The purpose of serving a warning or a notice, such as a notice of hearing, is to ensure that the employee carries the knowledge of the content of the document at the time of serving it to the employee and to serve as future proof that the employee knew of the content of the document. The employee signing the document is simply a way to prove that the employee received the document. The employer’s actual aim is to provide the employee with a copy of the notice or warning. Failure to provide a...

An employer has no obligation to pay an employee’s accumulated annual leave entitlement on termination of the employee’s contract of employment if said employee has not worked for longer than four months. In terms of Section 40(c) of the BCEA (Basic Conditions of Employment Act), which deals with payment to an employee on termination of employment, the Act states that an employee that has been in employment for longer than four months is entitled to 1 day's remuneration for every 17 days...

As of 10 March 2021, new regulations in terms of Domestic workers have been gazetted. This means that all employers who employ a Domestic Worker must be registered with the Compensation Fund and have to submit an annual return of earnings. This means that Domestic Workers will be entitled to compensation if they suffer an injury on duty. This was confirmed by the Constitutional Court case of Mahlangu and Another v Minister of Labour and Others [2020] ZACC 24. According to the Basic Conditions...

It is important to note that all disciplinary measures taken against employees should satisfy procedural and substantive fairness requirements as stipulated in the Labour Relations Act 66 / 1995. Employers should be cautious and avoid the pitfalls of terminating an employee's employment due to prolonged absence from work as a result of their incarceration. In the event that there is no evidence that the employee occupied a key position in the company that it necessitated his dismissal after...

In a recent Labour Court case, Sol Plaatje Municipality V South African Local Government Bargaining Council and others (2021) 30 LAC 1.11.52, the Labour Court pointed out that charges in disciplinary proceedings need not be drafted to the precision of that in criminal matters. This case, therefore, makes it clear that a strict or unduly technical approach by Commissioners towards charges in a disciplinary hearing can be challenged. The Labour Court further points out that if the main charge is...