 31 August 2016 for simply exercising their rights by joining the union and encouraging others [...]
The Labour Court of South Africa recently delivered an interesting judgment on 29 April 2024, in the case of SACCAWU obo Dlamini v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and Others (JR2281/21) [2024] ZALCJHB 180 (29 April 2024). This case presents important lessons for employers regarding the fair treatment of employees during disciplinary processes and [...]
In the recent case of Moraka / Road Accident Fund (2023), 32 CCMA 6.7.4 also reported at [2023] 7 BALR 786 (CCMA), it was determined that although the employee was suspended and their performance could not be evaluated, that did not mean they were automatically entitled to a performance bonus. The Applicant was a [...]
Constructive dismissal in South African labour law is not determined by whether an employee was forced to resign but by whether the working conditions were intolerable and unendurable. When an employee claims constructive dismissal or expresses that the future or continued working conditions are intolerable, it would be contradictory for that employee to desire [...]
Polygraph tests are often used by Employers when contemplating disciplinary action. However, the age-old questions must be asked, “Can an Employer dismiss an Employee solely for failing a polygraph test? Under what circumstances can it be used? And when can an Employer rely on the results of a polygraph test?” In answering these questions, it [...]
At the core of any Employer-Employee relationship emanates a common law duty of an Employee to render services to an Employer; however, it happens every so often that the Employer will require the Employee to render services beyond their contractual hours, commonly known as “overtime”. Overtime is essentially an instruction that requires an agreement, an [...]
A term often heard in the context of applying discipline in the workplace is the word "consistency" or its opposite, "inconsistency." The term “consistency” should be seen as "treating like with like" or "measuring all by the same standard". In other words, it would be unfair to treat people who have committed similar acts of [...]
Since the Constitutional Court’s judgement in Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others v Prince and Others 2018 (6) SA 393 (CC) declaring the decriminalisation of the use, possession and cultivation of cannabis by an adult in a private place for their personal consumption, there seems to be a high belief that employers can [...]