Tag: Labour Relations Act (LRA)

An employer cannot unilaterally change an employee’s retirement age. Should the employer do so and terminate the employee’s employment, the dismissal may constitute an automatically unfair dismissal and amount to unfair discrimination.

The Code Of Good Practice On The Protection Of Employees During Pregnancy And After The Birth Of A Child (The Code) is aimed at protecting pregnant and post-pregnant employees, and obliges employers to implement a series of appropriate measures to protect pregnant or breast-feeding employees from hazards at the workplace.

The issue is whether an essential service in terms of the Disaster Management Act (DMA) is deemed an essential service for the purposes of the Labour Relations Act (LRA), thus barring employees from engaging in protected strike action.

The issue is whether an employer may utilise Zoom when conducting consultations in a retrenchment exercise. If not, does the continuation of the consultations in such circumstances result in procedural unfairness? The Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (LRA) does not regulate how section 189 consultations are to be held (i.e. in person or via video conference).

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.

The law prohibits employers from disciplining employees who are ill or disabled. The Employment Equity Act prohibits unfair discrimination against employees on the grounds of illness. Section 187(1)(f) of the Labour Relations Act  (LRA) renders automatically unfair a dismissal implemented due to the employee’s illness.

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise sharply in South Africa, employers will be under increased pressure to ensure that their workers are operating under conditions of safety and protection. Companies are required to ensure their strict compliance with the various Acts and COVID-19 Regulations, including the Occupational Health & Safety Act, Labour Act, Consumer Protection Act, Disaster Management Act and more.

Blame "Capital Monopoly" if you must, but blame "White Monopoly Capital" at your peril. The South African Government's strategy, when dealing with the economic fallout, has been to set itself off against Business squarely, being the demon in society, while characterising Government as the White Knight out to protect society against the ravages of bad Business.

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.

With the commencement of Level 3 of COVID-19 lockdown on 01 June, many employers are feeling overwhelmed with their obligations to meet the regulatory requirements and ensure the health and safety of those employees, who have returned to work, and are needing assistance in establishing the various protocols for the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace.