Legal Opinion
How the CCMA commissioner will assess evidence and draft an award
- Published on 8 Nov 2012
- Johan Botes
On 25 October, Melanie Harte of Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, gave us an overview of the new guidelines the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) recently published. This week Johan Botes, one of her colleagues at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, tells us how commissioners will assess evidence and draft awards.
7 Facts that you must know NOW about sick notes
- Published on 7 Nov 2012
- Jan Kemp Nel
According to section 23 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act:
1. For a medical certificate to be valid, it must state that:
- The employee was unable to perform his or her normal duties because of illness (or an injury); and
- This diagnosis is based on the professional opinion of the medical practitioner.
Short-term gain, long-term pain: Probation disguised as a fixed-term contract
- Published on 19 Oct 2012
- Barney Jordaan
How do you fire an employee who does not meet expectations? The idea of a fixed-term contract might seem a good solution: Inform the employee that the fixed-term contract has expired if you want to get rid of him.
How would this work?
Public sector wages in South Africa: An analytical view
- Published on 4 Oct 2012
- Bryden Morton and Chris Blair
Public sector wages have been a point of contention in the South African economy for many years. In July 2012, government and its employees, reached an agreement which stipulates that the annual increase received by public sector workers between 2013 and 2015 will be inflation plus 1%.
CPI+1%=Wage Increase
Refusal of legal representation at disciplinary hearings
- Published on 1 Oct 2012
- Ivan Israelstam
Most HR professionals are aware that Schedule 8 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) provides that the employee should be allowed the assistance of a trade union representative or fellow employee. As a result, most HR professionals have advised the employer to disallow external legal representatives to represent accused employees at disciplinary hearings.
