May an employer ask the Labour Court to intervene in disciplinary proceedings that have not been completed? Does the Labour Court have the power to interdict the employer from proceedings with a disciplinary enquiry? The Labour Court came to the conclusion that it does not have jurisdiction to remedy a wrong in respect of disciplinary proceedings For further information on any labour related matters, you can contact Bernard Reisner: W.Tel […]
Some employers call for polygraph tests regularly almost as a matter of course. The dangers of this kind of evidence are well known, but these dangers do not mean that a CCMA commissioner can simply ignore evidence from a polygraph especially if there is sufficient corroborating supporting evidence given in respect of the person who administered the test. CONTACT CAPE LABOUR. For more information on labour law advice or services. […]
What is an employer to do if an employee is taken into police custody and is absent from work for an extended period? In some cases, depending on the work done by the employee, the employer may be able to keep the position or use a temporary employee to do the work while the employee is in prison. But this may well rarely be feasible and an employer may have […]
What happens if an employer cannot prove disciplinary charges against an employee or a group of employees? May the employer then dismiss the employees on the basis of operational requirements? In a recent decision of the Labour Court, the employer’s key witness disappeared and the employer took the view that it could no longer prove intimidation and assault on the part of employees during the course of a protected strike. […]
It is astonishing, the lengths some employees will go to in order to avoid a disciplinary enquiry believing, usually, that if they are not heard, they cannot be dismissed (or that they can claim compensation from the employer through the CCMA or a bargaining council). But, of course, a disciplinary hearing can go on in the absence of the employee, assuming, of course, that the employee had received due notice […]
Mildred Oliphant takes over her portfolio at a time that her department is without a director general. Jimmy Manyi was suspended in June by Oliphant’s predecessor, Membathisi Mdladlana, over the remarks he allegedly made at a meeting with officials from the Norwegian embassy on black economic empowerment. Among the minister’s challenges will be the issues of labour brokers, workplace safety and calls for a mmore flexible labour environment. For further […]
The employment relationship is terminated by the employer, it is a case of dismissal. If the employee terminates the employment relationship, it constitutes a resignation. But there is, in principle, nothing preventing an employer and an employee from concluding a contract to terminate the employment contract a mutually agreed termination of employment. If it is really the case that there was a mutually agreed parting of the ways, there could […]
Employer must apply workplace rules and standards consistently this is not only a cornerstone of workplace justice, but also a consideration listed in the Code of Good Practice: Dismissal. In a recent arbitration, the arbitrator made the point that if the employee’s misconduct is serious enough to justify a dismissal, he or she cannot rely on the fact that another employee received a lesser sanction for a previous incident. For […]
Refusing an Alternative Job: Section 41 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act provides that an employee who is dismissed for an operational reason is entitled to severance pay but the severance pay be forfeited if the employee unreasonably refuses an offer of alternative employment. The problem is always in determining whether the employee’s refusal of the other job was reasonable or not. For further information on any labour related […]
An employer was dismissed for failure to comply with an instruction to undergo a strip search. Upon a preliminary search, the security personnel noticed something suspicious and the employee was instructed to undergo a strip search (which did not, incidentally, entail the employee’s removing his underwear). The arbitrator concluded that the employee knew of the rule (which was contained in the employer’s Standard Operating Procedures) and that serious consequences attached […]
