by Ivan Israelstam | Mar 19, 2019 | CCMA, Employees, Labour Law, Unfair Dismissals
Africa Business Radio Podcast Have you dismissed an employee for poor performance, only to have to defend your action at the CCMA? Many employers lose such cases at the CCMA, even when they have substantive evidence for the dismissal. Listen to Ivan Israelstam unpack...
by Ivan Israelstam | Mar 8, 2019 | CCMA, Labour Relations Act, Retrenchments, Unfair Dismissals
The number of retrenchments occurring in South Africa is alarmingly high. The law, therefore, requires that: The employer follows a fair procedure aimed at an attempt to find alternatives to retrenchment. This involves good faith consultations with the employees...
by Ivan Israelstam | Jan 31, 2019 | Labour Law, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act, Retrenchments
It is contentious as to whether second generation outsourcing falls under section 197 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA), which is the law protecting employees when a business or a part thereof is taken over. In the case of SAA vs Aviation Union of SA obo Barnes, the...
by Ivan Israelstam | Nov 6, 2018 | CCMA, Employees, Labour Law, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act
Employers demote employees fairly frequently. This could be for any number of legitimate, and illegitimate, reasons including: The boss dislikes the employee The employee has broken a rule The employee’s work performance is unsatisfactory The boss wants to create a...
by Ivan Israelstam | Nov 6, 2018 | Labour Law
Employers frequently misuse probation agreements to get rid of employees instantly because: The employee has committed misconduct The employer wants to make space for a friend or cousin of the owner The employee ‘does not fit in’ A manager ‘does not like the...
by Ivan Israelstam | Oct 23, 2018 | Employees, Labour Law, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act
It is a common and erroneous belief amongst employers that they protect themselves by employing staff without a letter or contract. In fact, the converse is true. The law does not make signed employment contracts compulsory but, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act...
by Ivan Israelstam | Oct 23, 2018 | Employees, Labour Law for Employers, Labour Relations Act
Absenteeism is the most problematic form of misconduct because it reduces productivity. Most employers, therefore, require employees who are absent from work due to alleged illness or injury to provide proof, in the form of a medical certificate, that they were...
by Ivan Israelstam | Oct 23, 2018 | Employees, Labour Law, Labour Law for Employers, Retrenchments
While all retrenchments are painful and often devastating for employees, it is normal for employers to retrench employees after serious losses have been incurred as the employer can no longer afford to pay their salaries. It can also happen that those executives...
by Ivan Israelstam | Oct 23, 2018 | Employees, Labour Law, Labour Law for Employers
Section 6(1) of the Employment Equity Act (EEA) prohibits employers from unfairly discriminating, directly or indirectly, against an employee on numerous grounds, including gender and sex. In my view, gender discrimination occurs, for example, where the employer...
by Ivan Israelstam | Aug 30, 2018 | CCMA, Labour Law for Employers
Employers too often try to remove their older employees from employment in order to ‘make way for new blood’, or because such employees sometimes move more slowly or ‘do not fit in’. However, such employees are protected by the Employment Equity Act (EEA), which...
