Tag: Jacques van Wyk

An employer may dismiss an employee if he or she has lodged a grievance against another employee which is false. Dismissing an employee for doing so does not amount to an automatically unfair dismissal because the lodging of a grievance is not the same as exercising a right conferred by law.

An interview with Jacques van Wyk, Director, Werksmans Attorneys, and Dr Ivor Blumenthal, CEO, ArkKonsult, discussing an article penned by Bradley Workman-Davies, Director, Werksmans Attorneys, in the August/September edition of BusinessBrief, apropos an important recent judgement in the Johannesburg High Court which has provided some clarity with regard to no-work no-pay during the lockdown.

With the easing of the nationwide lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic through the Government's 'Risk Adjusted Strategy' (comprising of five lockdown levels), more and more business can lawfully operate again. As a result, employees will be returning to work and employers will be obliged to remunerate them again.

On 29 April 2020, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, published regulations in terms of the National Disaster Management Act which regulate the Alert Level 4 conditions during the COVID-19 national disaster.

On 23 December 2019 a proclamation was published in terms of which sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the Labour Laws Amendment Act 10 of 2018 (LLAA) became effective as of 1 January 2020. 

The Labour Court has exclusive jurisdiction to determine matters arising from the Basic Conditions of Employment  Act (BCEA) regardless of the stage at which the proceedings are at. In limited instances namely, the determination of any matter concerning a contract of employment, the Labour Court shares jurisdiction with the civil courts. The BCEA does not contemplate a situation where an employee should first approach a labour inspector before seeking relief from the Labour Court.

Employees engaged in strike action who carry dangerous weapons during a strike run the risk of dismissal. The act of carrying weapons exposes others to the risk of injury and also serves to threaten and intimidate others. This kind of conduct is not protected by the right to strike.

Section 198B of the Labour Relations 66 of 1995 (LRA) provides that fixed term employees earning less than R205,433.30 per annum (Threshold) may only be employed for longer than three months if the work they perform is of a limited or definite duration or if the employer can demonstrate any other justifiable reason for fixing the term of the contract.

Issue - Whether an employee who makes a false allegation of racism against another employee can be dismissed?

The digital workplace is one where people, processes, technology, and the company converge to improve business productivity and employee engagement. It's a workplace where employees have the technological tools they need to complete business tasks effortlessly and efficiently.