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...
by Ivan Israelstam | Sep 9, 2019 | CCMA, Labour Law, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act, Unfair Dismissals
At a disciplinary hearing, the chairperson should reject evidence that is legally inadmissible. One type of evidence that may be ruled inadmissible is when it’s hearsay. This occurs, for example, where the person placing the evidence before the presiding officer is...
by Ivan Israelstam | Sep 9, 2019 | CCMA, Disciplinary Hearing, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act, Unfair Dismissals
The existing and pending new legislation necessitates that management obtain labour law expertise. In the case of NUFAWSA obo Matiti vs Svencraft cc (2007, 3 BALR 220) the employee, a shop steward was dismissed for dishonest use of sick leave. The arbitrator found...
by Ivan Israelstam | Aug 26, 2019 | Labour Law, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act, Uncategorised, Unfair Dismissals
‘One day as I was upon a stair I met a man who wasn’t there He wasn’t there again today I wish that man would go away’ Anonymous Employers rely heavily on the presence at work of their employees in order to get the work done. It is therefore a major source of...
by Ivan Israelstam | Aug 6, 2019 | CCMA, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act, Retrenchments, Unfair Dismissals
The provisions of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) make the implementation of retrenchment difficult and turns large scale retrenchments into a nightmare for employers. Section 189 of the LRA lays down a number of strict requirements, the breach of which would normally...
