Employment and Labour Law

Article courtesy of Law Dot News | Employment and Labour Law - Alcohol at Work Alcohol at Work: The Cough Mixture Defence “The employer shall ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, that all persons who may be directly affected by his activities are not thereby exposed to hazards to their health or safety.” (Occupational Health and Safety Act) TheRead more

“Raising kids is part joy and part guerilla warfare.” (Ed Asner, actor with a great sense of humour!) A game-changing judgment from our Constitutional Court sets out new rules for parental leave. The joy of becoming parents, and a father’s leave dilemma The birth of a couple’s first child presented them with both a bundle of joy and a practical

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“Forewarned is forearmed.” (Wise old proverb) Government keeps assuring us that the long-delayed AARTO (Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences) system will finally begin its full national rollout on 1 December 2025. Is this another false start or the real thing this time? There have been so many false starts to AARTO over the last fifteen years that many of

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Article courtesy of Law Dot News | Employment Law | Labour Law Honesty at Work: A 50c Coin Costs a Bank Teller Her Job “There’s no trust, no faith, no honesty in men.” (William Shakespeare, in Romeo and Juliet) A recent Labour Court decision is a stark reminder to employees that an employment relationship is founded on trust, and thatRead more

Article courtesy of Law Dot News | Employment Law | Labour Law - Normal Retirement Age What’s the Normal Retirement Age? “When cognitive capacities are the focus, the 70s are the new 50s.” (IMF) Fake news articles suggesting that South Africa was implementing a new standard retirement age policy, supposedly from 30 May this year, recently went viral on socialRead more

Article courtesy of Law Dot News | Employment and Labour Law - Restraint of Trade Restraint of Trade Gone Wrong “The legal principles, as I understand them, do not confer on me the powers of Father Christmas. I cannot rescue the un-rescuable.” (Quoted in the judgment below) We all want loyal, competent staff who remain motivated to stay with usRead more

Article courtesy of Law Dot News | Employment & Labour Law - Fixed Term Contracts Fixed Term Contracts: A Guide for Employers and Employees It’s vital for both employers and employees to understand the practical and legal differences between permanent and fixed term employment arrangements. What is a fixed term contract? A fixed term contract is a temporary employment arrangementRead more

From 1 April 2025, the earnings threshold under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) will increase, impacting not only the BCEA but also employee protections under the Labour Relations Act (LRA) and Employment Equity Act (EEA). Broadly speaking, employees earning less than the threshold amount are entitled to stronger labour protections. The new threshold The threshold rises by only 2.9% this

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Article courtesy of Law Dot News | Employment and Labour Law - Minimum Wage New National Minimum Wage The National Minimum Wage (NMW) for each “ordinary hour worked” has been increased from 1 March 2025 by 4.4% from R27,58 per hour to R28,79 per hour. Domestic workers: Assuming a work month of 22 days x 8 hours per day, R28,79Read more

Article courtesy of Law Dot News | Employers - Severance Pay on Retrenchment Employers: How to Avoid Paying Severance Pay on Retrenchment “Only in our dreams are we free; the rest of the time we need wages.” (Terry Pratchett) Retrenching employees can be an expensive business. You’ll have to pay each employee a minimum of one week’s pay for eachRead more