In a judgement hailed as a victory for domestic workers, the Constitutional Court has confirmed a lower court’s order that a piece of legislation is constitutionally invalid on the grounds that it excludes them from the definition of an employee. This means employers will have to pay Compensation Fund contributions for their domestic workers, on…
At a recent hearing of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), commissioner Nomsa Mbileni ordered the reinstatement of a factory worker who had been fired for reporting for duty under the influence of dagga. The employee, was dismissed in June 2019 for misconduct after he was found to have reported for duty under…
The Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 places an express obligation on the employer to maintain a working environment that is safe and healthy. On the issue of a healthy working environment, the employer must ensure that the workplace is free from any risk to the health of its employees as far as it is…
A franchisee of a well known Grocery chain has been ordered to pay millions of rands to workers for unlawful deductions on earnings, as well as non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage (NMW), amongst other things. The CCMA granted the department the arbitration awards, which compel the franchisee to comply with compliance orders issued and…
Whenever a public Holiday falls on a Sunday our Offices are inundated with calls from Employers who want to know what the law states for employees ordinarily work on Sundays – Are they paid Public Holiday rates for the Sunday AND the Monday, OR only for the Monday. Many employers have different interpretations of what…
Many people throughout Africa, look at South Africa as a place which offers socio-economic opportunities; and as a result, it has become home to many inter-regional and inter-continental migrants seeking gainful employment. What many employers don’t realise is that there are particular laws applicable to employing (and dismissing) these immigrants, which all employers will need…
Employers be aware, it is that time of the year again where annual bonuses are due to be paid out to employees. As a word of warning, if the company has been paying bonuses on a regular basis over the past few years, it becomes the norm and your employees have probably spent the past…
An employer might sometimes make a unilateral change to the original terms and conditions of employment, without realising the consequences of his action. Illegal Changes to Conditions of Employment The change may be in the form of a sudden reduction in salary for some reason, the removal of or reduction in some other benefit such…