by Ivan Israelstam | Sep 18, 2020 | Alcohol consumption, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act, Tools, Unfair Dismissals
In the case of NUMSA obo Davids vs Bosal Africa (Pty) Ltd (1999 10 BALR 1240) the employee was dismissed for being under the influence of alcohol at work. The facts proved that there were no actual consequences of the employee working while under the influence of...
by Ivan Israelstam | Sep 4, 2020 | CCMA, Discipline Costs, Labour Court, Labour Law Debate with Ivan Israelstam, Labour Relations Act
Where the employer fails to attend an arbitration hearing the arbitrator is entitled to continue without the employer unless the arbitrator is aware of an acceptable reason for the employer’s absence. As the arbitrator has little or no way of testing the truth of the...
by Ivan Israelstam | Aug 28, 2020 | CCMA, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act, Unfair Dismissals
Dishonesty has traditionally been seen as a serious offence and one that could render an employment relationship intolerable. This is because dishonesty damages the ability of the employer to trust the employee. The Code of Good Practice: Dismissal (The Code)...
by Ivan Israelstam | Aug 25, 2020 | CCMA, COVID-19, Labour Court, Labour Relations Act, Retrenchments
Retrenchments are a big part of the new normal, but this does not give employers the licence to retrench at will. When an employer contemplates retrenching employees it is strictly required by the Labour Relations Act (LRA) to consult first about this prospect before...
by Ivan Israelstam | Aug 14, 2020 | Labour Law, POPI ACT, POPI Compliant, Tools
South Africa’s Constitution gives every person the right to privacy and requires that legislation be promulgated to implement this right. As a result, the Protection of Personal Information Act of 2013 (POPI) was drawn up but did not come into effect for seven years...
by Ivan Israelstam | Jul 31, 2020 | Contracts, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act, Labour Unions South Africa, Strikes
The loss of production and of customers is usually the first consequence of a strike. However, indirect strike costs incurred later can be just as serious. In the case of NUM and others vs Chrober Slate (Pty) Ltd (2008, 3 BLLR 287) the mine dismissed its quarry...
by Ivan Israelstam | Jul 24, 2020 | CCMA, Illegal Workers, Labour Court, Labour Law, Labour Relations Act, Unfair Dismissals
Lack of awareness of Constitutional and labour law protections of employees from foreign countries has prompted many employers to mistreat illegally employed staff. That is, employers have paid illegal immigrants low wages, deprived them of employee benefits and have...
by Ivan Israelstam | Jul 13, 2020 | CCMA, Labour Court, Labour Relations Act, Sexual Harassment, Unfair Dismissals
In the case of Maepe vs Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration & another (CLL Vol. 17 June 2008) a senior commissioner at the CCMA was brought to a disciplinary hearing on charges of sexual harassment and improper or disgraceful conduct. A CCMA...
by Ivan Israelstam | Jul 2, 2020 | CCMA, Labour Court, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act, Unfair Dismissals
In addition to Corona it is cold and flu season resulting in work falling behind just when businesses are trying to recover from the lockdown. The challenge for employers is to distinguish the genuine cases of illness from those where employees are just sick of...
by Ivan Israelstam | Jun 18, 2020 | CCMA, COVID-19, Labour Court, Labour Law for Employers
A while ago I received a panic phone call from an employer who had received an unfavourable arbitration award in respect of a CCMA case they never knew existed. That is, the employer had never received a summons to appear at the CCMA. The award required the employer...
