Fraudulent medical certificates are no new phenomenon within the workplace. The Labour Appeal Court (“LAC”) recently addressed the issue of employees allegedly furnishing fraudulent medical certificates to their employers in the judgments of Sibanye Rustenburg Platinum Mine v Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union obo Sono and Others (JA32-2022) [2024] ZALAC 23 (2 May 2024) […]

The devastating building collapse which occurred in George, Western Cape on 6 May 2024 has become a topic of conversation on local and international news outlets, social media platforms, and households across the country. Although there were several questions raised about the cause of the incident, significantly more were raised about the hiring of foreign […]

THE WORKPLACE RIGHTS OF CANNABIS USERS CONFIRMED IN ENVER V BARLOWORLD EQUIPMENT SOUTH AFRICA, A DIVISION OF BARLOWORLD SOUTH AFRICA (PTY) LTD (JA86/22) [2024] ZALAC 12 (23 APRIL 2024). The Labour Appeal Court (“LAC”) in Enver v Barloworld Equipment South Africa, A Division of Barloworld South Africa (Pty) Ltd (JA86/22) [2024] ZALAC 12 (23 April […]

As you may be aware, with effect from 01 March 2024, the National Minimum Wage (“NMW”) was increased from R 25.42 to R 27.58 for each ordinary hour worked. This increase is applicable to farm workers and domestic workers, and where an employee, other than an employee employed on an expanded public works programme or a learnership programme […]

In the recent case of Brauns and Others v Wilkes N.O and Others (JA 47/22) [2024] ZALAC 1 (18 January 2024), the Labour Appeal Court (hereinafter referred to as the “LAC”) considered an appeal of a review application by three (3) employees of the South African Police Service (hereinafter referred to as the “SAPS”), who […]

As a new financial year commences, many businesses are recruiting and onboarding new talent to join their workforce. If recent events have taught us anything, it’s that fraud, particularly CV fraud is on the rise. Providing false information and/or making overstatements on a CV has not only become a popular trend amongst job seekers, but […]

The dynamics of the South African labour market has overwhelmingly changed in recent years. This has largely contributed to technological advancements, high rates of unemployment and an overall dissatisfaction with workplace cultures, to name a few. While gig work is no new phenomenon, more South Africans are opting out of standard and traditional forms of […]

Turner // Environ Skincare (Pty) Ltd (2023) CCMA Arbitration Award Often employers misdiagnose poor performance as misconduct. While both instances require a process to be followed before dismissing an employee, these processes are different in nature, and if misconstrued, it could result in the employee being subjected to an unfair process. In the aforementioned case, […]

Majambe // University of South Africa [2023] 7 BALR 770 (CCMA) The reason and manner in which fixed-term contracts are terminated is an issue that is frequently decided by our courts and other dispute resolution forums, this too is the case with indefinite employment contracts of course. Fixed-term contracts are employment contracts wherein the parties […]

Makuleni v Standard Bank of South Africa Ltd and Others (JA125-2021) [2023] ZALAC 4 A hostile work environment is defined in the Code of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Harassment in the Workplace, 2022 (“CODE”) as a work environment where conduct related to a prohibited ground impacts the dignity of one or […]