Labour Laws set out guidelines for employers and employees to follow to ensure that the work environment is safe and fair.

When an employer sets up a disciplinary hearing, or decides following an investigation that there is more to be answered and investigated, there may be reason to place the relevant employee on suspension. However, as with everything else in employment and labour law, there is a procedure regarded as fair, which should be followed, Is there a reason why the employer feels suspension is necessary, such as threatening or intimidating potential witnesses?  Ivan provides cases to demonstrate this point.

You can be an employee before you start work! This week Ivan Israelstam explains that there gap in employent law. That is because neither the Labour Relations Act, nor Basic Conditions of Employment Act, nor the Employment Equity Act adequately cover this question. Ivan advises on the limitations in finding a way forward by relying upon the law of contract. So, Ivan explains how have the Labour Court, and Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) have responded - and the Labour Appeal Court has stepped in.

Ivan Israelstam explains in detail employee rights in terms of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), and how the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) and the Labour Court may approach disputes, which combine BCEA disputes, with matters under the Labour Relations Act (LRA), such as unfair dismissal disputes.   

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.  

This week Ivan Israelstam explains why it is important for employers to understand the rights of pregnant women and the responsibilities of the employer. How should the employer deal with maternity leave? There is an entitlement for 4 months maternity leave and employees should not be pressured to take a shorter period of maternity leave. 

Many employers think that by not putting anything in writing they are protecting themselves. On the contrary, as Ivan Israelstam explains this week, they are putting themselves in a very vulnerable position, where they will not be able to protect themselves when a dismissed employee claims that the company did not have any rules and standards, and allege that no procedure was followed in their dismissal.

This week Ivan Israelstam explains why employers and managers are well-advised to ensure that they understand exactly what employee entitlements are under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA). In addition, when hearing dismissal disputes under the Labour Relations Act (LRA), the CCMA may also allow employment conditions under the BCEA to be heard with the dismissal matter.