17 March 2020 To: CCMA Users, CCMA Staff and part-time Commissioners, Bargaining Councils and Private Dispute Resolution Agencies Dear All, URGENT DIRECTIVE IN RESPECT OF THE RESPONSE TO COVID 19 The spread of the Coronavirus is growing exponentially. To date 179 978 cases of the COVID 19 Coronavirus have been reported globally, with 7 100 deaths and 78 326 people having recovered from the virus. South Africa has 62 reported […]
Up to 180 000 of South Africa’s most vulnerable, injured or disabled workers are outraged at having been failed by the Compensation Fund and the software system “ glitches” that have caused prolonged delays in payments since mid-2019. The Fund, a Department of Employment and Labour entity, launched the system, called Compeasy. The Fund provides compensation for disablement caused by occupational injuries or diseases sustained or contracted by employees in the […]
Is your employer paying you the National Minimum Wage? If you are not paid the national minimum wage of R20.76 per hour. R18.69 per hour for farm workers. R15 57 per hour for domestic workers. R11.42 per hour for workers under the Expanded Public Works Programme. Then dial the FREE IMPIMPA HOTLINE. The Department of Employment and Labour is pumping R20 million towards marketing the Impimpa Hotline geared for enforcing […]
In terms of the Government Gazette, Regulation Gazette No. 11041, Vol. 656, dated 17 February 2020, No. 43026; The National minimum wage is R20.76 for each ordinary hour worked with effect from 01 March 2020. The minimum hourly rate for Farm workers is R18.68. The new domestic worker minimum wage increase will take effect from 01 March 2020. The domestic worker shall receive a minimum hourly rate of R15.57, across […]
The Minimum Wage tables for domestic workers are currently on hold for 2020. The National Minimum Wage Commission was set up in 2018 to oversee the national minimum wage recognizing all workers as equal under the law. It is currently reviewing the National Minimum Wage. Stakeholders in government, labour and business, represented in the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac), first signed the national minimum wage agreement in February […]
What Employees need to understand about the retirement fund Employees need to understand that where retirement benefits are in fact provided, the employer is a separate legal entity from the retirement fund. The purpose of the Fund The purpose of a fund is to assist the employee to save for retirement. Whereas the relationship between the employer and the employee is regulated by the Labour Relations Act, the Basic Conditions […]
What is the latest precautionary suspension law? In the past, the employer (according to CCMA and Labour Court) was obligated to consult with the employee and allow representation before the employer unilaterally placed the employee under suspension. An employer is not required to give an employee an opportunity to make representations before a precautionary suspension, the Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday 19 February 2019. Where a suspension is precautionary and […]
A legal representative (an attorney or an article clerk) is not entitled to represent an employee nor an employer at the conciliation stage. There is no automatic right to legal representation at an arbitration hearing, concerning the fairness of a dismissal for misconduct or incapacity. Legal representation may be permitted only when both parties and the Commissioner consent thereto, or otherwise on successful application to the Commissioner. If the facts […]
Employers and/or employees are entitled to secretly record conversations in the workplace, such as general meetings and disciplinary hearings. These recordings can be made without the consent of the other party, in terms of the Rica Act. An employee may record workplace conversations between him/her and the employer especially when the employer has a history of misconstruing the truth. Having evidence in the form of audio recordings shall avoid disputes of facts […]
An employer is entitled to ensure that his employees work in a harmonious working environment. Incompatibility relates to an employee’s inability to maintain a cordial and harmonious relationship with his/her colleagues or owners of the business. It results in an irretrievable breakdown in the employment relationship, caused by the employee. The employer has a duty to engage with the employee to ascertain the reasons for the incompatibility, properly counsel the […]