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Anika de Klerk Anika de Klerk

Must A Contract Of Employment Be Signed To Be Valid?

A contract of employment may not be signed for various reasons, one of the main reasons being that the employee simply refuses to sign the contract. So, this begs the question: How valid is a contract of employment that has not been signed? The short answer is that the validity of a contract of employment does not depend on whether the parties have signed it. A verbal contract may also be valid. Read on for a brief explanation.

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Anika de Klerk Anika de Klerk

May An Employer Change Its Policies?

An organisation's policy refers to the course of action it adopts or proposes. This policy then informs the way the business operates and how its employees are expected to behave. That said, is an employer allowed to change their policy without the prior agreement of their employees? Actually, yes. A policy may be changed without the agreement of employees, unless it involves a change to basic or agreed terms or conditions of employment. Read on a brief explanation on why this is the case.

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Anika de Klerk Anika de Klerk

Leave Accrual – The First Four Months

Is an employee who leaves employment within the first four months entitled to be paid for annual leave accrued during that period? The short answer is: no. In the absence of any agreement or law to the contrary, an employee is only entitled to a leave pay-out if the employee has been employed for more than 4 months. Here is a brief explanation about why this is the case, based on the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA).

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Anika de Klerk Anika de Klerk

Is An Annual Increase In Wages A Right?

Is an annual increase in wages a right? That is, does an employee have a right to an annual wage increase? The short answer is that the Basic Conditions of Employment Act of 1997 does not make provision for minimum wages or wage increases, so there is no general duty an employer to give an annual increase. However, there can be certain exceptions. Read on for a brief explanation.

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Anika de Klerk Anika de Klerk

Can Annual Leave Be Forfeited?

There are two types of annual leave available to employees in any business – non-statutory annual leave and statutory annual leave. While most employees make a point of using their annual leave, some may ask to forfeit their leave for various reasons. The question is, can annual leave be forfeited? The short answer is that both non-statutory and statutory annual leave can actually be forfeited. Read on for further explanation.

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Anika de Klerk Anika de Klerk

Can An Employee Be Dismissed For Non-Declaration Of Past Misconduct?

An employee’s departure from an organisation is not always on good terms. A prospective employer who comes to know about this may have some reservations about employing the job applicant, irrespective of what led to the breakdown of the relationship with the previous employer. While the job seeker does not have to refer to this in the CV, the issue may very well come up in the job interview. Being evasive at this stage is likely to be more problematic. But how far does the duty to disclose go?

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