Despite re-designing the way we work and prioritising employee wellness in the daily management of employees, we have had to build a strong level of trust in accommodating remote working since the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic. If navigating the new “business un-usual” experience due to the pandemic and staying relevant with the latest news updates on the COVID 19 regulations has not proven challenging enough for business, the South African labour law amendments promulgated during 2020 have rendered policies and procedures outdated, posing risk to your business.

2021 will require organisations to prioritise policy review and formulation and we can support you with this process

We have highlighted a few labour law amendments which came into effect during 2020:

The Labour laws amendment Act, 2018, 1 April 2020 amendments came into operation to amend the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 these provide for parental, adoption and commissioning parental leave to employees; to amend the Unemployment Insurance Act, 2001, so as to provide for the right to claim parental and commissioning parental benefits from the Unemployment Insurance Fund. The National Minimum Wage Amendment Act 3 of 2020 came into effect in August 2020.

The Minister of employment and labour has determined that all employees earning in excess of R 211 596.30 per annum are excluded from specific sections of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997, effective 1 March 2021.

The Employment Equity Bill, 2020), seeks to amend the Employment Equity Act, 1998 (Act No. 55 of 1998) (‘‘the Act’’). We await the effective date.

Further provisions in the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI) came into effect on 1 July 2020, payroll data, employee information, CVs, CCTV records, performance reviews and internal e-mail records fall within the scope of these POPIA requirements.

Companies need to mitigate these risks for what lies ahead in terms of labour law compliance. We assist small and medium size business to achieve this.

Avoid hefty fines and get in touch with us.