by Ivan Israelstam | Nov 22, 2019 | CCMA, Employees, Labour Relations Act, Unfair Dismissals
Employers frequently suspect that serious misconduct has occurred but are unable to prove which employee or employees are responsible. Some case law has given the impression that, in such circumstances, group dismissals may be justified. This impression has been...
by Ivan Israelstam | Nov 8, 2019 | CCMA, Employees, Labour Law, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act, Retrenchments
Occasionally employees misbehave or misperform because they do not want to work and prefer to get fired. However, in my experience, this is more the exception than the rule. More often, consistent poor conduct or poor performance reflects management that is either...
by Ivan Israelstam | Oct 17, 2019 | Corporate, Government, Labour Unions South Africa
South Africa has a high-level forum where, amongst other things, legislation regarding labour and economic development issues is debated and formed in preparation for enactment in Parliament. This body, called NEDLAC (the National Economic Development and Labour...
by Ivan Israelstam | Oct 17, 2019 | CCMA, Corporate, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act, Tools
The CCMA has issued a set of guidelines on Misconduct Arbitrations in terms of the provisions of the Labour Relations Act (LRA). These guidelines are directed at arbitrators presiding over hearings where unfair dismissals due to misconduct are being claimed. The...
by Ivan Israelstam | Oct 17, 2019 | CCMA, Disciplinary Hearing, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act, Unfair Dismissals
Employees who report employers for committing illegal or otherwise irregular acts are protected, in the first instance, by the Constitution of South Africa. Specifically, section 16 of the Bill of Rights gives everyone the right to freedom of expression and to impart...
by Ivan Israelstam | Oct 17, 2019 | Contracts, Labour Law for Employers, Retrenchments, Unfair Dismissals
It is very easy to employ a worker on the basis of a fixed-term contract. However, it is when you want to end the employment relationship that the pain begins. The employer’s need to terminate the contract could have a number of different reasons. For example, during...
by Ivan Israelstam | Oct 14, 2019 | CCMA, Corporate, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act, Labour Unions South Africa
In 1995 the old Labour Relations Act promulgated in 1956 was scrapped by the new ANC government. The old act was considered by the new government and the trade unions as failing to provide sufficient protection for employees. By 1995 South Africa’s new constitution...
by Ivan Israelstam | Sep 19, 2019 | CCMA, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act, Unfair Dismissals
Case law reveals countless reasons given by CCMA arbitrators for an employer’s dismissal decision to be deemed unfair. For example, in the case of Moloi vs Quthing Construction and Developers CK (2007, 8 BALR 720) the accused was given a final warning after he had...
by Ivan Israelstam | Sep 11, 2019 | CCMA, Contracts, Employees, Labour Law, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act, Labour Unions South Africa
South African labour law is a minefield riddled with endless hidden dangers. That is, there are numerous labour acts, regulations, codes and determinations that are mainly focussed on protecting employees. Some of these provisions are so incomplete or vague that they...
by Ivan Israelstam | Sep 9, 2019 | CCMA, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act
Many employers like using ‘dereliction of duty’ as a disciplinary charge when they want to inflict strong punishment on employees because: the phrase ‘dereliction of duty’ has a serious and damaging ring to it; and the penalty for a first offence of gross dereliction...
