The status of an employee must be established from the beginning of the employment relationship, be it permanent, fixed term or temporary. Once the employee's status has been determined, it is essential to specify the particulars of the employment relationship. Although a written contract is not a prerequisite for a valid employment contract, it is [...]
When a contract of employment is terminated, there are various processes that the employer needs to implement. Aside from the internal processes such as removing the employee from the payroll system, disabling passwords and accounts and collecting company assets, there is the processing of documentation such as the certificate of service, the employee's UI-19 and [...]
The question which doesn’t ordinarily arise but is covered by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act pertains to the employment of children and the prohibition thereof. For the most part, the Act is easy to interpret, and will not be set out for the purposes of this article, however, should the reader wish to enrich [...]
In the past two years, the labour industry has been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and employers have since sought answers and solutions for an unforgiving economic environment. One of the most popular and most controversial topics regarding this is mandatory vaccinations in the workplace and how to go about it. Implementing mandatory vaccinations [...]
Section 6 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) makes provision for the Minister of Employment and Labour to publish a determination on the Commission’s advice that will exclude employees earning above a certain amount per year from sections of chapter 2 of the Act. In a gazette published on 8 February 2022, the [...]
Organisational rights are the umbrella term for several rights conferred by trade unions. These rights can include the right to hold meetings, the right to deduct union levies and the right to have access to the employer's premises, to name a few. These rights can be found in sections 12 to 16 of the Labour [...]
The NMWA aims to advance economic development and social justice by protecting workers from being paid unreasonably low wages. The Act applies to all workers and their employers except members of the National Defence Force, the National Intelligence Agency and the South African Secret Service. Every employer may not pay wages that are below the [...]
Section 189, read with Section 189A of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (hereafter referred to as the Act), prescribes the procedure to be followed where an employer contemplates terminating the services of employees by reason of operational requirements. Section 189A deals with large scale retrenchments as defined by the said section. Section 189A(3) [...]
While many employers will experience their busiest period of the year in the lead-up to, or during, the festive season, other employers will instead take the opportunity to close their businesses for a few days. Given the recent discovery of the new COVID-19 variant in South Africa, some employers may also be reconsidering their business [...]
One of the main concerns of employers entangled in an arbitration process is the uncertainty of how much compensation may be awarded, if any. An understanding of the factors which a commissioner may consider before issuing the same, would place the employer in a more informed position when deciding whether to resolve the dispute or [...]