Employers should know when the actions of employees constitutes a strike, which is defined in the Labour Relations Act No 66 of 1995 (LRA) as “the partial or complete concerted refusal to work, or the retardation or obstruction of work, by persons who are or have been employed by the same employer or by different employers, for the purpose of remedying a grievance or resolving a dispute in respect of any matter of mutual interest between employer and employee and every reference to work in...

A constructive dismissal is defined as a situation in the workplace created by the employer, which renders the employment relationship intolerable for the employee. Section 186(1)(e) of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) 66 of 1995, states that in circumstances where “an employee terminated a contract of employment with or without notice because the employer made continued employment intolerable for the employee”, constitutes a dismissal. There are numerous instances of an intolerable employment...

A phrase commonly used in law is “Justice delayed is justice denied”, meaning that by delaying to charge and finalise an employee’s hearing would be to deny their justice and therefore denying a fair hearing. But what constitutes a delay? Section 188 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) sets out strict requirements to ensure that a dismissal is fair. However, none of these requirements deals with the time limit between the commission of the misconduct and the date on which the notice of hearing...

Employers are sometimes faced with a situation were an employee caused damage to the employer as a result of their actions or omissions. Employers must decide to either impose a warning or deduct the cost of the damages from the employee’s salary. The question now arises whether you can issue a warning and deduct the damages - or whether this amounts to double jeopardy. What is double jeopardy? Double jeopardy occurs where an employee is punished twice for the same incident of misconduct or...

The question of “Why didn’t I get a bonus?” is one that crosses the mind of many employees, as they often feel that they have a right to a bonus. The South African Labour Law is silent on the issue of bonuses with the result that the payment or non-payment of bonuses is left to the discretion of the employer. Certain bargaining council collective agreements make provision for the payment of bonuses and are thus binding on the employers of those sectors. The general rule of thumb is that if an...

The Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75/1997 (BCEA) states that the provisions for annual leave do not apply in the following instances; Employees who work less than 24 hours per month for an employer. Leave granted to employees in excess of the entitlement allowed in terms of the BCEA. Calculation of annual leave The BCEA stipulates that employers must grant annual leave of at least 21 consecutive calendar days (Section 20(2)(a)). Employees working 5 days in a week should get 15 working...

There is no compulsory retirement age for employees in South Africa therefore employees may continue working until they are incapable of performing their job. In these circumstances the employer would need to follow the incapacity procedure as set out in Schedule 8 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA). Section 187(1)(f) of the LRA declares a dismissal of an employee based on their age automatically unfair. The Labour Court can award up to 24 months of the employee’s remuneration as compensation,...