Introduction When an employer dismisses an employee, they must prove the dismissal was fair. This means that the employer must have followed a fair procedure, and the employee was guilty of misconduct. Conducting a proper pre-hearing investigation is one of the most important steps in ensuring a fair disciplinary procedure. The investigation should be done to establish if there is an actual case against the employee. A pre-hearing investigation is, therefore, simply the process whereby...

According to Section 187 (f) of the Labour Relations Act (LRA), an employer cannot unfairly discriminate against an employee based on their age. When a retirement age has been agreed upon between the employer and employee in a contract of employment or through a pension/provident fund, it is a condition of employment between the parties. The employer cannot unilaterally change this condition. There has to be a signed written agreement between the parties for a change in employment conditions....

Personal or recreational use of marijuana was declared unconstitutional and decriminalised in terms of South African laws in the case of Minister of Justice v Prince. In terms of the Medicines Act, marijuana (THC) may now, in private and for personal use, be consumed by an adult.  However, legalised personal use does not mean that employees are entitled to test positive for the substance, report for duty under the influence, or possess the substance while on duty.  NUMSA obo...

This Act places very tight restrictions on employers wishing to monitor telephonic, e-mail and other communications of employees at the workplace. In light of RICA’s rigid provisions, the best strategy for employers will be to have a policy in place where all employees give written provision to monitor their e-mail or other communications. To find out how SEESA can help your business visit our website at: https://www.seesa.co.za/s #TeamSEESA

The Basic Conditions of Employment Act of 1997 (the BCEA) states the following: Section 17: Night work In this section, “night work” means work performed after 18:00 and before 06:00 the next day;An employer may only require or permit an employee to perform night work if so agreed and if the employee is compensated by paying an allowance, which may be a shift allowance, or by a reduction of working hours. Employees must therefore be paid an allowance and/or the employee's hours must be reduced...