Tag: sick leave

If something strange seems to be happening in your payroll and HR department, and your company’s profits are vanishing into thin air, chances are you have ghost employees in payroll draining your bottom line. From my experience, the presence of ghost employees on a company’s payroll system ranks among the most difficult types of payroll fraud to detect.

Hiring registered businesses is more than just cost-and-time savings, it’s for the greater good of the country. As much as addressing South Africa’s dire unemployment rate is critical, building industry role players recommend that businesses and members of the public tread carefully when securing the services of unregistered contractors.

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).

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.

Benefits are an important part of attracting and retaining talent for corporates, and these offerings can often be a point of differentiation. As such, many businesses have started to offer Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) to cater to physical, financial and mental health, along with the more common medical aid, pension and provident funds.

A recent judgement Woolworths v CCMA and others [2021] ZALAC 49 in the Labour Appeal Court (LAC) held that an employee can be fairly dismissed for dishonesty if the employee claims to be ill and then uses sick leave entitlement to attend a sports match.

Lingering after effects of COVID-19 which persist for more than six weeks have been deemed 'Long COVID-19' by the World Health Organisation – and those holding down jobs need to manage their symptoms while being expected to return to work.

There has never been a more critical time than now for employers to celebrate worker’s month by providing their employees with structured wellbeing programmes with a particular focus on financial wellbeing that can ultimately affect the bottom line if not managed effectively.

COVID-19 introduces regulatory and ethical challenges to companies and employees returning to work. Stringent regulations and careful planning define the approaches of organisations and employees returning to the workplace in the pandemic.

With the increasing number of COVID-19 infections, employers must deal with employees who test positive for the virus, those who come into contact with individuals who test positive, and those who present with COVID-19 related symptoms. It is therefore important for employers to understand when sick leave must be used.