Many companies and employers have been subjected to difficult economic conditions over the past few months. They are still reeling after the effects of the COVID pandemic and its devastating effect on our economy. Desperate times call for desperate measures, but can an employer reduce the working hours of his employees to decrease his payroll expenses? Should an employer consider reducing hours of work or shift changes, or pay cuts, he should understand that these steps will change working...

In a time when the South African economy is in a dire state, and load shedding is constant, many Employers are feeling the financial pressure. Sections 189 and 189A of the Labour Relations Act permits an employer to dismiss employees for operational requirements or reasons. Section 189(2)(a)(i) of the Labour Relations Act states that the Employer and other consulting parties must, during consultations, attempt to reach a consensus on appropriate measures to avoid dismissals. The Labour...

When an employee faces disciplinary action, they sometimes do not wish to face it alone and then turn to colleagues, unions or even outside lawyers and/or advocates to represent them in the disciplinary action. The question is, are they all allowed to represent the employee automatically? Employees facing disciplinary action always have an automatic right to have a co-employee represent them. For this reason, unions usually attempt to have shop stewards/union representatives elected in the...