With the festive season soon approaching, many employees are counting down the days until they can close their business doors for 2023 and commence their annual leave. Unfortunately, for some, the festive season is either peak work season based on the business operations requirements, or they must continue working on a skeleton staff complement throughout [...]
As the holiday season approaches, employees and employers alike find themselves preparing for a well-deserved break. However, the festive period can bring about unexpected challenges, especially if your workplace temporarily closes its doors. In this article, we will delve into crucial aspects of the Labour Law that you should consider during this festive closure, particularly [...]
Standard practice has always been that one’s Curriculum Vitae (‘CV’) should be an accurate and up-to-date representation of one’s professional career. This allows prospective employers an opportunity to make informed decisions for their respective companies. There, however, has been a trend amongst job seekers to oversell their qualifications, experiences, and memberships. Although this seems like [...]
The National Minimum Wage Act (NMWA) has been a significant milestone in the pursuit of social and economic justice for vulnerable workers in South Africa. It aims to protect low-wage workers from exploitation and improve their earnings by setting minimum wage standards. One of the critical questions arising from this Act is how various components [...]
Severance pay in South African labour legislation is primarily governed by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) and the Labour Relations Act (LRA). The calculation of severance pay typically depends on the specific circumstances and agreements in place. Section 41 of the BCEA provides the default position when calculating statutory severance pay. Severance pay [...]
In our previous article, we discussed the entitlement to severance pay in terms of Section 41 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) and the circumstances under which the benefit arises. Severance pay entitlement arises when an employee’s contract of employment is terminated for operational requirements. In terms of the section, the right to [...]
In terms of Section 41(4) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), an employee who is dismissed for operational requirements is not entitled to severance pay if the employee “unreasonably refuses to accept the employer's offer of alternative employment with that employer or any other employer”. The Labour Appeal Court (LAC) previously set out [...]
The question of whether employees are entitled to severance pay is a well-established aspect of South African statutory labour law. While the circumstances under which severance pay becomes due to employees are relatively limited, it's not uncommon for employees to ask to be paid for their “years of service" during dispute resolution processes. Many employees [...]
In April 2023, significant amendments to the Rules of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) came into effect. Among these amendments, Rules 29 and 37 have been refined to provide explicit guidance on the procedures to be followed when a party seeks the disclosure of evidence or information contained in documents or evidential [...]
It has become quite common in arbitration proceedings that the Applicant would raise the point that the trust relationship between the employer and employee had not been irretrievably broken insofar as the employer did not suspend the employee prior to the dismissal process. This can result in Commissioners making rulings without fully appreciating the nature [...]