The BC Labour Relations Board recently upheld the reinstatement of a nurse who, on multiple occasions over an extended period, accessed private health authority records for personal reasons and without authority. The Board upheld the arbitration award that ordered her reinstatement based in part on the nurse’s 11th hour apology. The decision illustrates the
May 2017
Ontario Government intends to introduce proposed legislation, The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017

Earlier today Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Labour Minister Kevin Flynn unveiled the government’s formal response to the Changing Workplaces Review Final Report and the special advisors’ 173 recommendations for change to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (LRA). Wynne’s Liberal government has not embraced all of those recommendations. …
Do employees who are pregnant or on maternity leave enjoy any special protection in the event of redundancy in South Africa?

Under South African Labour Law, employees who are pregnant or on maternity leave enjoy extensive protection from discriminatory conduct and dismissal if such discrimination or dismissal is directly or indirectly based on their pregnancy. In terms of section 187(1)(e) of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (LRA), any dismissal based on pregnancy is an…
Do employees who are pregnant or on maternity leave enjoy any special protection in the event of redundancy in France?
As is the case in many other countries (particularly countries in the European Union, which are covered by EU Directive 92/85/CEE dated 19 October 1992), France has implemented a full set of rules with the goal of protecting pregnant employees or employees on maternity leave against illegitimate termination of their employment contract. These protections also…
How to use social media – and the consequences if you step out of line

Employees are under the mistaken belief that what they do in their time away from the office, specifically on social media, is private and beyond the reach of their employer’s control.
They fail to consider that they could face disciplinary action for their online rants and comments. This could be fatal to their employment. The…
How are pregnant employees in California protected in the event of a redundancy?

Both federal and California laws provide numerous safeguards to protect pregnant employees before, during, and after childbirth. Protections include prohibitions against discrimination during hiring and employment, and against termination based on pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, even if legitimate bases also exist for the employer’s conduct. When federal and California laws differ, the employer must provide…
Do employees who are pregnant or on maternity leave enjoy special protection on redundancy?
It is not unlawful in itself to make an employee redundant who is pregnant or on maternity leave. This means that, subject to the special protection enjoyed in respect of alternative employment referred to below, the fairness and lawfulness of the redundancy dismissal will be determined in the same way as other redundancy dismissals. So,…
Sweeping Changes to Ontario’s Labour and Employment Laws Proposed in OCW Final Report

Today the Government of Ontario released the much anticipated Changing Workplaces Review Final Report. As special advisors C. Michael Mitchell and the Honourable John C. Murray note in their report, this is the first independent review in Canada to consider specific legislative changes to both employment standards and labour relations in a single process. …
How should the directors’ fees of Non-Executive Directors be treated for tax purposes?

Historically there has been some uncertainty on the tax treatment of fees paid to a Non-Executive Director (NED). SARS has recently issued two Binding General Rulings (rulings), the purpose of which is to set out SARS practice. Taxpayers are not bound by these rulings because they do not constitute law. SARS however is bound by…
Negative vetting as a ground for automatic termination of a contract of employment

Employers are entitled to include a condition in a contract of employment that a person’s appointment is subject to a positive vetting and screening process and, if the outcome is negative, the contract will terminate automatically.
In the Labour Appeal Court decision of Nogcantsi v Mnquma Local Municipality and Others (2017) 38 ILJ 595 (…