Reply To: CAN EMPLOYEES IGNORE AUTOMATIC TRANSFER UNDER SECTION 197?

[Ingrid Lewin]

Very very debatable!!! Anna makes a very valid point. Possibly the answer may lie in which entity benefitted from the employee’s work …… the municipality or the Province? Section 197 is there to protect the employees. If the old employer chooses to continue to accept and benefit from the tender of their services post transfer, surely the old employer is still liable. The new employer cannot be held responsible if it does not benefit from the work done by these employees or if they did not “assist in carrying on or conducting their business. The definition of an employee in the LRA namely an employee is any person other than an independent contractor who works for another person or for the State and who receives, or is entitled to receive, any remuneration also includes any person who assists in carrying on or conducting the business of an employer.