Dismissal for violation of picketing rules

In Shave and Gibson Packaging (Pty) Ltd v African Meat Industry and Allied Trade Union [2025] 8 BLLR 819 (LAC), 126 protected strikers were dismissed for insubordination after picketing outside the demarcated area during a violent strike. The employer had obtained an order interdicting the strikers from harassing and intimidating non-striking workers and from obstructing…

Read More

Employers must update leave policies after landmark ConCourt ruling

The Constitutional Court has confirmed that sections of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) and the Unemployment Insurance Fund Act are unconstitutional because, when it comes to “maternity leave”, they unfairly discriminate against mothers and fathers, surrogate parents, and those who adopt children. The declarations of constitutional invalidity were suspended for 36 months to…

Read More

ZEP holders get reprieve until 2027

In a move bringing relief to thousands of Zimbabwean nationals living in South Africa, Home Affairs Minister, Dr Leon Schreiber has extended the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) until May 28, 2027. The announcement was formalized through the Minister’s Immigration Directive No. 21 of 2025, seen by IOL, and affects approximately 180,000 ZEP holders living in…

Read More

CONSTRUCTIVE DISMISSAL CONFIRMED IN LANDMARK CASE AGAINST RELIGIOUS EMPLOYER

By Johnny Goldberg The judgment in Makombe vs Cape Conference of the Seventh Day Adventist and Others (C04/2023) [2025] ZALCCT 19 marked a significant moment for labour law in religious institutions, where the Labour Court set aside a CCMA award and found that the employee was constructively dismissed by her employer. The employee, a former pastor employed…

Read More

 Equal Pay for Equal Work

In the matter of Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa v Hoyo (CA04/2023) [2024] ZALAC 57; [2025] 2 BLLR 160 (LAC) (6 November 2024) the Labour Appeal Court (LAC) overturned a Labour Court decision that had found the employer guilty of unfair discrimination against the employee on the basis of race and unequal pay. The LAC found…

Read More

 Strike case

In AFRICAN MEAT INDUSTRY AND ALLIED TRADE UNION (AMITU) AND OTHERS V SHAVE AND GIBSON PACKAGING (PTY) LTD (D 1050/2019) [2023] ZALCD 17 (17 OCTOBER 2023) the case revolved around the alleged unfair dismissal of members of the union AMITU. The Court was tasked with determining the fairness of the employer’s actions. The dispute arose from a…

Read More

Dismissal Under the Guise of Operational Requirements

In the matter of LEKALAKE V EOH MTHOMBO (PTY) LTD [2025] JS895/19 LC, the Labour Court’s ruling highlighted the importance of fair retrenchment procedures in South Africa. The case involved a consultant who was dismissed in 2019 due to alleged operational requirements. However, the Court found the dismissal to be substantively unfair and ordered the employee’s reinstatement with…

Read More

AARTO RULES 

FROM JUNE 5, 2025 AARTO Rule – From June 5, 2025, every motorist in South Africa must prepare for one of the most significant shifts in road traffic enforcement in recent history. The full implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act means tougher fines, stricter enforcement of rules, and a complete overhaul of how demerit points are…

Read More