Many employers are faced with the problem of employees consuming drugs or alcohol at the workplace while on duty, or before reporting for duty, with all sorts of excuses such as it ‘is from the night before’ or it being ‘cough mixture’. How can employers best handle this situation? The solution is as simple as a proper workplace policy. Alcohol and drug consumption policy The employer’s policy should be clear - zero tolerance. It is advisable not to allow for limits in your policy. The policy...

Employers often assume that their employees should be working 45 hours per week. Subsequently, they implement new contracts and use the phrase “but the law states you should be working 45 hours per week”. This is a common misconception in the workplace. While the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) has certain prescriptions for working hours, it cannot be enforced blindly for all employees. Here’s why The BCEA’s specified working hours are NOT applicable to: Employees earning more than...

First – what is ill health incapacity? Incapacity due to ill health refers to a situation where an employee is unable to carry out or perform their contracted obligations due to an illness or injury. Incapacity on the grounds of ill health maybe temporary or permanent. What must employers do? When faced with an ill health incapacity enquiry, the employer must investigate the following: The nature and extent of the incapacity. The nature of the employee’s job. The period of the absence. The...

Resignation is topic that often repeats itself. Employers often want to know – can an employee withdraw their resignation? Disciplinary action and resignation goes hand in hand Employees often overreact when they are served with a notice to attend a disciplinary hearing and impulsively opt to rather resign than to endure the scrutiny of a disciplinary hearing. The question remains - can the employee retract his resignation after he cooled off and composed himself? The scenario This aspect was...

Although this is a sensitive topic, it is one that occurs regularly and is often handled wrong because of the ignorance of the law. The relevant law here is the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA). This Act, read together with the Constitution of South Africa, protects the rights of pregnant woman in the workplace. Section 25 of the BCEA stipulates that an employee is entitled to 4 consecutive months’ maternity leave. An employee may go on maternity leave at any time within 4 weeks...

Section 197 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA), 1995 deals with transferring a business from one employer to another employer as a going concern. What constitutes a “going concern”? This question is not answered by the LRA but can be determined, it seems, by reviewing the following factors: The intention of the transferring parties. The continuity of the operation, for example, the business entity is still in existence after the transfer. The employees have been taken over by the new employer....

The South African Labour author John Grogan states that employees have an obligation to provide the employer with their labour, to obey reasonable instructions, to act in good faith and perform their duties. The function of discipline in the employment context is to ensure that the individual’s employees contribute effectively and efficiently to the goals of the company. Progressive discipline and dismissal In terms of the Codes of Good Practice dismissal must be seen as the last resort. A...