by Ivan Israelstam | Aug 31, 2015 | Uncategorised
The provisions of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) make the implementation of retrenchment difficult and turns large scale retrenchments a nightmare for employers. Section 189 of the LRA lays down a number of strict requirements, the breach of which would normally place...
by Ivan Israelstam | Aug 24, 2015 | Uncategorised
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 17, 2015 | Uncategorised
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 | Aug 11, 2015 | Uncategorised
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 approximately180 000 cases per year and do not have time to waste on dealing with false...
by Ivan Israelstam | Aug 3, 2015 | CCMA, Labour Law, Labour Law for Employers, Retrenchments
Some time ago 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 case...
by Ivan Israelstam | Jul 27, 2015 | Uncategorised
Can the employer can discipline an employee twice for the very 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...
by Ivan Israelstam | Jul 20, 2015 | Uncategorised
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 | Jul 13, 2015 | Uncategorised
The lodging of complaints by staff can be used as grounds neither for alleging incompatibility nor for 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...
by Ivan Israelstam | Jul 7, 2015 | Uncategorised
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 | Jun 29, 2015 | Uncategorised
In order to optomise the corrective effect of discipline it needs to be implemented as swiftly as possible. This does not mean that the disciplinary process must be carried out hastily. It does mean that, psychologically and legally, unnecessary delays must be...
