Covid-19 Policy & Protocols & the Workplace. An employer should draft COVID-19 policies and protocols for its workplace, train its staff members in relation thereto and ensure that the staff have written copies thereof which each staff member signs to verify receipt thereof. It’s imperative that there should be a screening protocol for all staff arriving at work on a daily basis. The staff should complete a sheet reflecting a […]
Although employers have an obligation in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act to provide a safe workplace, employees have a corresponding Constitutional right to security and control over their bodies. Our Government policy states that vaccinations are not compulsory. Notwithstanding the above, employers have to ensure that their employees adhere to COVID-19 protocols in the workplace. Namely, employees are to maintain physical distancing, sanitise frequently and wear […]
The new domestic worker minimum wage increase will take effect from 01 March 2021 is R19.09 per hour. These increases come at difficult time for both employers and employees – the latter struggling to recover from the impact of COVID 19 disruptions on earnings and employment prospects.
I, Thembelani Waltermade Nxesi, Minister of Employment and Labour, hereby in terms of Section 6(3) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, No. 75 of 1997, (the Act) determine that all employees earning in excess of R211 596.30 (Two Hundred and Eleven Thousand, Five Hundred and Ninety Six Rand and Thirty Cents) per annum be excluded from section 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17(2) and 18(3) of this […]
Labour minister Thulas Nxesi has published the new minimum wage for South Africa. In a gazette published on Monday evening (8 February), the minister said that the national minimum wage is now R21.69 for each ordinary hour. This change will take effect from 1 March 2021. The gazette also provides exceptions for a number of worker groups Farmworkers are entitled to minimum wage of R29.69 per hour; […]
In terms of the latest Labour Appeal Court Judgment, handed down on 10 December 2020, an employee is required to give an employer written notice to resign, as per the employee’s signed contract of employment. In the absence of a contractual stipulation of a notice period, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act applies. Taking into account the above, an employer has the right to discipline an employee for misconduct, alternatively […]
Many employers invoke precautionary suspension in order to allow them both time and space to properly investigate the wrongdoing and to protect themselves against further wrongdoing. The employee is approached and advised of the investigation and advised of the allegations. For the precautionary suspension to be permissible it needs to be shown that the suspension was fair and whether there was a fair reason for the suspension. The suspension will […]
The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), a statutory body for aggrieved employees, says it will no longer be able to operate at full capacity as a result of its upcoming R617m budget cut. The commission’s finances are so dire that it had resolved to stop doing conciliation and would instead go straight to arbitration. The cut will also affect its ability to help employees being retrenched by employers. […]
It is with some relief that we have received a Consolidated Direction under Gazette No 43751. This Consolidated Regulation was brought into law on the 1st October 2020. These Directions override all previous Directions and to a large degree are easier to understand and to implement. If there are less than ten employees the business needs only to apply the measures set out in Direction 12. For employers with over […]
Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Bill and its inclusion of Domestic Workers. The Bill seeks to amend the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, 1993 (“COIDA”), by including domestic workers in private households to claim compensation for occupational injuries and diseases. Fundamental changes proposed in amendments to the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA) include the extension of coverage to domestic workers. The Compensation Occupational […]