April 2023LABOUR BRIEF NO. 458 In a recent decision of the Labour Court in Valinor Trading 133 CC t/a Kings Castle v The CCMA and Others (JR292/19) ZALCJHB 10 (3 February 2023), the court answered “no” to this question. The dispute in this matter related to the termination of an agreement between an individual…
Discrimination in the workplace is at your peril
March 2023LABOUR BRIEF NO. 457 Our chequered past as a nation means that issues of unfair discrimination will be with us for many years to come, including in the workplace. To believe otherwise would be naïve. Much has already been written on this subject, but in this article, we provide a snapshot of two recent…
Paradigm shift – Automatically unfair or a genuine operational requirements
February 2023LABOUR BRIEF NO. 456 On 10 November 2022, the Labour Court handed down its judgment in Inqubela Phambili Trade Union andOthers v Pioneer Foods (Pty) Ltd, Wadeville Beverages (JS740/2019) ZALCJHB 314 (10 November 2022).This case revisits the fine line between whether a dismissal is automatically unfair because of a refusal byemployees to accept…
Harassment in the workplace. Extended definition
November 2022LABOUR BRIEF NO. 455 Concerning the revision of the “Harassment Law” (not necessarily sexual harassment), this newly published legislation as discussed in the report of August 2022, as being enacted to be inclusive legislation in that it contains provisions which refer to the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, the Labour Relations Act 66…
Do employers need to retrench fixed-term employees at the end of their contracts?
October 2022LABOUR BRIEF NO. 454 In Dumisani Yeko v Red Mining South Deep (Pty) Ltd (LC) JS633/18 , the employer dismissed the fixed-term employee following the termination of the tender rail contract awarded to it by…
“Keep off the grass – Regards, Management” Insight into the private use of cannabis and consequences thereof in the workplace
September 2022LABOUR BRIEF NO. 453 In September 2018 the Constitutional Court dramatically altered the legal position relating to the consumption of cannabis by adult persons in their private capacity in the well-known case of Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others v Prince (Clarke and Others Intervening); National Director of Public Prosecutions and Others…
SA Government’s “tight rope” viewpoint on TES
August 2022LABOUR BRIEF NO. 452 Although South Africa is a country more industrialised than any of its fellow African counterparts, it nevertheless currently possesses record-high unemployment rates. According to Trading Economics, South Africa’s 2021 third quarter 34.90% unemployment rate is the “highest jobless rate since comparable data began in 2008.” It is a tough juggling…
Can a retrospective amendment of a retirement fund rule impact accrued Benefits?
July 2022LABOUR BRIEF NO. 451 For a long time, it was believed that the effect of a retrospective rule amendment to benefits that had accrued before the amendment was approved and registered by the Registrar of Pension Funds (Registrar) was settled in our law. The decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Municipal…
Employment contract automatically terminated? Not so fast…
June 2022LABOUR BRIEF NO. 450 In Mashabela v Octaves Security Services 31 CCMA 7.1.9, also reported as 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…
UIF eCompliance Certificate Update
UIF Compliance Circular No 2B/2022: Interim suspension of issuing and requirement for compliance certificate and tender letter as proof of compliance with the Unemployment Insurance Act 63 of 2001. Read More