Consent is not a simple answer to POPI legislation
Consent, as one of the justification grounds for lawful processing of information, can frequently be interpreted as meaning that one simply needs to obtain a “yes” from a data subject. This is not the case. The Responsible Party will always bear the burden of proof in that consent has been properly obtained from the data subject. The business must keep proper records in order to prove that the consent was obtained. The concept of consent can be complex and found in a variety of sections of the...
A Brief Guideline To Procedural Fairness
Procedural fairness may be regarded as the “rights of the employee” in respect to the procedure to be followed during the disciplinary process. Employers should always ensure that they follow the correct procedure when dismissing employees. Even if there are good reasons for dismissal, such as theft or any other gross misconduct, an employer is still required to follow a fair procedure which includes providing the employee with an opportunity to state their case. Catching an employee...
Consumers Rights When It Comes To Direct Marketing
We have all received the unwanted unknown caller phone calls and answered it thinking “what if it is an emergency of a family member etc.” only to be pestered by the unwanted direct marketing calls. These days, one can install an application on your mobile, to identify spam and/or marketing calls, but it seems that the marketing companies have multiple numbers from which they phone and all of them have not been blocked on these applications. There are a few things that you should know as a...
Compensation Fund New Assessment Model
On 16 October 2018, the South African Department of Labour issued Government Notice No. 1105 regarding the implementation of the Compensation Fund’s New Assessment Model. Currently the Compensation Fund assess employers on the basis of the industry they operate in, and are assigned a specific assessment class for the basis of determining their liability to the fund. The existing 102 sub classes will be mapped into 6 new main classes. The Compensation Fund is of the opinion that the new...
Consent is not a simple answer to POPI legislation
Consent, as one of the justification grounds for lawful processing of information, can frequently be interpreted as meaning that one simply needs to obtain a “yes” from a data subject. This is not the case. The Responsible Party will always bear the burden of proof in that consent has been properly obtained from the data subject. The business must keep proper records in order to prove that the consent was obtained. The concept of consent can be complex and found in a variety of sections of the...
The impact of discrimination in the workplace
Workplace discrimination is defined as a work environment that exhibits bias or discriminatory behaviour in the treatment of the employees based on a number of varying factors, such as marital status, gender, pregnancy, sexual preference, race, colour, nationality, disability, belief, or age. Such discrimination occurs at all stages and levels within an organisation, from employment to retrenchment, and from remuneration to assigning of job responsibilities. Discrimination in the workplace can...
Misconduct during after-hours work functions
It is that time of the year when employers start planning for the company’s Year-End Function. Unfortunately, you will always have that small group of employees who consume too much alcohol and gather enough courage to air their grievances with management or colleagues. These confrontations often end in physical fights or verbal abuse in plain sight of other employees or members of the public. Employers and employees are often under the impression that if an employee misbehaves outside normal...
Employers Must Be As Constant As The Northern Star
Employers are often faced with allegations of being inconsistent in the application of a rule, be it late-coming or negligence or any other form of misconduct. As per Schedule 8 in the Code of Good Practice – Dismissal, in order to succeed with a substantively fair dismissal for misconduct, an employer must be able to satisfy the following questions in the affirmative: Is there a rule? Did the employee contravene the rule? Was the employee aware, or could reasonably have been expected to be...
The Tendering Process in South Africa
A tender refers to the process whereby governments invites bids for large projects that must be submitted within a prescribed deadline. During this process, an offer, bid, proposal or expressing interest in response to an invitation are made. It is important for all potential bidders to familiarize themselves with the tender process and principles in South Africa. The process includes attending briefing sessions, reading the whole tender document, ensure you take note of the closing date and...
Employer’s guide to Unemployment Insurance Fund
Employers are of the view that registration at the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) is voluntary and are usually faced with interest and penalties payable by them for non-compliance or non-payment. The purpose of the fund is to give short-term relief to employees or their dependents when they become unemployed or are unable to work for a certain period. Who must register? All employers must register directly with the UIF unless they are required to register as employers under the Income Tax...