Probation is still alive and well – and it is legal, contrary to what some apparently believe. A probationary clause in the employment contract, and not a fixed term contract, is the appropriate way to “try out” a new employee.
A probationary employee is newly employed on a conditional employment contract – to evaluate the employee’s work performance during the probationary period to ascertain if he/she is able to perform the work at the required standard, before confirming the appointment. Probation is
After some extensive market research and in response to requests from numerous clients, Faculty Training Institute has re-imagined and re-launched its’ well-respected short course, the Principles of Business Analysis (PBA). This particular course has primarily been offered only as an in-house option over the last few years as FTI has been running another short 3 day BA programme under license from Watermark Learning. Due to popular demand though, the newly up-dated and certified PBA is back.
The Principles of Business Analysis course is a 4 day short course with two days being spent on business case activities and two days on requirement specification activities. If requested, these 4 days can be
Most employers will experience some type of rebellion from their workforces at one time or another. Sometimes it is that very rebellion (possibly a strike) that helps bring the organisation’s life to an end. Fortunately, relatively few cases of rebellion reach such serious levels. However, even smaller workplace storms can result in costly damage including:
Toyota SA Motors (Pty) Ltd v CCMA & others [2015] ZACC 40
BACKGROUND
“Toyota SA Motors (Pty) Ltd (“Toyota”) employed Makoma Makhotla (“Makhotla”) in 2006. Mr. Makhotla failed to report for duty from 28 February to 3 March 2011. When it became evident that Mr. Makhotla would be unable to report for duty, he unsuccessfully attempted to locate his supervisor, Ms. Mukhavhuli, on her mobile phone. Furthermore, he contacted one of the senior managers, Mr. Hawkins, within his division and reported to him. He also sent a short message service (“SMS”) to Ms. Mukhavhuli, indicating that it would take him three days to address the issue that caused his absence from work.
When Mr. Makhotla returned to work on 4 March 2011,
By Professor Paul Benjamin - Cheadle Thompson and Haysom Inc.
[21 September 2016]The Labour Court hears an increasing number of applications to enforce restraint of trade agreements. In these cases, employers seek to prevent employees from taking up employment with a competitor because they possess confidential information or access to their customers. There is a growing body of reported and unreported judgements on the topic but very decisions from the Labour Appeal Court. The reason for this is that by the time an appeal can be heard, the period of the restraint is generally over and the issue will have become academic.
Labour Court judges are required by the rules of precedent to follow the 1984 Appellate Division decision, Magna Alloys, which held that contracts in restraint of trade are not contrary to public policy. That was one of the number of cases in which the judges of our highest court at the time sought to rid our law of the “pernicious” influence of English law and restore it to its Roman Dutch glory. The judgment contains no discussion of whether the English approach in which the employer must establish that a restraint is fair and reasonable is appropriate in a contemporary economy. Despite its dated origins, the Magna Alloys approach has
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