News & Articles
How should co-executors of a deceased estate act?
“My mother and I have been appointed as co-executors of my late father’s estate. My mother wants to sell our family home, but I don’t want to. She has however gone ahead and signed a sale agreement without my consent. Can she do this and sell the house without my approval?”
Companies Act Amendment Bill – less red tape or more?
“I understand there are amendments being proposed to the Companies Act? Will this help make life easier or harder for our company? It feels as if there is always just more red tape whenever the law changes.”
Who qualifies as a Black person under the BEE Act?
“I have a black woman that has been working for me for a number of years. She is an asset to my business and I have been planning to give her shares in my company. However, she’s from Zambia and is only a permanent resident of South Africa. Will she qualify as a black shareholder for purposes of BEE legislation if I make her a shareholder?”
Can I use a drone for taking photos?
“I’m a wedding photographer and have started using a drone to add an additional element to my wedding photography. One of my clients however asked whether I’m allowed to fly a drone and take photos as they don’t want to get in trouble if they use me for the wedding. I thought it was ok, but now I’m not sure. Can I use a drone for taking photos and videos?”
What is the chance of being reinstated following a dismissal?
“I recently dismissed an employee that was causing serious conflict in our workplace. I’ll admit that the dismissal was done rather hastily, but we had to get rid of this employee. The employee has taken us to the CCMA, and given that there may be issues with the dismissal, the CCMA may not find in our favour. That’s fine and I’m prepared to pay compensation, we just cannot afford to have this employee back at work. What are the chances that the CCMA may order the reinstatement of the employee if he is successful?”
How conditional is a performance guarantee?
“Our company recently had to provide a performance guarantee to guarantee work we have to do on a large civil project we have been contracted for. There have been a number of labour and environmental issues which have affected our ability to deliver with the contracted timeframes on the work, and the client is threatening to enforce our performance bond. Surely, this enforcement of the bond must be subject to reasonableness?”
Share buyback? Possible, but take care!
“I’m a shareholder in a private company and wish to get rid of my shares to free up some cashflow. That said, I don’t want to sell to a stranger and my other shareholders don’t want to buy my shares either. One of them suggested that the company buy back my shares. Is this allowed?”
Unpacking the proposed new Employment Equity Bill
“My company is relatively small with only 12 employees. That said, I’ve had to comply with employment equity requirements as we qualify as a designated employer because of our company turnover. I’ve heard there are proposed changes afoot for the employment equity environment and was wondering what this may mean for my business.”
May I refuse access to my property for electrical meter readings?
“I am currently an owner of a residential property and I sometimes get visits from employees of our local electricity provider requesting access to the property to take a reading of the electricity meter. This is often an inconvenience to me. May I refuse them access to my property?”
Can an unmarried father register a child under his surname?
“I’m the father of a newborn daughter. The mother, to whom I’m not married, disappeared immediately after birth leaving me as sole parent of my daughter. Because I don’t know where the mother is I cannot get the mother’s consent. Without this consent Home Affairs does not want to register my daughter under my surname. I have no idea what to do now. Can you help?”
Email scammed? Who is responsible?
“I recently fell for an email scam where I provided my banking details. The scammer proceeded to use my account to pay out a sum of money from the bank. The bank now wants to hold me liable for this money as they say it is my account and my negligence led to the scammers using my account. However, I don’t have a credit facility with the bank and yet the bank paid out a large amount in credit on my behalf. Surely the bank should not have done that?”
Can you be dismissed for not wearing a face mask at work?
“I’m an HR manager and also responsible for health & safety at my workplace. Lately I’ve noticed an increasing number of employees failing to keep their Covid masks on at work, despite regular warnings. My employer is very worried about this and has asked if we are allowed to dismiss employees that blatantly fail to adhere to our Covid-19 protocol of wearing a face mask. Not wearing a face mask is in my view very serious, but dismissing someone is also a serious step. Can someone be dismissed for not wearing their face mask?”
Is a copy of a will valid?
“Both my parents recently passed away in a car accident. My father shortly before his death mentioned to me that they recently had a new joint will drawn up. I’ve searched everywhere for the will and can only locate a copy of the signed will. Even their attorney does not have the original will. Can this copy be accepted as the valid will of my parents?”
Can you claim ETI for students?
“In a recent conversation with our accountant, I was informed that SARS will no longer permit claims of Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) tax benefits for students. We have been considering placing some of our workers on learnerships and possibly also claiming ETI for them, but we are concerned as to whether this would still be possible. Do you have any clarification as to what the position now is?”
Why Enterprise and Supplier Development cannot be only a tick-box exercise
While the BEE scorecard is well-intentioned, it should not be treated as a simple checklist, but rather seen as an instrument to facilitate real transformation. When it comes to building and supporting small black-owned businesses in South Africa, a much longer-term view needs to be taken.
Many BEE initiatives are nothing but short-term interventions that are carried out only to tick the boxes of the BEE scorecard. These short-term initiatives often do the bare minimum and, in the bigger scheme of things, don’t do much to help small black owned businesses.