Contributors

When an employer is faced with an employee who fails to perform, the Labour Relations Act sets out specific requirements to be fulfilled before the employer contemplates dismissal. These requirements are followed by a fair procedure. This week Ivan Israelstam explains what the requirements are, and how poor performance should be handled. 

When an arbitrator finds that an employee as been unfairly dismissed, the award will require the employee to be re-instated - unless there are conditions preventing reinstatement. This week Ivan Israelstam indicates the practical and psychological implications for the employer of having a re-instated employee within the workforce.

The start of a new calendar year is a good time for employers to review company policies and procedures. This week Ivan Israelstam explains the value of a disciplinary code to set out the rules of the employer. The employer should then ensure that all management and employees are trained in the interpretation of the rules. Employees need to be educated in the implications and sanctions if they break the rules.   

Businesses - or part of a business - are taken over by new concerns, or required services are outsourced. Then the service provider may be replaced by a second service provider. When do these business transfers fall under section 197 of the Labour Relations Act? Ivan Israelstam explains why it is so important to understand what business transfers are defined as transfers as a going concern.  

This week Ivan Israelstam explains why it is important for an employer not only to refer bribery and corruption activities to the SAPS, but also to conduct an internal disciplinary hearing before terminating the services of an employee. 

When an employer dismisses an employee it is vitally important that the decision to dismiss is based upon solid evidence that is directly related to the reason to dismiss.  This week Ivan Israelstam explains what can go wrong in a CCMA Arbitration, or Labour Court review if the evidence is not relevant to the dismissal decision - or the CCMA arbitrator has failed to consider the relevant evidence. 

What are employee entitlements to sick leave? How should an employer handle the various forms of illness? These could be physical, emotional, mental illnesses. This week Ivan explains how an employer should approach employees with an extended, or recurring mental or emotional illness.  

There is a need for assessors and moderators to be qualified and registered. Many in the education sector seem to overlook the distinction between these two terms.

Employers do sometimes find it difficult to prove at CCMA hearings the allegations they make against employees, who have been dismissed. One of the most common forms of evidence used in modern workplaces is camera videotape evidence.  However, this is not without problems. This week Ivan Israelstam quotes cases where the camera videotape type evidence has been challenged.  

This week Ivan Israelstam points out that the CCMA and bargaining councils do have the jurisdiction to decide upon retrenchment disputes, if there is a failure to agree at conciliation. This arises from the amendments to the Labour Relations Act in 2002. It is critical that employers follow a fair procedure and not simply go ahead with retrenchments without engaging in a fair consultation process.  

This week Ivan Israelstam explains why labour brokers must change focus in order to remain viable businesses. The Constitutional Court has clarified that the client is now responsible for workers, who have worked for the client for more than three months. Even though they may be provided by labour brokers, those workers must be treated on equal terms with the comparable permanent workers. 

Employers may be relieved when an employee confesses to some misdemeanour, and assume that a dismissal will then automatically be justified.  This week Ivan Isrealstam explains why this is not so. There are a number of reasons why an employer cannot simply go ahead and dismiss the employee. 

This week Ivan Israelstam provides examples from the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitrator and the Labour Court to explain the complexity of decisions on what may be considered as an unfair labour practice.  

As the economy fails to grow and consumers struggle to make ends meet, businesses may suffer a loss of sales and profits.  May the employer automatically retrench workers? This week Ivan Israelstam examines the requirements upon an employer before they consider retrenching employees.    

The word prejudice is used a great deal in the media, but there are certain legal implications of prejudice, prejudging, and implications for bias in disciplinary proceedings. Therefore, it is very important for employers to understand the dangers in not paying attention to these legal concepts. This week Ivan Israelstam explains the different meanings of these words, and how they are important for disciplinary proceedings, and for conducting matters at the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).

Employers need to make sure that they understand the implications of receiving a Con-Arb notice from the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).  This week Ivan Israelstam explains what the ConArb involves and how employers need to prepare.

Employers generally are now respecting an employee's right to a disciplinary hearing before deciding upon dismissal.  The question is: who chairs the disciplinary hearing, that is: who is the presiding officer of the disciplinary hearing? How important is it that the presiding officer has not been involved in the events leading up to the disciplinary hearing? This week Ivan Israelstam answers these questions.

Employers do complete employment contracts before the person commences work, but does that make the person an employee? What are the implications is the employer decides to terminate the contract even before the person has commenced work? This week Ivan Israestam deals with these interesting labour law questions. 

Retrenchment consultations are potentially emotional and difficult discussions. This week Ivan Israelstam explains whether employees involved in a retrenchment consultation have a right to bring in a lawyer or other external labour law representative. 

Employers may suspend an employee in a number of circumstances, some are reasonable and fair, but others may simply be as a result of an employer trying to make life difficult for an employee so that the employee will resign.  This week Ivan Israelstam explains all the various circumstances of suspensions.