by Ivan Israelstam | Aug 6, 2019 | CCMA, Labour Brokers, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act
Labour brokers and temp. agencies employ hundreds of thousands of people in South Africa and are referred to in the LRA as “temporary employment services” (TES). Many of these employers have not fully realised that the labour laws applying to other employers apply...
by Ivan Israelstam | Aug 6, 2019 | CCMA, Labour Relations Act, Retrenchments, Unfair Dismissals
Many employers, when considering dismissal, do not mind taking into account the fact that the guilty employee has long service. However, having weighed this against the seriousness of the offence and aggravating factors, the employer should be allowed, within reason,...
by Ivan Israelstam | Jul 25, 2019 | CCMA, Employees, Labour Law, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act
Making unsupported allegations of unfairness against employers can be costly. This is partly because the CCMA, Labour Court, Labour Appeal Court and bargaining councils deal with approximately 180 000 cases per year and do not have time to waste on dealing with false...
by Ivan Israelstam | Jul 25, 2019 | CCMA, Disciplinary Hearing, Discipline Costs, Labour Law
Some time ago I was asked by an employer to assist with preparing for a Labour Court review case. The employer had dismissed the employee for theft but the CCMA had forced the employer to reinstate him. I was puzzled by the CCMA’s decision because, on discussing the...
by Ivan Israelstam | Jun 28, 2019 | CCMA, Corporate, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act
Can the employer discipline an employee twice for the same incident of misconduct? Under exceptional circumstances, a second disciplinary process might be justified if the employer is able to present evidence that: is new and has therefore not been presented at the...
by Ivan Israelstam | Jun 21, 2019 | CCMA, Contracts, Employees, Job Grading, Labour Relations Act
South African employers often lose at CCMA and bargaining councils in cases relating to fixed-term contracts. A key reason for this is that employers do not understand the legal purpose of fixed-term contracts and the circumstances under which they are safe to...
by Ivan Israelstam | Jun 13, 2019 | #UnfairTreatment, CCMA, Employees, Labour Law, Labour Relations Act, Unfair Dismissals
The lodging of complaints by staff cannot be used as grounds for alleging incompatibility or dismissing employees. In the case of Jabari vs Telkom SA (Pty) Ltd (2006, 10 BLLR 924) the Labour Court, in explaining the nature of workplace incompatibility, highlighted...
by Ivan Israelstam | Jun 7, 2019 | Employees, Labour Law, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act, Labour Unions South Africa
It is inherent in the nature of employment relationships that, as the employer is paying the employee for his services, he/she is obliged to be loyal to the employer and to devote his/her efforts to the interests of the employer. The employee should, therefore, carry...
by Ivan Israelstam | May 23, 2019 | #UnfairTreatment, Employees, Labour Law, Labour Relations Act, Unfair Dismissals
It seems obvious to employers that, if an employee is arrested by the police he has ‘dismissed himself’. However, this mistaken belief is born from wishful thinking. Reasons for such wishful thinking may include: The employer fears having a criminal at the workplace...
by Ivan Israelstam | May 9, 2019 | Employees, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act
The most important reason for employing people is the need for their skills. The question is whether the money expended in order to acquire and retain these employee skills should be seen as an expense or as an investment. Most frequently employers consider the money...
