by Ivan Israelstam | Dec 18, 2019 | CCMA, Disciplinary Hearing, Labour Relations Act
A disciplinary warning is an oral or written statement made by an employer informing the employee that his/her conduct or performance level is not acceptable and that any further failure to meet the required standards will result in stronger measures being taken. In...
by Ivan Israelstam | Dec 18, 2019 | CCMA, Disciplinary Hearing, Discipline Costs, Labour Law, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act
What rights do employers have to discipline employees for misconduct perpetrated outside the workplace? While employers have very few rights under the Labour Relations Act (LRA) they do have the right to discipline and even to dismiss employees for work-related...
by Ivan Israelstam | Dec 18, 2019 | CCMA, Labour Law, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act
It has become a practice by employers to insert automatic termination clauses into employment contracts for reasons including the following: The employer and employee might agree that should the employee cease to be a shareholder or a director, his/her contract of...
by Ivan Israelstam | Nov 22, 2019 | CCMA, Employees, Labour Law, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act, Unfair Dismissals
Angry employers too often fire employees on the spot for having broken workplace rules, or for doing poor work. This is understandable in circumstances where the employee has seriously messed up a business deal, damaged equipment, lost crucial information, committed a...
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...
