If an employee discloses information which he or she knows is confidential, the employee is in fact breaching his or her duty to act in good faith in respect of the business of the employer. Dismissal may be fair in a situation where an employee leaks a confidential report. CONTACT CAPE LABOUR. For more information on labour law advice or services. Please feel free to contact us at Cape Labour […]
The essence of negligence lies in the fact that the employee failed to do what a reasonable person in his or her position would have done. Generally, negligence does not warrant dismissal for a first offence, but there are times when the employee is guilty of either gross negligence or, in a worst case, total dereliction of duty. In these cases dismissal may be justified. “The test for negligence is […]
Employees prefer compensation over reinstatement, and CCMA commissioners seem happy to oblige. In a recent case the CCMA commissioner found that the employee’s dismissal was substantively unfair and awarded seven months’ remuneration as compensation. The commissioner calculated the compensation with reference to the employee’s net salary- not the employee’s gross remuneration. The commissioner should have calculated the compensation on the basis of the employee’s (much larger) gross remuneration. The Labour […]
A. EXPOSITION OF THE RULE 1. Any party who requires the Commission or a commissioner to subpoena a person in terms of section 142(1) of the Act, must file a completed LRA Form 7.16 together with a written motivation setting out why the evidence of the person to be subpoenaed is necessary. 2. A party requesting the Commission to waive the requirement for the party to pay witness fees in […]
The effects envisaged in section 197(2) transpire only if a business is transferred from one employer to another as a going concern. ‘Business’ includes ‘the whole or part of any business trade, undertaking or service’. The term business therefore includes every conceivable form of activity in which employers engage, whether for profit or otherwise, and whether in the private or public sector. Effects of transfer According to section 197, the […]
If employees have been acquitted at a disciplinary inquiry, or if the presiding officer has imposed a penalty less severe than dismissal, they cannot generally be subjected to a second inquiry in respect of the same offence. An essential requirement of the double-jeopardy rule is that the charges against the employee in the second hearing are the same as they were in the first. This does not mean, however, that […]
Gross dishonesty Dishonesty in the employment context can take various forms, including theft, fraud and other forms of dishonesty. Theft is regarded by the labour courts as one of the most serious forms of disciplinary offence, normally justifying dismissal first instance, regardless of the value of the property involved, the employee’s length of service, the absence of prior warnings, or whether the employee subsequently returned the property. As in all […]
Understanding Sanctions and Warnings in the Workplace Disciplinary penalties in the workplace must be applied progressively, i.e. lighter sanctions should be applied in the case of a first offence, and graver sanctions reserved for repetitions. Understanding General Warnings General warnings are frequently used to signal to all employees that the employer intends to take action against forms of misconduct (e.g. absenteeism) that might have been condoned in the past. Understanding […]
All employees who work for more than 24 hours a month for an employer are entitled to the notice of termination provided for in their contracts or, if no notice period is provided, to at least one week’s notice if the employee has been employed for six months or less; two weeks’ notice if the employee has been employed for more than six months but not more than a year; […]
Sunday work must be remunerated at double the normal rate for each hour worked by the employee, or at time and a half if the employee ordinarily works on a Sunday. If the greater part of a shift falls on a Sunday, the whole of that shift is deemed Sunday work. Except when employees agree to the contrary, employers may not require employees to work on proclaimed public holidays. Employees […]
