Global Employment Risk: An interactive guide

Since the onset of the pandemic, our global employment team has been monitoring the level and changing nature of risks around the world.  Whilst some trends have accelerated i.e. whistleblowing regulations, there are some new and important developments that pose significant employment risks. We have mapped these across the major financial centers using an interactive … Read more

South Africa: remote working issues for employers

Auditing, advisory and tax services firm PwC recently announced that 40,000 client services employees based in the US would be permitted to work virtually and live in any location in perpetuity. Those in support staff roles such as human resources and legal operations were given the option to work virtually on a full-time basis some … Read more

South Africa: how to manage long COVID in the workplace

Discovery Health’s Head of the Centre for Clinical Excellence, Doctor Noluthando Nematswerani, said “Long COVID affects every aspect of life, it affects one’s mental health and one’s ability to focus and work, and could have economic consequences too. This is why it’s so important that we acknowledge the prevalence and growing awareness around Long COVID.” … Read more

South Africa: mandatory vaccinations – can employees be dismissed for declining a jab?

On 2 September 2021, it was reported that Discovery, South Africa’s largest medical scheme administrator, will make COVID-19 vaccinations compulsory from the start of 2022. The report notes that the mandatory vaccination policy recognises an employee’s right to object to the vaccination and will include a process to consider the employee’s health, religious and other … Read more

South Africa: whistleblowers – how do we guard the guardians?

In a letter to fellow South Africans on 30 August 2021, President Cyril Ramaphosa described whistle-blowers as “important guardians of our democracy.” The President also said “While numerous systems are in place to enable whistle-blowers to report wrongdoing anonymously, we need to tighten up existing systems and provide greater support to those who publicly come … Read more

South Africa: protect employees against sexual harassment or face the consequences

Despite a comprehensive legal framework to deal with sexual harassment at work, it continues to run rampant in the workplace. Businesses cannot turn a blind eye to sexual harassment allegations in the workplace. They need to take proactive steps to protect employees and deal with any alleged instances of sexual harassment. It’s clear that despite … Read more

South Africa: can employers dismiss employees who are not vaccinated?

Recently, there have been media reports in South Africa that Sasol, one of South Africa’s largest employers, intends to request approval for the mass vaccination of its employees and service providers in anticipation of a planned shutdown event which requires more than 20 000 people on site over a period of 23 days. The purpose … Read more

Updated HSF multi-jurisdictional guide to employee issues in business transfers

Employment law issues rarely determine the strategy for a multi-jurisdictional business acquisition, but they can certainly give rise to significant avoidable costs and delay if issues are not spotted in advance. In the Herbert Smith Freehills 2016 global survey, 57% of respondents cited employment regulations as one of the reasons a deal had failed to … Read more