Recent Industry Articles

“Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!” (Sir Walter Scott) The company that runs Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront appointed a chief information officer in October 2015. A year later, a credit check contradicted something she had said at her interview, and the company investigated her employment history. She was dismissed in December 2016 after a disciplinary enquiry, and the company sued her in the Labour Court for its losses. She did not testify or cross-examine the company’s witnesses, despite opportunities to do so. What had she told the employer? She said she had voluntarily…

“A promise made is a debt unpaid.” (Robert W. Service) During wage negotiations in 2021, a pharmaceutical company told its employees that it intended to stop paying a 13th cheque and replace it with a performance-based bonus. Those who agreed would receive a 5.5% salary increase. Those who refused would not. The company also said its finances were such that it would endure a strike, even a long one, rather than retain the guaranteed 13th cheque. The employees refused. The company went ahead anyway. In December 2021 it paid no 13th cheque, only a discretionary R3,000. The judgment records that,…

“Ignorance of the law excuses no man.” (John Selden) Government is increasing inspections aimed at employers of undocumented foreign nationals. Businesses may be the most obvious targets, but an ordinary household employing a domestic worker or gardener is also an employer. The current law prohibits an employer from employing anyone who: is unlawfully in South Africa whose status does not allow them to work or whose documents do not permit the particular work they are doing Employers must make a good-faith effort to establish that the person is entitled to perform the work for which they are employed. What should…