Labour Law

If an employer fails to attend an arbitration hearing, the CCMA has the power to issue a default award in favour of the employee.

I too frequently receive frantic requests from employers to help them get rid of an employee at all costs. In the midst of their panic they fail to realise that the ‘costs’ they are shouting about could be immense.

It is well known that South Africa’s Constitution, the Equality act and the Employment Equity Act, all render racism unlawful. Despite this powerful and well publicised legislation and society’s repugnancy for racist behaviour, the biases and unfair discrimination that characterised the ‘old South Africa’ still exist in the hearts and minds of many people.

Employers commonly opt for alternative and temporary resources, such as staff provided by labour brokers, to avoid direct employment of workers. This practice is known as labor brokering or outsourcing, and it has become a common trend in the modern job market. 

The ability to get away with breaking the law has encouraged many employers to mistreat undocumented foreign people employed by them. That is, employers have paid illegal immigrants low wages, deprived them of employee benefits and have dismissed them at will.

The Labour Relations Act (LRA) provides for employees who have been passed over for promotion to lodge an unfair labour practice dispute at the CCMA or at the relevant bargaining council. 

The code of good practice that regulates the conducting of misconduct dismissal arbitrations increases the obligation on commissioners to conduct themselves properly when arbitrating such matters.
 

Earlier this year, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a new bill into law with measures that aim to promote diversity and equality in the workplace. However, several groups believe that the new changes will not help individual sectors and the economy to grow.

Many dismissals in which we have been involved have been upheld by the CCMA. It is not the firing of employees that the law has a problem with. It is not dismissals that raise the ire of CCMA arbitrators. Instead, it is unfair dismissals that result in the employer being forced to reinstate the employee and/or being forced to pay the employee exorbitant amounts of money in compensation.

Every employer and every employee has the right to expect that the other is trustworthy. As a result, either party could forgo his/her right to continue the employment by destroying the trust relationship.

South African law provides heavy protection for pregnant employees, and does so via numerous pieces of legislation. 

The amended employment equity act introduces new measures to promote diversity and equality in the workplace, including specific numerical goals for racial and gender representation in designated businesses. There are differing opinions on the legislation that seeks to promote transformation in the workplace.

In 1995 South Africa’s old Labour Relations Act was scrapped and replaced by the Labour Relations Act of 1995 (LRA). This act makes it very much easier than before for employees to challenge alleged unfair dismissals and other unfair practices at private or statutory dispute resolution forums.

On 21 February 2021, the Labour Appeal Court in Wheelwright v CP de Leeuw Johannesburg (Pty) Ltd (2023) 44 ILJ 767 (LAC) found against an employer who sought to enforce a restraint of trade on the grounds that the wording of the liability clause in the settlement agreement was wide enough to expunge any other claims arising from the employee's employment.  

If you take a sick day so you can have a fun day, you're committing fraud and can lose your job. 

South African labour laws help regulate the relationship between employers, employees, and trade unions in the country. Recently, key amendments have been made to these laws.

Section 197 of the Labour Relations Act requires that, where a business is taken over, the new owner must take over the staff from the old owner. During such takeovers, employees are often desperate to stay on with the new enterprise.

A disciplinary warning is an oral or written statement made by an employer informing the employee that his/her conduct or performance level is not acceptable and that any further failure to meet the required standards will result in stronger measures being taken. In this sense a warning is not a punishment. Instead it is a notification that punishment or other corrective measures could follow.

Employers frequently suspect that serious misconduct has occurred but are unable to prove which employee or employees are responsible. Some case law has given the impression that, in such circumstances, group dismissals may be justified. This impression has been given by two important cases; those involving Score Supermarkets and Snip Trading.

The Department of Employment and Labour wants to ensure that employee safety is a top priority within workplace environments. Complying with health and safety regulations is key to preventing dangerous accidents from happening.