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...
Definition Of Small Businesses Revised
The government’s commitment to place Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME) and Co-operatives at the center of economic growth and job creation has been given a long awaiting boost by key amendments to the National Small Enterprise Act 2004 (Act no 29 of 2004). The definition of a “Small Enterprise” has been amended now by the deletion of the words, “very small” from the previous definition. The schedule to the Act and definition has also been amended the exclusion of the “very small”...
Selling Your Car – What does the CPA Say?
The introduction of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) has brought about a lot of confusion in the second-hand goods industry, in particular, second-hand vehicles. In this article, we will look at how the court assessed the impact of the CPA on second-hand vehicle sales in the case of Ncc Vs Western Car Sales Cc T/A Western Car Sales (2017). Ms Van Lil purchased a second hand vehicle with high mileage, which started exhibiting problems a week after purchase. Western Car Sales CC t/a...
Interesting Changes to the Future of B-BBEE
On 29 March 2018 the minister of Trade and Industry announced another amendment to the amended codes of good practice. As it stands, EME and QSE entities which is at least 51% Black Owned or even 100% Black Owned qualifies for an automatic level 2 or 1 when their turnovers respectively does not exceed R10 million of R50 million per annum. They are thus exempt to comply on the rest of the 4 elements bases on their ownership percentage. The new announced amendment gives to all generic...
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...
Double Jeopardy – When Can Employers Have Two Bites Of The Cherry?
An overview of circumstances permitting fair deviation from the principle of double jeopardy Double jeopardy is the generally accepted principle adopted from criminal law and applied in employment law, that dictates that an employee cannot be disciplined twice for an offence which he / she has been found guilty or acquitted of. The standard to which employers are held in convening disciplinary enquiries is that of fairness, which is to be viewed from the perspectives of both employers and...
POPI Regulations: Consent to direct marketing
The Information Regulator has tabled the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Regulations in Parliament on 03 December 2018 and the Regulations were published in the Government Gazette on 14 December 2018. The new POPI regulations have an impact on processing personal information for the purpose of direct marketing. Regulation 6 stipulates that a responsible party who wishes to process personal information of a data subject for the purpose of direct marketing by electronic communication,...
The Employers Guide to: Writing An Employment Reference
Employers are often unsure about how to write an employment reference - what to say, what not to say and what can be said. Employment references play a significant role in the labour market, given the fact that there are currently more prospective job applicants than employment opportunities. In this guide: What is an employment reference?What should be on an employment reference? (list)What is its purpose?What's the purpose of a probation period?What must you write in a reference? 1. Is an...
Five things you can do today to improve your business’s HR function
#1: Sort out your employment contracts Ensure you have a proper and relevant employment contract on record for each employee in your service. #2: Back up your data and files to the cloud If you don’t already have one, you must get a proper cloud-based storage solution for all your HR documentation, employee misconduct records, personnel files, and other administrative records. #3: Add a careers@yourbusiness email address to your website footer A simple step such as a dedicated...
Seminar On The Consumer Redress System
The Consumer and Corporate Regulations Division (CCRD) at the Department of Trade and Industry held a seminar on 4 & 5 March 2019 at the office of the National Consumer Commission (NCC) to discuss consumer redress issues in the South African motor industry. Key role players, including SEESA, implicated in the process of consumer complaints handling were invited in order to share strategies and mechanisms on how the current system can be made more effective. Great emphasis was placed...