Following extensive negotiations, the Council of the European Union (EU) formally adopted the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (the CS3D) on 24 May 2024. Once fully implemented, both EU and non-EU companies, as well as their ‘upstream’ and ‘downstream’ value chains (or “chain of activities”), will be subject to mandatory human rights
Jason Whyte
Don’t Forget to Renew Overtime Clauses
By Jason Whyte & Stacy Smit on
In February 2023 the Labour Court delivered judgment in a review of an arbitration award of the CCMA. The employees concerned were charged and dismissed for gross insubordination when they refused to obey the instruction of their manager to work overtime. The CCMA found the dismissals to be substantively fair.
During evidence at the arbitration…
Constitutional Court clarifies the use of replacement labour during strikes and lock-outs
By Jason Whyte on
This blog was co-authored by Heidi Davis, Trainee Associate
On 18 April 2023, the Constitutional Court found that replacement labour may only be used for the duration of strike action and not during a lock-out, even in instances where a lock-out notice was delivered before the strike had ended.
Following unsuccessful claims in both the…
Can South African employers require their employees to undergo mandatory vaccination and testing for COVID-19?
By Jason Whyte on
South Africa is now deeply within its second wave of COVID-19 infections which appears to be significantly more widespread than that which prevailed during early to mid-2020. Since then, and in response to the pandemic, global efforts have successfully developed both expedited means of testing for the virus and, more recently, vaccines.
Employers may thus…
Six things you need to know about doing business during Alert Level 1
By Jason Whyte & Laura Macfarlane on
The national state of disaster has been extended to 15 November 2020, and a further extension is imminent. Employers must become comfortable with the regulatory framework under alert level 1. Here are six things to keep in mind to ensure your business is compliant.
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Risk assessments and workplace plans
An employer is required to have…
Five steps to take when an employee tests positive for COVID-19 in the workplace
By Jason Whyte & Laura Macfarlane on
With more employers embracing the return to work, employers must be up to speed on what is currently required when an employee becomes infected with COVID-19 at the workplace. Here are 5 practical steps to take when an employee is infected at your workplace:
Step 1: Report
If an employee is confirmed to have contracted…
Employees must accept contract changes that avoid dismissals despite s187(1)(c)
By Jason Whyte on
Section 187(1)(c) of the LRA provides that it is automatically unfair for an employer to dismiss an employee where the reason for that dismissal is the employee’s refusal to accept a demand in respect of any matter of mutual interest. In other words, seemingly an employer may not dismiss an employee who refuses to agree…
Minority trade unions make good bedfellows
By Jason Whyte on
In UASA, Solidaity and NUM v Lonmin Platinum PLC and AMCU (HO1312-18), the CCMA was tasked with determining the question of whether three minority trade unions, acting jointly, could obtain organisational rights at Lonmin in order to challenge the influence of the majority union (AMCU).
Section 18 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995…