Unfair dismissal disputes arising from allegations of insubordination have had their fair share of attention from South African arbitrators and the courts. The latest of these decisions is that of the Labour Court inNaicker v Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration and Others. The employee in this matter, Ms Naicker, was employed by Africa Flight Services (a cargo handler) as a customer service agent ...
On August 6, 2019, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a panel opinion in the case of Texas v. EEOC at al., Case No. 18-10638 (5th Cir. August 6, 2019), that looks to significantly impact the way employers may choose to treat employees or applicants with criminal backgrounds. Background In April 2012, the EEOC issued “Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII” (Guidance) ...
Section 187(1)(c) of the South African Labour Relations Act, 1995 (“LRA”) has always been controversial because of the interplay between the definition of automatically unfair dismissals, employers’ rights to terminate contracts of employment on the basis of operational requirements and the institution of collective bargaining ...
Unfair dismissal disputes arising from allegations of insubordination have had their fair share of attention from South African arbitrators and the courts. The latest of these decisions is that of the Labour Court in Naicker v Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration and Others. The employee in this matter, Ms Naicker, was employed by Africa Flight Services (a cargo handler) as a customer service agent ...
For the first time in employment law jurisprudence, the South African Constitutional Court has considered the nature and scope of the duty of good faith within the context of the contract of employment. This occurred in its recent decision inNUMSA obo Nganezi & Others v Dunlop Mixing and Technical Services (Pty) Ltd & Others. Factual background During August 2012, Dunlop’s employees embarked on a protected strike ...
Rwanda has adopted a ministerial order implementing the law on immigration and emigration, introducing various changes to the Rwandan immigration and emigration landscape. The ministerial order provides for a new type of work/residence permit (the Q1 permit), which allows the secondment of employees of multinationals to their subsidiaries and/or branches in Rwanda without employees being required to enter into employment contracts with a Rwandan company ...
The Association Des Hoteliers et Restaurateurs Ile Maurice (“AHRIM”), an association of hotels and restaurants in Mauritius, and the Sea Users Association, an association of civilians, recently won an important appeal. The appeal was against the grant of an Environmental Impact Assessment (“EIA”) licence to a fish farming project by the Minister of Social Security, National Solidarity, and Environment and Sustainable Development ...
A recent landmark decision of the of the South African Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council could see Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (“CCMA”) commissioners stripped of their discretion in granting legal representation for those involved in unfair dismissal disputes arising from misconduct or incapacity ...
The general requirements for a fair dismissal based on an employer’s operational requirements are found in section 189 of the South African Labour Relations Act, 1995 (“LRA”). However, section 189A provides for specific procedures and remedies, should an employer embark on a large-scale retrenchment. Various consequences flow from the fact that a proposed retrenchment falls within the scope of section 189A ...
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law the Carbon Tax Act, 2019, which comes into effect on 1 June 2019. With the passing of the carbon tax into law, a price on carbon emissions is now a reality for the South African economy.The impact of the legislation, along with complementary measures such as the national greenhouse gas emission reporting regulations, will have a transformative effect on the South African economy ...
Just a few months ago, South African advocates, attorneys and candidate attorneys alike were celebrating therulingof an arbitrator attached to the Dispute Resolution Centre (“DRC”) of the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council in the matter betweenCoetzee v Autohaus Centurion. In this matter, the applicant employee had applied to be legally represented at an arbitration ...
Section 38(2)(a) of the Mauritian Employment Rights Act provides that: “(2) No employer shall terminate a worker’s agreement – (a) for reasons related to the worker’s misconduct, unless – (i)he cannot in good faith take any other course of action…” (our emphasis added) In its judgment in the case ofUnited Docks Limited v De Spéville [2019] UKPC 28(delivered on 10 June 2019), the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council had to c
When the tide of democracy and constitutionalism swept through labour legislation in South Africa from the early ‘90s onwards, domestic workers, for the first time, gained access to important labour rights. However, they remained excluded from two important statutes, the Unemployment Insurance Act, 2001 (the “UI Act”) and the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, 1993 (“COIDA”) ...
Under final rules issued last month, employers can offer two new types of health reimbursement arrangements or HRAs: individual coverage HRAs ("ICHRAs") and excepted benefit HRAs ("EBHRAs"). HRAs are self-funded, account based plans that reimburse employees for qualified medical expenses on a tax-free basis. The final rules apply for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2020. While the rules are complex, the new ICHRAs and EBHRAs offer new planning opportunities for employers ...
Effective 1 January 2020, new rules pertaining to whistleblowing will enter into force.On 11 June 2019, the Norwegian Parliament passed a resolution that all provisions of the Working Environment Act Chapter 2 A shall be amended. The changes in the law mainly contribute to clarification and precise formulation of judicial status so as to make the provisions more accessible and understandable to the users of the law ...
Currently, 33% of Ireland's Greenhouse Gas emissions are produced as a result of agricultural activities. In order to reduce emissions there must be a change in farming methods; opportunities are also present in the areas of forestry, bioenergy and land-use practices. While reducing emissions, policy in this area must also aim to: Maintain the "green" brand image of Irish food exports abroad ("Origin Green" etc.). Maintain good prices for producers ...
In our newsletter article of March 2019, which was only based on press release No. 9/19 of the BAG [German Federal Labor Court] regarding the judgment of Feb. 19, 2019 - 9 AZR 541/15, we addressed the new case law of the BAG for informing the employer about existing vacation entitlements. In a similar case (also judgment of Feb ...
BAG of Feb. 19, 2019 – 3 AZR 219/18 So-called "late marriage clauses" in surviving dependants' pension commitments may constitute an unjustified age discrimination and can therefore be ineffective, unless a specific cut-off date can be justified on the basis of a specific connecting factor particularly linked to the legal structure principles of company pension schemes. FACTS OF THE CASE A widow filed a complaint with regard to a widow's pension before the labor courts ...
BAG, judgment of Apr. 9, 2019 – 1 ABR 30/17 The transfer of an employee after the loss of job to the care of an in-house "Job Service and Placement" unit constitutes a transfer requiring consent within the meaning of Sec. 99 para. 1 BetrVG [German works constitution act]. If the selection procedure is carried out by the parties pursuant to a framework agreement, the instruction in the approval procedure also covers the selection procedure ...
Federal Labor Court (BAG), judgment of Dec. 11, 2018 – 9 AZR 161/18 An enhanced vacation entitlement on grounds of age where employees who have not yet reached the age of 50 are granted at least three days less vacation than older employees violates the prohibition of discrimination of Sec. 7(1) in conjunction with Sec. 1 AGG ...
BAG, judgment of Mar. 14, 2019 – 6 AZR 4/18 A severance payment awarded by dissolution proceedings may either be an insolvency claim or insolvency asset liability. The time the dissolution petition was made is decisive. FACTS OF THE CASE The employer (later insolvency debtor) terminated the employment of the plaintiff before the opening of insolvency proceedings ...
Expansive Law Aimed at Predictive Scheduling for Workers, Limiting Employers’ Ability to Unilaterally Change Work Hours On July 24, 2019, the City of Chicago enacted the “Fair Work Week Ordinance,” requiring that many businesses provide workers with up to two-weeks advance notice of their work hours and schedules ...
It is summer holiday (for most Norwegians, anyway) and what is better than combining the beach, the pool or wherever you are with spending 3 minutes getting up to speed with a small bouquet of the many exciting developments of Norwegian employment law in 2019? Let's dive in and look at downsizings, selection pools, #metoo legislation and a first officer that ran his ship on ground ...
