DISCIPLINARY ENQUIRIES NEED THOROUGH PREPARATION

DISCIPLINARY ENQUIRIES NEED THOROUGH PREPARATION

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...
DON’T DISCIPLINE EMPLOYEES TWICE FOR THE SAME OFFENCE

DON’T DISCIPLINE EMPLOYEES TWICE FOR THE SAME OFFENCE

South African labour law requires all discipline to be corrective rather than punitive. When an employer disciplines an employee twice for the very same incident of misconduct the CCMA is likely to see this as punitive. It is only under highly exceptional...
THE RISK OF USING FIXED-TERM CONTRACTS FOR PERMANENT POSITIONS

THE RISK OF USING FIXED-TERM CONTRACTS FOR PERMANENT POSITIONS

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...
VICTIMISATION VS INCOMPATABILITY

VICTIMISATION VS INCOMPATABILITY

Employees who lodge grievances OR CCMA disputes are too often victimized for exercising their rights. Such victimization often takes the form of dismissals for incompatibility. A case in point is the one of Jabari vs Telkom SA (Pty) Ltd (2006, 10 BLLR 924). Here, the...
DON’T DELAY DISCIPLINE

DON’T DELAY DISCIPLINE

In order to optimise 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...
JAILED EMPLOYEES STILL HAVE RIGHTS

JAILED EMPLOYEES STILL HAVE RIGHTS

Dismissing employees who have been arrested can be dangerous.​ 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...