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It is fairly common practice to allow employees to work beyond their retirement age. But what if such employees want to hang on to their job indefinitely? And to what extent are post-retirement employees protected against unfair dismissal?
A new Code of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Harassment, came into effect on 18 March 2022. The Code, issued in terms of the Employment Equity Act (EEA), replaces the previous Code of Good Practice on Handling Sexual Harassment cases in the Workplace.
The basis of every employment relationship is a contract of employment. As the parties are bound by the contract, careful thought should be given to the specific terms and conditions. But how much information should be included and how flexible can it be?
When employers restructure in order to improve efficiencies, it leads to redundancies. Redundancies can lead to retrenchment, but not necessarily. This is where employers often get it wrong.
When it comes to retrenchment, employers tend to make the mistake of announcing their decision to retrench before consulting with the affected employees or their union. Confronting employees with a fait accompli can be fatal to the process. But does this mean that an employer may not form any opinion before consulting?
People may no longer be prosecuted for cultivating, possessing and using small amounts of dagga for private purposes. But what are the consequences for the workplace?
Employers must exercise their disciplinary powers in a consistent manner. The primary reason for requiring employers to act consistently when instituting disciplinary action or meting out disciplinary sanctions, is to ensure that they do not act arbitrarily. In other words, like cases must be treated alike.
May an employer deviate from disciplinary procedures in misconduct cases?
Special care must be taken before dismissing an employee due to disability. What guidelines should one follow if there’s doubt?
The distinction between incapacity due to ill health (‘medical incapacity’) and disability is from both a practical and legal perspective one of the most difficult situations for an employer to manage.
Question: May a chairperson in a disciplinary hearing rely only on written statements?
Arbitrators will look at the following factors when deciding whether or not a dismissal for ill health was fair.
The issue of ‘plea bargaining’ arises where there are several perpetrators involved in a disciplinary transgression. The employer needs one or more co-perpetrators to give evidence at the disciplinary hearing. Can one agree to a lesser sanction in return for his testimony against the alleged accomplices?
May employees on probation be dismissed for lesser forms of misconduct?
Where employees don’t do what is expected of them, the employer is often faced with a practical dilemma: Do I treat this as misconduct or incapacity?
The assumption is often made that people who do volunteer work are not employees. But are volunteers protected by labour legislation?
Drafting a proper disciplinary notice can be frustrating. Many employers would simply pass the responsibility to external advisors. Yet, provided a few fundamentals are taken care of, there is no reason why managers could not do it themselves and leave only the most complicated cases for external parties to assist with.
Time spent travelling between clients and the workplace during the working day would normally be regarded as working time. But what about time spent travelling to work, or time spent at the workplace before commencing with normal daily tasks?
Question: Are tea intervals paid or unpaid?
Question: Does annual leave accrue during maternity leave?