Does the vaccination proof-requirement amount to unfair discrimination against people who have elected not to be vaccinated? The answer to this question is quite simply ‘NO’.  

Businesses and individuals who have suffered losses during the violence and unrest are well advised not to make fraudulent insurance claims for their losses.

The principle that individual rights are outweighed in certain circumstances is well established in our law, as indicated by a number of judgments which confirm that an individual’s right to refuse being vaccinated in terms of section 12(2)(b) of the Constitution is not cast in stone.

The publication of the revised Consolidated Directions on Occupational Health and Safety Measures in Certain Workplaces on 11 June 2021, does not mean that employers are now entitled by law to subject employees and independent contractors to mandatory vaccinations.

The developing law has been and is still being outpaced by the coronavirus pandemic, but it is quite apparent that while the employer bears the obligation to ensure that the workplace is safe, the employee also has corresponding obligations.

We know that employers must provide a safe workplace. But what are his rights, and what demands can he make on employees in implementing and managing the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic?

To avoid wasting time and money on legal fees in seeking clarity from the courts, all necessary clauses, including a proper and elaborate vis major clause should be included and clear, in contracts of lease, especially those providing remedies in case a dispute arises.

The Unemployment Insurance Fund's Destroyed, Affected or Looted Workplaces: Temporary Financial Relief Scheme has been established to assist the more than 75 000 workers who are receiving either reduced pay or no pay at all because their workplaces have closed due the unrest.

The National Empowerment Fund’s Economic Recovery Fund has a focus on manufacturing, retail and services businesses, while the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (Sefa) Small Business Development Business Recovery Support Packages support informal and micro businesses sector.

The IDCs Post-Unrest Business Recovery Fund, MCEP Economic Stabilisation Funds and matching grants: providing industrial loan support to affected companies towards the rebuilding of infrastructure, and restoration of equipment, fittings for the premises, stock, and provision of working capital.

Effective rule of law reduces corruption, combats poverty and disease, and protects people from injustices large and small. It is the foundation for communities of justice, opportunity, and peace - underpinning development, accountable government, and respect for fundamental rights.

The criminal justice system and crime prevention strategies must take note of the contribution that the sociology of law can make in developing a “humane” criminal justice system to effectively contribute towards crime prevention.

The answer to whether employers can force their employees to get vaccinated against Covid-19 involves weighing up individual constitutional rights against those of the public interest, consent, and in the absence of specific legislation, to inform them of the benefits.

South African companies and organisations considering using demotion as an alternative to retrenchment need to bear in mind several labour law considerations with regard to its context and correct implementation.

The general requirements for a fair dismissal based on an employer's operational requirements are to be found in section 189 of the LRA. However, section 189A provides for specific procedures and remedies for instances of large-scale retrenchment. The similarities and differences between these two sections therefore need to be considered.

The proliferation of electronic documents makes electronic discovery imperative for the legal and corporate world, and mishandling such documents could spell danger for the success of your case.This was the overarching sentiment shared during the virtual launch on 30 March 2021 of Africa’s first legal text on eDiscovery, entitled A Guide to eDiscovery in South Africa.

The world is awash with data and has officially entered the Zettabyte era[1].  Hundreds of billions of emails are sent/received on a daily basis and it has been calculated that more than 97% of business documents are created electronically. South Africa is not immune nor exempt from the digital revolution.  In short, the very nature of what constitutes information and documentary evidence, types and sources, and how they are dealt with has changed.

As we well know, the volume of data being generated is growing rapidly. eDiscovery involves almost all information capable of being stored electronically, across multiple formats. It is not limited to conventional formats such as Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and email. It includes text messages, social media interactions on WhatsApp, Twitter, Skype and Zoom meetings. Add in LinkedIn, FaceBook and Google searches. In short it is the electronic aspect of identifying, collecting and producing electronically stored information (ESI) in a litigation case or investigation.

A force majeure is generally defined as “an act of God or man that is unforeseen and unforeseeable and out of the reasonable control of one or both of the parties to a contract, and which makes it objectively impossible for one or both of the parties to perform their obligations under the contract.”

Jason Manyenyeni argues that the learned Judge erred in some principal and crucial respects in the case of De Beer and Another v Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. A view which he contends is consistent with most of the views expressed by early commentators, and that the judgment is unlikely to pass the scrutiny of an appeal court.