Police Minister Bheki Cele caused an outcry when he said tattoos suggested gangsterism and would impact employment in the police force. So just how much can one’s appearance impact your job prospects?

Discrimination based on one’s appearance is an ever-changing area of law that impacts employees and potential candidates worldwide. Subconscious appearance preferences that are founded [more…]

In a media release on 31 August 2022, the Department of Employment and Labour (Department) confirmed that the signing into law of the Employment Equity Amendment Bill, 2020 (the Bill) is imminent. The President is expected to assent to the Bill between now and the end of the year. The amendments are due to come [more…]

Relevant Case:

Transnet t/a Transnet Freight Rail v National Union of Metalworkers of SA on behalf of Manku & others (2021) 42 ILJ 1948 (LAC)

Facts of the case: 

The first and second respondents were employees of the Appellant Transnet and were employed on one-year fixed-term contracts in East London. Transnet renewed the employees’ contracts nine and four [more…]

Section 8(1) of the South African Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 clearly states that “every employer shall provide and maintain, as far as reasonably practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risk to the Health and Safety of his/her employees.” However, people perceive risks differently.

Health and Safety Risk Assessments are one of the [more…]

The dismissal of employees who have reached and worked beyond the normal retirement age has been found to be fair, says Werksmans Attorneys.

Employers do not waive their rights to enforce the normal retirement age by serving salary adjustment letters after their employees reach the normal age of retirement.

Facts

This was the issue considered by the Labour [more…]

In the recent Mukuru case of Mukuru Financial Services (Pty) Ltd and Another v Department of Employment and Labour, the Court had to consider the facts supporting the contention that Mukuru had no option but to employ foreign nationals rather than South African citizens or permanent residents. Did this constitute unfair discrimination?

Mukuru is a financial [more…]

There is a fine line between extended absenteeism and desertion in the workplace. Desertion is often difficult for employers to prove, but they can still terminate a contract of employment by way of repudiation if the correct process is followed.

In many recent cases brought forward, companies are experiencing excessive employee absenteeism in the workplace. There [more…]

There has never nor is there presently any labour or employment legislation which regulates or controls the use of the test or to protect the Employee’s right against the abuse of the test by an Employer seeking to dismiss or punish an Employee. Polygraphs can only be used when consent is freely given or permitted [more…]

Section 213 of the Labour Relations Act, No 66 of 1995 (LRA) defines a strike as “the partial or complete concerted refusal to work, or the retardation or obstruction of work, by persons who are or have been employed by the same employer or by different employers, for the purpose of remedying a grievance or resolving [more…]

The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI Act or POPIA) is South Africa’s data protection law. The first question you need to ask is do you have to comply with it? Who must comply with POPIA? Who does the POPI Act apply to? What is the territorial scope of the POPI Act?  [more…]

South Africa’s labour legislation was largely conceived by our country’s trade unions. As a result, the statutes heavily protect employees and, in particular, protects the jobs of workers. The Labour Relations Act (LRA) and its Schedule 8 fall short of prohibiting the dismissal of workers, but only allows such dismissals to stand if the employer has proved [more…]

The law makes it essential for employers to act with great care and expertise in gathering evidence and in designing and applying their disciplinary policies. The Labour Courts are most intolerant of employers who do not follow their own disciplinary policies and who cannot justify their dismissal decisions based on the facts of the case at hand.

No [more…]

The modern workplace has gone through significant changes with businesses being required to adapt to new ways of working. Many employers have revisited their operating models and have since adopted remote or hybrid working arrangements, depending on the nature of their operations, says Nadine Mather, partner, Bowmans South Africa.

While the move to remote and hybrid [more…]

General

Item 8 of the Code of Good Practice: Dismissal, deals with probation. An employer may require a newly hired employee to serve a period of probation before the confirmation of the employee’s appointment. The purpose of probation is to establish whether or not the appointee’s performance is of an acceptable standard before permanently employing the [more…]

With more South Africans working from home or shifting to a hybrid working model, both employers and employees are increasingly using messaging services such as WhatsApp to stay in contact. However, these services come with their own considerations, says Kavita Kooverjee, attorney at SchoemanLaw.

Kooverjee pointed to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act as an example [more…]

The minister of Employment and labour has announced that the Department of Employment and labour aims to visit 839 000 workplaces for the purpose of conducting inspections to ensure labour legislation compliance and improving work conditions and so to protect workers.

During this announcement, the minister also pointed out that 26 000 employers were found non-compliant [more…]

In Mashabela v Octaves Security Services [2022] 31 CCMA 7.1.9, also reported as [2022] 4 BALR 393 (CCMA), Mr Motshele Lawrence Mashabela (applicant), who was employed as a security supervisor – without a written contract of employment – by Octaves Security Services (respondent), referred an unfair dismissal dispute to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration when [more…]

A recent arbitration matter under Section 73A of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 (the BCEA). The dispute related to an alleged underpayment in terms of the National Minimum Wage Act 9 of 2018 (the NMWA). In terms of the NMWA, an employer may not pay any employee less than the prescribed [more…]