PARENTAL, ADOPTION AND COMMISSIONING PARENTAL LEAVE 

Section 3 of the Labour Laws Amendment Act amends the BCEA and allows new types of leave available to employees who have been employed for at least 13 weeks. The new types of leave are parental, adoption and commissioning parental leave. 

Parental leave 

An employee who is a parent of a child is entitled to 10 consecutive days of parental leave.

Adoption leave 

An employee who is an adoptive parent of a child below the age of 2 is entitled to either 10 consecutive weeks of adoption leave OR 10 consecutive days of parental leave. 

Commissioning Parent...

Happy employee = Productive workplace – What is Ergonomics and Why it is Important? 

Ergonomics is a relatively new branch of science, but it relies on research carried out in many other older established scientific areas such as engineering, physiology and psychology. Over time it has become clear that when workplace systems and products are designed to consider human and environmental factors, it will result in a healthier and more productive workplace. South African companies are starting to establish programmes that will manage ergonomics in the workplace, ensuring comfortable working conditio...

EE COMMITTEE OVERVIEW 

In terms of the Employment Equity Act, all employers with over 50 employees or a turnover which is over the relevant industry threshold must establish an Employment Equity Committee. 

What is the EE Committee? 

The EE committee is a consultative forum which consults with their constituents about EE related matters. They also assist in the workplace analysis and the drafting of the EE plan. 

How must the EE Committee be established? 

The EE committee should be appointed after a nomination process is completed by the employees within the company, however the company is able to app...

Often when a client calls wanting advice on an internal compliance matter and I ask what the Company Policy is, the standard answer is “I am running a business; I don’t have time for all of those policies” or “We are so small there are not enough of us to have all of this paperwork in place”. The truth is that a lack of process and policies can mean a considerable amount of time spent on labour issues than most employers would like. Here are the top five things every employer should know when it comes to having an effective compliance structure in their business. 

1. Review, Renew, Rework 

Many Com...

Workplace Skills Plan and Annual Training Report (WSP & ATR) 

The Skills Development Act aims to develop the skills of the South African workforce and to improve the quality of life of workers and their prospects of work. Effective Skills Development can improve productivity in the workplace and the competitiveness of employers and can also promote self-employment. 

What is the Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) and Annual Training Report (ATR)? 

A WSP is planned training for the following year. 

An ATR is a report on actual training completed during the previous year. The below is needed as proof of t...

With South Africa’s strict labour laws many employers are choosing to outsource work to contractors rather than employing people on a full-time basis. While this may provide some relief in respect of the labour laws employers may still have SARS obligations to these service providers more commonly known as a personal service provider or “PSP".

A PSP has been included in the definition of an employee for tax purposes and in is defined as: 

Any company or trust, where any service rendered on behalf of such company or trust to a client (deemed employer) of such company or trust is rendered personally...

Caryn Myers is the Managing Partner at Myers Attorneys. She completed her BA Honours in Political Science at the University of Natal, and an LLB through UNISA. Caryn specializes in commercial law, with a broad range of services within the Commercial, Compliance and Empowerment law space.

She thrives on providing innovative, tailor-made solutions, based on best practice, with a full understanding of the continuously evolving regulatory and business environment she operates in.

For all businesses in South Africa, before investing in any business transaction, whether it is valued at R10,000.00 or R50...

We are able to offer a variety of audits that assist you and your business to know whether or not you are compliant.

The three audits on offer are:

• A Labour Audit

• A Secretarial Audit

• A POPI Compliance Audit

THE LABOUR AUDIT COVERS THE FOLLOWING:

1. General Company Information

2. Company Policies

3. Acts

4. Employment Equity

5. Skills Development

6. Employment Contracts

7. Remuneration

8. Job Descriptions

9. References

10. Key Performance Indicators

11. Suspension Procedure

12. Grievance Procedure

13. Occupational Health and Safety Procedure

THE SECRETARIAL AUDI...

Inspectors from the Department of Labour regularly visit workplaces to check the level of compliance with labour legislation. The following are some of the aspects inspectors check: 

1. Are you registered with the Compensation Fund?

2. Are you registered with the Unemployment Insurance Fund?

3. Do you have a copy of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the relevant Regulations on the premises and is the Act and the Regulations available to the workers if they want to read it?

4. Do you display the Summary of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act?

5. Do you display the Summary of the Employm...

Amendment to Code 300

The Amendment introduces:

•  Spend on Bursaries for Black Students attending Higher Education Institutions:

  • A bursary or scholarship scheme is a grant made to or for students who are registered at educational institutions established by or registered with the Department of Basic Education or the Department of Higher Education & Training. Examples of legitimate training costs for a bursary or scholarship includes: payment of school, college or university fees, or a portion thereof; funding for textbooks or other learning materials; funding for subsistence or accommoda...