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 to the variation of their contractual agreed terms and conditions of employment. The Company embarked on a restructuring exercise to…

A demerit points system will be implemented under the controversial Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Bill (AARTO) which could cause both drivers and owners of vehicles to be prohibited from driving altogether for traffic violations.  AARTO has been sent to the President to be signed into law and will officially take effect on a date yet to be decided by the President. AARTO is geared toward changing driving behaviour and increasing safety on the…

The Labour Appeal Court (LAC) has reaffirmed that employers must be tolerant of employee religious beliefs. In TDF Network Africa (Pty) Ltd v Deidre Beverley Faris, it ruled that the employee was discriminated against and unfairly dismissed for practising her religion. Faris, a Seventh Day Adventist, refused to attend monthly Saturday stock takes as her religion prohibited working over the Sabbath. The employer dismissed her for ‘incapacity’. Faris approached the Labour Court with an automatically…

On 19 February 2019, the Constitutional Court upheld the Labour Court’s finding that an employer need not afford an employee an opportunity to be heard before implementing a precautionary suspension. This important development arose from the following facts. The employer, the South African Breweries (Pty) Ltd (SAB) employed a district manager for the Border region. The employee was responsible for the operations in that region, which included ensuring that SAB’s fleet of vehicles, met all…

Fixed term contracts of employment are becoming a common practice in the workplace. A fixed term contract is typically entered into for a specific duration (defined by time) or purpose (for a particular project) and would ordinarily expire either with the effluxion of the agreed time or upon the purpose for which it had been entered into being fulfilled (for example the return of a permanent employee who was on maternity leave). The question that…

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 (the LRA) allows an employer and a majority trade union to conclude a collective agreement establishing a representivity threshold which effectively excludes…