1

INTRODUCTION

2

THE CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT

3

How can a contract of employment be used?

4

Changing the contract of employment

5

Types of contracts: Indefinite and Fixed-term contracts

6

Casual employees

7

‘Zero-rated’ contracts

8

Volunteers

9

Differential wage

10

Bonus pay

11

Long service awards

12

Job references

13

LAWS ABOUT TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

14

Wage regulating measures

15

How do you know which law applies to an employee?

16

BASIC CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT ACT (BCEA)

17

Who is covered by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act?

18

Temporary Employment Services (TES)

19

Variation of basic conditions

20

Individual contract of employment

21

Collective bargaining

22

Sectoral Determinations

23

Ministerial exemptions

24

Prohibited employment

25

Enforcement of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA)

26

Summary of provisions in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA)

27

MINIMUM WAGES

28

Summary of provisions in the National Minimum Wage Act (NMWA)

29

COLLECTIVE AGREEMENTS

30

Workplace-based collective agreements

31

Bargaining Council Agreements

32

SECTORAL DETERMINATIONS

33

How are Sectoral Determinations made?

34

Enforcement of a Sectoral Determination

35

Settling disputes under a Sectoral Determination

36

Summary of the Sectoral Determination for Farm Workers

37

Summary of the Sectoral Determination for Domestic Workers

38

DEREGULATION

39

OTHER LAWS THAT APPLY TO TERMS AND CONDITIONS IN THE WORKPLACE

40

Employment Equity Act (EEA)

41

The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA)

42

Code of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Harassment in the Workplace

43

The Merchant Shipping Act

44

DISPUTES AND WAYS OF SETTLING DISPUTES

45

What is a dispute?

46

The Labour Relations Act (LRA)

47

Who is an employee?

48

Unfair Labour Practices

49

DISMISSALS

50

What is a dismissal?

51

Automatically unfair dismissals

52

When is a dismissal fair or unfair?

53

Dismissal for misconduct

54

Dismissal for incapacity

55

Retrenchment or redundancy dismissal

56

What steps can be taken if there is an unfair dismissal?

57

SOLVING DISPUTES UNDER THE LRA

58

Conciliation by the CCMA or Bargaining Council

59

Arbitration by the CCMA or Bargaining Council

60

Adjudication by the Labour Court

61

TAKING INDUSTRIAL ACTION

62

When is industrial action not permitted?

63

What procedures must be followed before industrial action is protected?

64

If an employer unilaterally changes conditions of employment

65

Employee’s and employer’s rights in protected industrial action

66

Trade unions

67

SOCIAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS IN THE WORKPLACE

68

Unemployment Insurance Fund

69

COMPENSATION FUND

70

When can an employee claim compensation?

71

Who can claim compensation from the Fund?

72

Who contributes to the Fund?

73

When will the Fund not pay compensation?

74

Occupational diseases and injuries

75

What types of compensation payment are made?

76

Steps to claim disability

77

How is the compensation money paid?

78

Objections and appeals

79

EMPLOYEE’S TAX

80

What is employee’s tax?

81

When must an employee pay tax?

82

How much tax do you pay?

83

What information must you give to employers?

84

Rebates

85

Tax on bonus pay and retrenchment pay

86

Part-time work and casual work

87

Tax assessments

88

PENSION AND PROVIDENT FUNDS

89

How does a pension or provident fund work?

90

Types of funds and benefits

91

Bargaining Council funds

92

Complaints about payments from pension funds

93

The Pension Funds Adjudicator

94

The Two-Pot Retirement System

95

MEDICAL AID SCHEMES FOR EMPLOYEES

96

Advantages and disadvantages of Medical Aid Schemes

97

Medical Schemes Act

98

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT ACT

99

The National Qualifications Framework (NQF)

100

The Skills Development Levy-Grant Scheme

101

Skills Development Facilitators

102

PROBLEMS

103

Problem 1: Money is deducted from an employee’s wages

104

Problem 2: Employee wants to claim notice pay and leave pay

105

Problem 3: Employee is paid below the minimum wage

106

Problem 4: Dismissed employee wants the job back – how to apply for reinstatement or compensation

107

Problem 5: Retrenchment

108

Problem 6: Employee dismissed for being under the influence of alcohol on duty (no previous record of alcohol abuse)

109

Problem 7: Employee dismissed for being under the influence of alcohol while on duty (Employee is suffering from alcoholism)

110

Problem 8: Contract employees are dismissed before the contract is due to terminate

111

Problem 9: Contract employees are not paid overtime

112

Problem 10: Part-time employee is not paid sick leave

113

Problem 11: Fixed-term contract has not been renewed

114

Problem 12: Application for UIF benefits is too late

115

Problem 13: Employer does not register employee with the Unemployment Insurance Fund

116

Problem 14: Failing to sign the Unemployment Register

117

Problem 15: Long delay in paying Compensation

118

Problem 16: Employee does not get the correct amount of compensation money

119

Problem 17: Injured employee is off work and is not getting paid

120

Problem 18: Employee is injured on duty and loses the job

121

Problem 19: Employee’s compensation has been refused

122

Problem 20: Employees develop an occupational disease

123

MODEL LETTERS AND FORMS

124

Model Contract of Employment

125

Letter of demand to employer for reinstatement

126

Letter of demand to employer for notice and leave pay

127

Letter to Department of Employment and Labour about a notice and leave pay claim

128

Letter of appeal against the refusal to pay UIF

129

Letter to UIF because benefits have not been paid

130

Letter to Compensation Commissioner asking whether the accident was reported

131

Letter to Compensation Commissioner asking for reasons for the delay in paying

132

How to write a complaint to the Pension Funds Adjudicator

133

LRA Form 7.11 Referring a dispute to the CCMA for resolution

134

Compensation Form WCL3

135

CHECKLISTS

136

Checklist for a labour problem

137

Checklist to prepare for arbitration

138

Checklist to prepare a claim for reinstatement

139

Checklist for problems about UIF

140

Checklist for compensation problems