Ubuntu News

There is a common assumption among employees (and many employers) that restraint of trade covenants are invalid and unenforceable especially in light of the right for South Africa citizens to choose their trade, occupation, or profession freely as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (“the Constitution”). This assumption is incorrect…

Yes, but only if the manager can be regarded as a “senior managerial employee”, or if the manager earns over the relevant threshold determined by the Minister of Labour from time to time (currently R211 596 per annum, or R17 633 per month). This may, however, be superseded by a contract of employment that provides…

Nowalaza and others v The office of the Chief Justice and others and another (J1177/2017) [2017] LC: The applicants in the recent decision in were judges’ secretaries (usually referred to as judges’ clerks or judges’ associates) employed by the Office of the Chief Justice (“OCJ”) and working in the Labour Court and the Labour Appeal…

Enforce security Group v  Mwelase and 46 0thers-(2017) LAC In this case the employer employed security officers and placed them at the premises of its clients.  The security officers’ employment contracts included an automatic termination clause which provided for the termination of the employee’s contract of employment on termination of the contract between the employer…

Minister of Defence v SANDU and others 2007 (4) BCLR 398 (SCA) The Supreme Court of Appeal had to decide whether there was a legal enforceable duty on the South African National Defence Force as the employer to bargain collectively with the military trade union and if there was such a duty and the employer…

The rights and responsibilities of employers and employees alike are customarily embodied in the age old “control test” developed from an early stage in South African jurisprudence. Control and supervision of a particular person (the Employee) by another (the Employer), in various respects, has long been a defining characteristic of the common employer-employee relationship. Arguably…

Employment law places a high premium on honesty.  The foundation of the employment relationship is trust and confidence.  Where this foundation is damaged, the parties cannot be expected to continue with the employment relationship.  The case of Mothiba v Exxaro Coal (Pty) Ltd t/a Grootgeluk Coal Mine considers the consequences of dishonesty and misrepresentation by an employee. …

In the recent South African Labour Appeal Court (“LAC”) decision of Total South Africa (Pty) Ltd v Meyer and others, the LAC, in addressing the issue of whether the decision to grant maximum compensation for a substantively and procedurally unfair retrenchment was exercised judicially, made significant remarks in respect of an employer’s obligation to comply with…

A recent South African High Court decision explores some interesting issues regarding the scope of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Commission’s (the “Commission”) investigative powers, as well as what constitutes a fronting practice. CRRC E Loco Supply (“CRRC”) was incorporated as a joint venture between CSR: Zhuzhou Electrical Locomotives (a Chinese-owned entity) (“CSR”) and Matsete Basadi Consortium…