The Department of Trade and Industry have published the following 2 draft statements on 29 March 2018: Amend the following Draft Statement 000, Code Series 000 of 2018 (Gazette No.41546) Amend the following Draft Statement 300, Code Series 300 of 2018 (Gazette No. 41546) Both these draft statements are open for 60 days from the…
Category: In-depth
The importance of having a social media policy in the workplace
With the explosion of social media, challenging obligations and responsibilities can be created. Employees can express themselves about literally anything, and some of these views could damage a company. So, how to do deal with an employee who does something wrong on a social networking site? The common law rules of defamation apply equally to…
Online Data Leaks – how can you protect your business?
Many business owners remain oblivious as to the purpose of the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act. If asked, these corporate bodies may admit to have a mere partially defined data protection plan in the workplace. Countless more business owners have yet to learn of the POPI Act’s existence. Recent events have highlighted data security…
Skills Development and BEE – a perfect combo
With Skills Development as a priority element on the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Scorecard, you now have the opportunity to earn 30 vital points. This means you must emphasise the Skills Development element and at least meet the 40% sub-minimum required as a Priority Element. Should you fail in doing so, you’ll be discounted…
Employees can’t work because of bad weather? Here’s what to do
What happens if the weather is of such a nature that the employer’s operational requirements cannot continue or even commence? What should the employer do when employees are unhappy or dispute their remuneration effected by the weather? The answer for employers: A system of lay-off The contract of employment should make provision for a system…
Organisational rights in the workplace
A registered trade union who seeks organisational rights at the workplace needs to comply with Section 21 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA). Section 21(1) states that any registered trade union may inform an employer in writing should he or she wish to exercise one or more rights conferred by this part in the workplace….
The employers guide to: Handling employees when you get liquidated
What happens to employees when a business goes bankrupt? In the normal sphere of the law, a business needs to start retrenchment proceedings if there is financial difficulties and there is no other way of getting around it. If a business is liquidated, the retrenchment process isn’t always followed. Section 38 of the Insolvency Act,…
What should be on your product label?
When the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) came into effect in 2011 it introduced a number of changes to existing trade- and consumer practices, seeking to regulate consumer affairs more readily and protect consumer rights. One area in particular which the CPA has affected is that of product labelling and trade descriptions. What is a trade…
Disappearing Data Bundles – NCC stands firm
At a recent public hearing on draft regulations proposed for data expiry and out-of-bundle billing, the National Consumer Commission (NCC) stated their view that data bundles should have a minimum expiry period of 3 years, in line with Section 63 of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA). In some cases in the telecommunications industry, data bundles…
Restraint of trade – is it worth the paper it’s written on?
All employers should consider whether or not to include a restraint of trade in an employment contract. Companies normally include a restraint to ensure the financial future of a business. This is done without proper consideration being made to the needs of the company, what a restraint entails, when a restraint is applicable or when…