Is it fair to dismiss an employee who came to work, knowing that he was exposed to Covid-19? Absolutely, said the Labour Court in a recent judgment (Eskort Limited v Stuurman Mogotsi and others). The court was not only critical of employees who act with scant regard for the health and safety of their colleagues and customers, but also cautioned employers to act more decisively in ensuring the health and safety of their staff.
Johan Botes 8 hours ago
Just under one-third of organisations indicated they are well prepared for PoPIA. Here are six things that can be done to improve compliance readiness...
Anna Collard 12 Apr 2021
Very few workplace issues elicit as firmly held views or fears as the topic of constructive dismissal. Whether it is a manager, fearful of doing something wrong and at risk of an employee lodging the dreadful claim of constructive dismissal, or Harvey Spectre wannabes cascading their views on the legal impact of such a claim: say "constructive dismissal" and you have everyone's attention...
Johan Botes 26 Jan 2021
The Tax Administration Act requires Sars officials to preserve the secrecy of taxpayer information. In the Public Protector v CSARS, the Constitutional Court had to decide whether the Public Protector's subpoena powers trumped those of Sars obligations to keep taxpayers' information secret...
Graeme Palmer 25 Jan 2021
Putting the brakes on business travel and physical offices due to tech transformation...
Johan Botes 11 Jan 2021
Looking back at 2020, the most significant development on the tax front must certainly have been government's tax relief measures aimed at helping businesses mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic...
Albertus Marais 6 Jan 2021
In the midst of the planetary emergency of climate change, Covid-19 is testing modern civilisation's preparedness for shocks, across the spheres of finance, economics and technology; global, national and regional governance; global and population health; social cohesion and food security. This is according to Baker McKenzie's new report, Unprecedented: Converging Crises...
Wildu du Plessis 6 Jan 2021
Whenever an employee's services are terminated, or an annual leave cycle ends, there will be at least two people arguing about whether the employee's old, untaken annual leave could be accumulated and paid out...
Johan Botes 10 Dec 2020
Many organisations believe that POPI compliance will not affect them. This is a short-sighted attitude that could see them falling foul of the law...
Johan Scheepers 7 Dec 2020
The duties of directors of property development-related associations have at times been an uncertain area of law...
Francois Schoeman 7 Dec 2020
The Competition Commissioner during the Commission's Annual Conference (in November 2020), noted that the Commission will take a "decisive and proactive stance to ensure the balance of economic forces favour a shift to facilitating entry and a more competitive digital economy"...
Burton Phillips 1 Dec 2020
Usually when a business is sold, it is a taxable supply that is subject to value added tax (VAT) at the standard rate of 15%. There is, however, a provision in the Value Added Tax Act 89 of 1991 (VAT Act), section 11(1)(e), which allows for the sale of a business at the rate of 0%, provided certain requirements are met...
Graeme Palmer 25 Nov 2020
The South African Revenue Service (Sars) is empowered by section 40 of the Tax Administration Act, 2011 (TAA) to select a taxpayer for audit...
Graeme Palmer 26 Oct 2020
Paula Sartini, founder and CEO at BrandQuantum International writes that privacy management is critical, not only as a compliance tool for legal and compliance practitioners but also as a tool for building trust with customers...
Paula Sartini 1 Oct 2020
Employers use limited duration contracts (LDCs) to create certainty and limit legal risk in respect of staffing solutions. Appointing an employee for a fixed period or defined project allows an employer to plan for the employee's exit in advance. But what happens when the work is not completed by the end date...?
Johan Botes 30 Sep 2020
Voluntary Disclosure Programme (VDP) applications have been a permanent part of our law since 2012. The essence of a VDP application is that a taxpayer is incentivised to disclose to Sars a tax default by being granted some relief from the consequences of their default...
Graeme Palmer 18 Sep 2020
An issue, which has been shrouded in uncertainty in South African contract law, is when courts may refuse to enforce valid contractual terms on the basis that it considers that enforcement would be unfair, unreasonable or unduly harsh. The Constitutional Court in the case of Beadica 231 CC and Others v Trustees for the time being of Oregon Trust, has finally offered some clarity...
Rishal Bipraj 11 Sep 2020
Women are unable to escape disparate treatment in the workplace, with even the current global pandemic causing greater upheaval for them compared to their male counterparts...
Johan Botes 25 Aug 2020
Commission earners could make an argument to Sars that they should be allowed to deduct their normal range of business expenses, even if commission is no longer more than 50% of their total remuneration under the exceptional circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic...
Joon Chong 22 Jul 2020
While a tax judgment may have all the effects of a judgment, it is not a judgment in the ordinary sense, but rather an enforcement mechanism for the recovery of tax...
Graeme Palmer 20 Jul 2020
Ya'eesh Cader together with his brother made use of the nationwide lockdown to enable, rather than disable their online legal platform, Get Law...
Evan-Lee Courie 15 Jul 2020
Section 179 of the Tax Administration Act, 2011 allows the South African Revenue Service (Sars) to issue a notice to a person who holds or owes money, including a pension, salary, wage or other remuneration, for or to a taxpayer, requiring the person to pay the money to Sars in satisfaction of the taxpayer's outstanding tax debt.
Graeme Palmer 22 Jun 2020
