July 2022 LABOUR BRIEF NO. 451 For a long time, it was believed that the effect of a retrospective rule amendment to benefits that had accrued before the amendment was approved and registered by the Registrar of Pension Funds (Registrar) was settled in our law. The decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in…
Category: Labour Briefs
Employment contract automatically terminated? Not so fast…
June 2022 LABOUR BRIEF NO. 450 In Mashabela v Octaves Security Services [2022] 31 CCMA 7.1.9, also reported as [2022] 4 BALR 393 (CCMA), Mr Motshele Lawrence Mashabela (applicant), who was employed as a security supervisor – without a written contract of employment – by Octaves Security Services (respondent), referred an unfair dismissal dispute to…
Violence and harassment in the workplace – Beyond sexual harassment
April 2022 LABOUR BRIEF NO. 448 The Code of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the Workplace (the Code) became effective on 18 March 2022. While there have been moves from the legislature to combat violence and harassment in the workplace, in many respects, the South African legislative framework…
COVID-19 versus the Common Law: States of Disaster won’t jettison an employer’s contractual obligations
March 2022 LABOUR BRIEF NO. 447 In 2020, the Labour Court handed down judgment in the matter of MacSteel vs. NUMSA, which held that a company could apply the no-work-no-pay principle to employees who did not or could not work during periods of ‘hard lockdown’ due to COVID-19. As per Judge Prinsloo:” The reality in…
If it happened to them, it could happen to you – Lessons from the Information Regulator
February 2022 LABOUR BRIEF NO. 446 A business’ operations can be brought to a standstill if it experiences a data breach – a reality which is becoming more and more familiar. Section 22 of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) requires responsible parties to notify both the Information Regulator and the…
Guidelines of an Employer Makes Vaccination Mandatory
November 2021 LABOUR BRIEF NO. 445 1. These guidelines are intended to guide employers, employer organisations, employees, trade unions, conciliators, arbitrators and the courts in determining the fairness of a mandatory vaccination policy and its implementation. 2. These guidelines deal with the key aspects of a policy requiring mandatory vaccination in the workplace. The guidelines…
Comply or be liable for damages: How employers can ensure compliance with POPIA
October 2021 LABOUR BRIEF NO. 444 The Personal Protection of Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) came into effect on 1 July 2020, and responsible parties have been granted a grace period of 12 months (30 June 2021), to ensure compliance with POPIA. The nature of the civil liability created in terms of section 99(1)…
POPIA and the Disclosure of an Employees Vaccination Status
September 2021 LABOUR BRIEF NO. 443 The Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) provides for the protection of personal information processed by public and private bodies. Whilst POPIA defines personal information, it also creates another category termed ‘special personal information’. POPIA defines ‘personal information’ as information relating to: Living natural persons and…
But You Were Employed!
August 2021 LABOUR BRIEF NO. 442 Understanding whether attaining employment after a dismissal precludes an employee from receiving full back pay. Does the fact that a dismissed employee obtained employment immediately after their dismissal preclude them from receiving full back pay as a consequence of a finding that their dismissal was unfair? This is the…
Beware who disciplines and dismisses a deemed employee
August 2021 LABOUR BRIEF NO. 441 Many employers are all too aware of the potential pitfalls associated with engaging deemed employees, i.e., employees who earn less than the annual earnings threshold set by the Minister of Employment and Labour from time to time, which is currently R211,596.30 and who, in terms of section 198A(3)(b) of…
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