BY Ivan Israelstam, Chief Executive of Labour Law Management Consulting. He may be contacted on (011) 888-7944 or 0828522973 or on e-mail address:
In the current turbulent economic circumstances buyouts and outsourcing have become frequent occurrences in the lives of HR and IR practitioners. Where an undertaking (or part thereof) of any kind is transferred to another undertaking as a going concern section 197 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) comes into effect. Practitioners need to impress upon management that such a takeover forces the new entity to take over all the labour law obligations of the old undertaking.
Section 197 applies to all SA employers whether they be companies, close corporations, partnerships, sole traders, welfare organisations, NGOs, academic institutions or any other type of organisation.
The entities could even be government departments. In the case of Wren vs Eastbourn Borough Council (1993, IRLR 425) the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the transfer of refuse collection services of a local authority constituted the transfer of an undertaking as a going concern.
However, not all transfers qualify under this legislation because
Most people are aware of the fact that it is possible to measure one’s intelligence (IQ) and Emotional Intelligence (EQ). But now it is possible to measure an individual’s (or organisation’s) Cultural Intelligence (CQ). Dr David Livermore, President and Partner at the Cultural Intelligence Centre in East Lansing, Michigan (USA) is coming to South Africa for the first time to introduce this concept through a series of half-day seminars entitled “Develop Your Cultural Intelligence.” Dr Livermore will be joined on stage by Buhle Dlamini of Young & Able, the organisation responsible for bring Dr Livermore to our shores.
Cultural Intelligence is defined as “a person's capability to function effectively in situations characterized by cultural diversity.” It is not only an essential competency for
BY Ivan Israelstam, Chief Executive of Labour Law Management Consulting. He may be contacted on (011) 888-7944 or 0828522973 or on e-mail address:
After unfair dismissal and unfair labour practices the third category of unfair conduct by an employer is unfair discrimination. Section 6 of the Employment Equity Act (EEA) prohibits unfair discrimination against an employee on arbitrary grounds including race, age, disability, sex and many others.
As to the concept of ‘unfairness’ I have previously offered the suggestion that, in the labour law context. ‘unfairness’ occurs when an employer’s conduct infringes the employee’s entrenched rights, is one-sided, unnecessary and/or inappropriate under the circumstances.
Unfair discrimination can take many forms. For example, where an employee is unnecessarily sidelined because he/she is disabled this could be unfair discrimination. If an employee is sexually harassed this is a form of unfair discrimination based on sex. If a worker is paid less than his/her colleagues because he is male or she is female this would constitute prohibited gender discrimination. If a job applicant is unsuccessful because he/she is white this could be found to be unfair on the grounds of race.
For example in the case of Consolidated Billing vs IMATU (1998, 8 BALR 1049) the employees were
By Cecilia Brummer of Chennells, Brummer & Associates
This question was answered in the affirmative in Commercial Workers’ Union of South Africa obo Moremi / Nandos Chickenland - (2013) 22 CCMA 8.8.1
The importance of the establishment of reasonable workplace rules and the knowledge of such a rule and the subsequent consequences of a breach of any such rule is once again confirmed in this matter.
The applicant employee, a cleaner, was dismissed after being found in possession of three sachets of sugar. He claimed that that he had found the sachets among dirty dishes and had put them
Written by Julie Roper
For many, the need to talk to Human Resources won’t be over something pleasant. It could be a number of things: a complaint over working conditions; a grievance at consistently being denied promotion; or to report being harassed If these issues are not resolved quickly, the individual affected could resign in a manner that could amount to constructive dismissal. If complaints are left to fester, it can sometimes feel that the Human Resources department of the company you work for doesn’t care for humans at all, but only rigid policies and procedures. The way that each situation of conflict
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