Have you ever needed assistance or wondered how to proceed when an employee has a medical disability or the doctor has booked them off for a period and advised that they cannot return to work? The below provides some assistance in understanding the process and options available. Suppose an employee suffers from a mental or physical disability that renders them unfit to work for a period exceeding six months, the employee may be regarded as suffering from a medical disability. A temporary...

Organisational rights, such as the union’s access to the workplace, deduction of membership fees, shop steward representation, union activities, and right to disclosure of information, can be conferred on a trade union in a workplace. However, this is subject to a registered union, sufficiently represented, and whether the employer’s industry falls into the union’s chosen scope of application of its constitution. Section 95(5)(b) of the Labour Relations Act makes it peremptory for a union to...

Where a company anticipates removing a director from their office as director and as an employee of the company, the procedure will be governed by both the Companies Act and the Labour Relations Act. Section 213 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) provides that an employee is anyone other than an independent contractor who works for another person or assists in conducting an employer’s business. In Chilliebush v Commissioner Johnson & Others (2010), the Court had to consider the...

Until recently, it was trite law that if a party to a dispute cannot appear (either in person or represented) at the arbitration proceedings, and that party had referred the dispute to the Commission, the Commissioner may dismiss the matter. Typically, in the instance where the applicant is a no show a dismissal ruling will follow.[1] In the two latest Court rulings, however, the Judges have taken a different stance and this shapes how the CCMA will now deal with the non-attendance of the...