What is Section 77 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and How Does It Protect Your Contractual Rights?
Introduction If you are an employee in South Africa, you may have heard of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 (BCEA), which is a law that regulates the minimum standards of employment, such as working hours, leave, remuneration, termination and more. But did you know that the BCEA also gives you the […]
The Constitutional Court’s Clarification on the Use of Replacement Labour during Lockouts
Introduction The recent Constitutional Court case of National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa v Trenstar (Pty) Ltd [2023] ZACC 11 has provided clarity on the use of replacement labour during lockouts. The conflict created by the decisions of Ntimane & others v Agrinet t/a Vetsak (Pty) Ltd (1999) 20 ILJ 896 (LC) and SACCAWU […]
Transfer of Businesses as a Going Concern: What Business Owners Need to Know
Introduction In today’s fast-paced business environment, transfers of businesses as a going concern are becoming increasingly common. The recent Labour Court judgment [Numsa obo Members and Others v AIH Logistics (Pty) Ltd and Another (D 1112/19) [2023] ZALCD 2 (27 January 2023)] has shed light on what constitutes a bona fide transfer of a business […]
The issue of mandatory vaccinations in the workplace
The issue of mandatory vaccinations in the workplace is an interesting one. Earlier this month, New Zealand announced a ‘no jab, no job’ policy for most healthcare workers and teachers to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Doctors, nurses, and other frontline health workers must be double-jabbed by 1 December while any person working […]
Medical Malpractice – Negligence Explained
Medical negligence is defined as the failure to act with the same amount of care that a medical professional would have acted with in the same circumstances. Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action that occurs when a medical – or health care professional deviates from the standards of his or her profession, which […]
Prescription in Medical Negligence Claims
When does prescription begin to run? We see that subject to the provisions of subsections (2), (3) and (4) of section 12 of the 1969 Prescription Act, extinctive prescription in respect of a medical negligence right of action begins to run ‘as soon as the debt is due’. According to John Saner SC, it is […]
What is an Unlawful Arrest?
What is an unlawful arrest in South Africa? Law enforcement members such as officers or officials of the South African Police Service (SAPS) or Metro Police are not allowed to arrest a person or just take a person into custody whenever they feel like it – they must have probable cause to make an arrest. […]
Calculation of Employee’s Remuneration
GN 691 OF 23 MAY 2003: CALCULATION OF EMPLOYEE’S REMUNERATION IN TERMS OF SECTION 35 (5) OF THE ACT (BCEA) With compliments from the Department of Labour… The Minister of Labour has determined, in Government Notice 691 dated 23rd May 2003, that the following method of calculating employee’s remuneration for the purposes of annual leave […]
Overpayments
What happens in the event of overpayments toward employees by the employer? In terms of section 35(5) of the BCEA, we see that an employer may not require or permit an employee to repay any remuneration except for overpayments previously made by the employer resulting from an error in calculating the employee’s remuneration. The Labour […]
What is a Benefit?
Sadly, there is no definition of a “benefit” in the Labour Relations Act, No. 66 of 1995 (LRA). Over the years the Labour Court and the Labour Appeal Court have had to try to make sense of this term and there have been many and varied interpretations. Earlier decisions made a distinction between remuneration and […]