Article 19/2021

Labour Edge

The scenario is as follows: an employer and employee conclude a retention bonus agreement.  The employer is in non-compliance with certain material aspects of such agreement.  The employee has not accepted such breaches.  Until when is the employer entitled to retract its position?


Traditionally it is said that repudiation is only ‘completed’ or rendered ‘absolute’ or ‘definite’ by its acceptance by the innocent party. Until there has been such acceptance the repudiation may be nullified or undone by the unilateral act of the innocent party (rejection of the repudiation) or the repudiator him-or herself (retraction of the repudiation). A repudiation is also said to lapse if it is not acted upon by the innocent party within a reasonable time.

 

What is an employer to do when it suspects that a medical practitioner is issuing pre- signed sick notes, or permitting its employees to buy sick notes, or, alternatively, is engaging in some other dubious practice regarding the issue of sick notes? What is an employer to do when it suspects that a person is not entitled to practice as a medical doctor?

Are you required to interpret any of the following: pre-trial minutes, strike ballot guidelines, the LRA, a separation agreement, a benefits dispute, an arbitration award, the BCEA, a restraint of trade, a traditional disciplinary enquiry charge sheet, the constitution of a trade union, etc?

The labour appeal court recently, in Murray and Roberts Cementation (Pty) Ltd v AMCU obo Dube and Others (2024) 35 SALLR 116 (LAC), confirmed important principles relating to the formulation of traditional charge sheets, determining the
fairness of a dismissal, the interpretation of a charge sheet and the reason(s) relied upon by the employer to justify the dismissal of an employee.