Determining if something is racist or derogatory
Everybody should know by now that the use of racist and or derogatory language in the workplace could cost you your job. Even referring to a black person as “daai swartman”, can be racist and derogatory – as seen in a recent case. Where words like these have been used, and for it to be construed as racist or derogatory, will depend on the real facts, the context within which it was used and through an objective test on how it should be perceived. The Labour Appeal Court (LAC) in Rustenburg...
Why it’s important to plan for BEE
It is very important to keep in mind that Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) is not a once-off process but a continuous process that has to be implemented and monitored throughout the financial year. Required contributions The following elements require contributions to be made within the financial year: Skills Development Enterprise & Supplier Development Socio Economic Development If a contribution was not made in a financial year you will not be able to use it when you are...
Do you have a Soft Skills gap?
When employers consider training solutions for their employees, they often only focus on the technical competence and abilities pertaining to a specific set of skills or tasks. For example, employers will want their welders to improve their welding skills, or they will want to train their engineers to improve their engineering skills. These are referred to as ‘hard skills’. Subsequently they often overlook the benefits of developing their employees’ soft skills, which are critical in the...
Wondering how to comply with the POPI Act? Start here
The Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act will require organisations to be accountable in their personal information processing. Organisations will have to ensure that they comply with the conditions of lawful processing of personal information and all measures that gives effect to such at the time of determination of the purpose and means of the processing and during the processing itself. To demonstrate accountability, organisations have to interpret the legal requirements and...
A practical guide to: Handling damages caused by employees
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...
Data breaches and the notification thereof
With the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI) created to regulate the protection of personal information, an enormous impact is expected as South African businesses will soon be legally obligated to notify of any data breaches. What is expected from businesses faced with data breaches? The responsible party will have to notify the Information Regulator, as well as the data subject, should there be reasonable grounds to believe that the personal information of a data subject has been...
Is an employer obliged to pay bonuses to employees?
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...
Back to basics with Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment
South Africa was engaged in a racially segregated system called Apartheid from 1948 until 1994, where one’s race determined social, economic and political advantages and/ or disadvantages. In 1994, the first democratic government was elected in South Africa. This government implemented Broad-Based Black Econoic Empowerment (B-BBEE) in 2003/2004 as a racially selective program initiated to empower those previously disadvantaged groups. The B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice perpetuate in 2007 as an...
The Employer’s Guide to: Annual Leave
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...
Is the GDPR applicable to my business?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was enforced on 25 May 2018 by the European Union Law and was drafted to coordinate any previous and or current legislation in one document. This means that every resident of the European Union’s (EU) right to data privacy are protected under this regulations. Any law or regulation approved by the EU are in general applicable within the member states of the European Union. It must be emphasized that the GDPR is not a South African Law and that the...