The proposed National Minimum Wage hike for 2024

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) Commission recommends a CPI plus 3% for 2024 but is sitting with another two proposals as it invites further suggestions from interested parties for the year ahead. The NMW Commission has published a report in the government gazette to present the Commission’s information and recommendations on the annual review of…

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Agency shop agreements and the principle of fairness

In the recent case of Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union v UASA (Formerly named the United Association of South Africa) and Others [2023] 11 BLLR 1134 (LAC) the Labour Appeal Court (LAC) considered whether members of a minority union that is a bargaining agent recognised within a bargaining council should be liable for the payment of agency…

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LABOUR COURT JUDGMENT SENDS A STRONG MESSAGE TO UNIONS AND CCMA COMMISSIONERS AHEAD OF THE NEW YEAR

In one of the first reportable judgments of 2024, SAA v NUMSA & SACCA, the Labour Court has sent a strong message to Unions which litigate in the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (“CCMA”) and CCMA Commissioners who consider preliminary issues in the CCMA. Background Facts During December 2019, SAA was placed in voluntary business rescue, as…

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DID THE COMMISSIONER OVERSTEP HIS AUTHORITY?

In the case of NUM OBO MPETE AND OTHERS V MATYOLO AND ANOTHER (JR 755/2019) [2023] ZALCJHB 62 (14 MARCH 2023) the employees were dismissed in December 2017 for participating in an unprotected strike. The employees referred an unfair dismissal dispute to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). The dispute remained unresolved after…

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SELECTION CRITERIA: WHAT IS FAIR?

In the case of Koprindjiyska v 80 Westcliff (Pty) Ltd t/a Four Seasons Hotel (JS 994/20) [2022] ZALCJHB 325 (22 November 2022), an employee of the Four Seasons Hotel, employed as a Housekeeping Supervisor, sought an order by the Labour Court (LC) to declare her retrenchment as substantively and procedurally unfair. The employee was retrenched…

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PAIA COMPLIANCE: IS YOUR WEBSITE READY?

If you need to become compliant Darran Ledden Incorporated Attorneys can assist you! Introduction:  The Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) is legislation that promotes transparency and accountability by granting individuals the right to access information held by public and private bodies. Private bodies, including businesses and organizations, have specific obligations under PAIA, and recent updates have…

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Spotlight on Dual Employment

Multitasking is often celebrated as a virtue, but a ruling by the Labour Court has cast a spotlight on the complex interplay between the rights of employees to seek additional employment, and their fiduciary duties to their primary employers. The Labour Court recently held that an employee violated her fiduciary duty and her employer’s policies…

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Boardrooms are not courts: The decriminalised approach to workplace discipline

Misconduct is inevitable in every workplace, but not each instance of misconduct is always addressed as the disciplinary process can feel overwhelming. Recently, a few judgments have pronounced on the concept of a decriminalised approach.  The case law supports an approach to discipline that has changed from the archaic ‘criminal justice model’ to the post-constitutional…

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Bad advice not a basis to set aside an agreement

In Ephraim Mogale Local Municipality v Hlongwane NO and Another [2023] 9 BLLR 898 (LC), the employee was employed by Ephraim Mogale Local Municipality (the Municipality) as municipal manager.  The Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003 (the MFMA) imposes several responsibilities on municipal managers to ensure that effective and transparent systems of financial…

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