Tag: employee dismissal

Workplace bullying transcends mere professional misconduct; it is a violation of human rights that undermines employee dignity and wellbeing. Bullying manifests in various forms - verbal, emotional, psychological and even through passive-aggressive behaviours such as exclusion and gossip. In South Africa, the implications of workplace bullying extend beyond moral concerns, as it infringes on constitutional rights.

It’s the law. If you are absent from work for more than two consecutive days, or more than twice within eight weeks, you have to provide a doctor’s note to your employer, according to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA).

On 10 October 2023, we published our article titled "the importance of a complete record of arbitration proceedings" in a review application wherein the Labour Court dealt with the importance of and requirement for it to be provided with a full and proper record in review proceedings.

Whether an employee may be dismissed if he/she misrepresented his/her qualifications and/or professional memberships, but nevertheless met the minimum requirements of the position to which he/she was appointed.

New York Times bestselling author Ben Mezrich pulls back the curtain on the most volatile, complex, and bizarre corporate takeover in history: Elon Musk’s acquisition and subsequent occupation of Twitter.

Employers regularly suspend employees from duty. This is done in a variety of circumstances for numerous reasons that may include one form of suspension is a temporary lay-off of employees due to operational circumstances.

In a recent Labour Court judgment in the case of South African Revenue Services vs CCMA and Others, the court found the dismissal of an employee who was dishonest about his sick leave, to be substantively fair. In reaching its decision, the court made reference to the Woolworths v CCMA and Others case where an employee was dismissed after he applied for sick leave and but it was later established that he had travelled to support his local rugby team.

With so many people using different platforms to connect and exchange information, social media has become an indispensable component of our personal and professional lives. However, as we have observed more frequently over the past few years, employees must exercise caution in what they post on social media because it may reflect poorly on the business they work for (employers themselves may be held liable), violate social media policies at work, and result in dismissal.

Section 41(4) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 (BCEA) relieves an employer of the duty to pay severance pay in circumstances where the employee who is dismissed for operational requirements “unreasonably refuses to accept the employer’s offer of alternative employment with that employer or any other employer”.

The law on intoxicating substances in the workplace is clear. The Occupational Health and Safety Act places a strict obligation on employers to ensure that they do not allow entry to the workplace if an individual is intoxicated, whether under the influence of alcohol or drugs.