Category

Employers: How to Avoid Paying Severance Pay on Retrenchment

“Only in our dreams are we free; the rest of the time we need wages.” (Terry Pratchett) Retrenching employees can be an expensive business. You’ll have to pay each employee a minimum of one week’s pay for each completed year […]

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Fired for not Working on the Sabbath

“One of the hallmarks of an enlightened egalitarian society is the right to freedom of religion.” (Extract from judgment below) Our courts do not tolerate unfair discrimination in the workplace, and employers need to tread particularly carefully when it comes […]

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Employers: It’s November Again. Must You Pay 13th Cheques?

“The best investment you will ever make are your employees” (Peter Drucker) As the end of the year approaches, many employees are eagerly awaiting their 13th cheque or year-end bonus. However, not every employer is in a position to pay […]

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Protect Your Employees from Harassment and Abuse – or Pay the Price

“It takes leadership to improve safety.” (Jackie Stewart, Formula 1 legend) One of your key duties as an employer is to create a working environment in which your employees are protected from harassment and abuse. As a recent High Court […]

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It’s Sick Leave Season – Can You Reject a Dodgy Doctor’s Sick Note?

“Many people including workers in South Africa do not have the wherewithal to determine between a qualified doctor, an unqualified doctor and one who is operating illegally. That is why there are regulatory and law enforcement bodies to whom suspicious […]

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Cannabis Policies in the Workplace: A Delicate Balancing Act

“It is declared that the [employer]’s Alcohol and Substance Abuse Policy is irrational and violates the right to privacy in section 14 of the Constitution, to the extent that it prohibits office-based employees that do not work with or within […]

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When is Resignation a Constructive Dismissal?

“…the prospect of continued employment must be shown to have been objectively intolerable and the employee must have resigned due to the intolerable situation and not for another reason.” (Extract from judgment below) Perhaps you are an employer, and that […]

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Effective 1 March 2024: New National Minimum Wage

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) for each “ordinary hour worked” has been increased from 1 March 2024 by 8.5% from R25-42 to R27-58. Domestic Workers: Assuming a work month of 21 days x 8 hours per day, R27-58 per hour […]

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You Can (and Should) Both Discipline and Prosecute Thieving Employees

“It’s the profile of the most trusted individual, in a position of trust, like an accountant or bookkeeper. They usually never take leave, and someone who never allows anyone access to their system would go to the length of taking […]

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Moonlighting Without Consent is Misconduct – A Firing Offence

“…moonlighting as a matter of principle is unacceptable…” (extract from judgment) Up to a quarter of all middle-class South Africans are reported to “moonlight”, that is to run a part-time side hustle or side business in addition to their full-time […]

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We are open during Lock-Down!

Our legal team are available to consult with you via remote connection (Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp etc.) during the lock down period.

Please contact us for more details and let us know which date and time will suit you.

Tel/WhatsApp: 0824648701
Email: mimi@mkarstelattorneys.co.za
Skype address: mimi.karstel