Strikes and picketing now regulated to avoid disruption and chaos
The previous era of strikes and picketing was earmarked by serious disruption of businesses and chaos as a result of unregulated picketing by striking employees due to a lack of regulation. Government has now amended the Labour Relations Act (LRA), issued a new Code of Good Practice on collective bargaining, industrial action and picketing and regulations, which will hopefully regulate these issues more effectively in order to limit the severe disruption and chaos which ensued during strikes...
FAQ’S about Foreign Nationals working in South Africa
Who is a foreign national? A foreign national is any person is who not a national of the country in which he/she is residing. Who is a refugee? A refugee is a person who “flees “their country seeking protection in another country due to violence or harm which is taking place in their own country. Who may be employed? Any person who has a right to be in the Republic of South Africa and holds a valid work permit issued by the Department of Home Affairs. May I employee a Refugee? If a person has...
Dismissed because of religious observances
In the following case TDF Network Africa (Pty) Ltd v Faris (2019) 28 LAC 1.11.9, the employee referred to as Faris was employed as part of a graduate management program in 2011 and signed an employment contract in 2012. Faris said that she told the employer at the time of signing her employment contract that she was an Adventist and cannot work on the Sabbath, which was Saturday. She further stated in the case that she told one of the other managers that she could not work on a Saturday as she...
Your recourse to unfair Government tenders
More often than not, we are told by clients that they don’t see why they should be Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) compliant. They argue that it is an expensive process to become BEE compliant and they feel it is a worthless exercise and not worthwhile. If you have a good BEE scorecard to possibly qualify for tenders there are certainly prospects in exploring tender opportunities. To eliminate the unfairness of the awarding of tenders, companies should know that they have...
Prepaid service and CPA
Section 64 of the Consumer Protection Act, Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) provides that in the event that a consumer agrees to pay a once-off membership fee or an amount for access to services, in terms of which such services are provided at a date more than 25 business days after payment is made, such prepayment for services to be provided remains the property of the consumer until the full membership fee or amount has been used. In the event the facility that provides such services closes down, they...
Performance of duties – Who’s “work” is it?
An employee is appointed to perform certain tasks and to provide required results in exchange for remuneration. Original creation and/or work in any form and the rights the author have over that work is referred to as intellectual property. Intellectual property is protected by copyright or patent or other rights. The rights to intellectual property generally vest in the author thereof. So, how does it work if an employee creates something original during the performance of duties, is the...
Getting Smart With Enterprise & Supplier Development
It is important to ensure that you have your Enterprise & Supplier Development in place for your Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BEE) verification. Under the Codes of Good Practice generic scorecard, you are able to obtain 5 points under Enterprise Development and 10 points under Supplier Development. This is 15 points that can be guaranteed if you comply with the requirements. The first requirement is that the Enterprise, as well as the Supplier Development Beneficiary,...
Allegations Of Racism Is Racist In Itself
South Africa has a well-documented history of inequality and discrimination based on race. In an effort to correct the past injustices, the Constitution provides protection through the Bill of Rights which specifically dictates in Section 9 that no person shall be discriminated against based on race, among other listed grounds. As a result, the Employment Equity Act was adopted in order to give effect to this fundamental human right. It quickly became apparent that in the new dispensation, no...
Can Businesses Choose Between Compliance With GDPR Or POPI?
While the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI Act) was enacted as far back as 2013, many people are left to speculate as to when the commencement date shall be, as the one year grace period starts to run from the time of commencement thereof. As if this waiting game isn’t the cause of sufficient frustration with the provisions of the POPI Act, individuals, employers and business owners alike now have to become acquainted with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in order to...
The Commencement Of The Employment Relationship
There may be confusion as to when the employment relationship between the employer and the employee actually commence. The confusion is more around whether the employment relationship is being established at the undersigning of the employment contract, the offer of employment made to the applicant or the appointment letter issued by the employer. However, the question remains as to when this employment relationship actually commences. The definition of an employee according to the Labour...