News & Articles
Be wary of an ‘instant loan’
“Open any newspaper, check your junkmail or read one of the many unsolicited sms or WhatsApp messages and you will find an advertisement from a credit provider offering an instant credit loan, some even going so far as to state you are immediately approved. But how legit are these solicitations?”
Employed learnerships – a silver bullet for your skills development spend!
“For most businesses the skills development element is not only a big headache but one of the most costly components of their BEE scorecard. An option to reduce some of this cost is employed learnerships, but some key success factors should be kept in mind.”
When two become one, there are tax benefits
When dealing with...
What to do if the suspensive condition is not going to be met?
A typical situation encountered in a property transaction: The deed of sale has been signed, the intended buyer is applying for a loan but paperwork and delays at the bank slow things down. Suddenly the transferring attorney lets the buyer know that they only have a few days left to satisfy the suspensive condition in the deed of sale. What does all of this mean and what happens if the loan is given, but it’s a day late?
Double insurance – stroke of genius or waste of money?
We all know that insurance is there to provide relief from an uncertain event that could arise and cause damage to your property. But, can you insure for example your car with two insurers and should your car be written off in an accident claim for and receive double compensation from two insurers for the same accident? You have after all paid them both the required insurance premiums.
Your creative works are protected
With technology and accessibility to creative tools, platforms and social media expanding the ease and accessibility of creating anything from your own music to a short film and everything in between, it raises the question of copyright protection and how far it goes to protect your creative output in a world where sharing, copying, linking and passing on of information is only a click away.
Moonlighting can be bad for your employment ‘health’
Quite often new entrepreneurs start off exploring other sideline businesses while still in the employ of their current employer. Take the example of a textile worker that starts to set up her own clothing business on the side by making clothes after hours. Is this allowed or could her employer fire her for this even if it does not affect her work responsibilities?
Constitutional Court confirms Department had no duty of care for faulty swing
“In a saga that has traversed the Western Cape High Court, Supreme Court of Appeal and eventually the Constitutional Court, the Constitutional Court has now finally confirmed the position of Government in respect of its responsibility for the safety of Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres.”
B-BBEE in state tenders done?
“With all the media attention around the Supreme Court of Appeal’s ‘scrapping’ of the regulations around preferential procurement at the end of 2020, and recent media statements by the Democratic Alliance that they wish to have B-BBEE removed as criteria from government tendering, one can be excused for being uncertain what role B-BBEE will continue to play in state tendering.”
New guidelines set for surrogacy
“Acting as a surrogate is a selfless and generous act towards parents who cannot conceive their own child. But what about existing children of a surrogate mother and the impact surrogacy may have on them? Should this not also be considered?”
Can I install a generator at my sectional unit?
“With the troubles of load shedding exacerbating the difficulty for many to work from home, many sectional owners are considering the option of a generator to keep things going through load shedding. But can you just install a generator in your unit, or do you need permission to do so?
Can you be fired for a WhatsApp message?
“With so much communication happening via WhatsApp these days, even between employee and employer, it raises the question as to whether an employee can be fired for a WhatsApp sent to his/her employer?”
Good corporate governance just makes business sense
With the business world seeming to move faster and faster and companies apparently only interested in increasing their profits, it can be easy to think your company only has one goal, namely to make money. But is this true? Are companies expected to live up to a higher standard, and if so, does it make business sense to do so? In this article we take a look at corporate governance practices and what this means for a company.
Can a body corporate accept less than full outstanding levies?
The recent Covid-pandemic has affected many people financially and body corporates are also regularly confronted with owners that fall behind in their levies and receive requests for reduced payments. But, can a body corporate just accommodate such requests and settle for a lower amount or write off arrear levies?
Remission of rent and sub-lessees
The Covid-pandemic caused a major disruption to many commercial rental properties, with lessees claiming remission of rent because of their inability to use and enjoy the rental properties. Although subject to many factors, it is common cause that lessees have been able to claim remission of rent due to Covid-19. But what is the position when it comes to a sub-lessee? Can a lessee claim for remission of rent if the sub-lessee was deprived of occupation?
Can the proceeds of a sale of property be used to settle arrear maintenance?
Maintenance is payable in terms of a maintenance order and requires strict compliance. A number of options are available in the case of default to recover arrear maintenance, with the most effective remedy depending on the facts of each case. But will this include laying claim to the proceeds of a sale of property of the defaulter, or is this going too far?
How to maximise your training for BEE recognition
The various types of skills training available in South Africa and the corresponding BEE recognition it provides, has become very technical, resulting in many businesses finding it difficult to decide on and implement the appropriate training programmes to achieve their desired training and BEE goals. Here we discuss and simplify the most prevalent types of training in South Africa and also address BEE recognition applicable to the different types of training.
Should you bother with a shareholders’ agreement?
You’ve decided to set up a company or have had a company for a while but have never gotten so far as to have a shareholders’ agreement drawn up for the company shareholders. You’ve wondered if it’s necessary or even what the point of a shareholders’ agreement is. In this article we briefly explain the purpose of these company documents and how they relate to each other.
Appeal Court settles debate on when you can claim arrear maintenance
A friend of yours has been divorced for a few years now. Her ex was supposed to pay maintenance, but it wasn’t long before he started paying less and less and then eventually stopped. Your friend was just too fearful of conflict to do anything about it and continued to raise her kids by herself. Now however, money is tight and she is wondering if there is anything she can do to get her ex to pay the maintenance he should have paid?
Clarity on what you can claim for from the Road Accident Fund
Quite a few long-weekends are coming up and with thousands of South Africans heading out on our roads during this period the worry about the large number of accidents on our roads is again top of mind. It also raises a quite common question of what can you claim from the RAF if you or a family member were injured or died as a result of a car accident on our roads.
The legal consequences for a business after a cyber-attack
You have an online store through which you sell products. Although you have taken precautions, the risk of a cyber-attack remains a concern as you hear about more and more businesses that suffer attacks. Apart from the reputational risk which could be massive, you also wonder about legal consequences when you consider the impact of data protection legislation.
Can you take steps against an employee who refuses to testify?
Often when employers are confronted with serious misconduct by an employee, a vital part of the disciplinary process is to have other employees testify about the misconduct where they were eye witnesses and/or have knowledge of the misconduct committed. But what happens when an employee refuses to testify against another employee?
Can a foreigner qualify as BEE shareholding in your business?
Your company is looking at to increase its BEE shareholding and you have identified a potential BEE partner. Despite being very optimistic about the partner, you have in your due diligence discovered that your potential partner – although a black person – was not born in South Africa. This raises the question of whether this partner would qualify as a BEE partner should you continue with the BEE deal?
The drive to transform under the new Property Practitioners Act
With all the media focus lately on the new Property Practitioners Act and new regulations and requirements regarding Fidelity Fund certificates, it’s easy to miss the impact this Act intends to make on much-needed transformation of the property sector. Here we highlight a few of the key measures that will impact on transformation in the property industry.
To post or not to post? When is privacy violated?
Your neighbour has been piling heaps of rubbish on his sidewalk. You’ve raised the issue with him but to no avail. Now you’ve taken photos of the mess and want to post them on Facebook to try and get other neighbours to also put pressure on him to clean up the mess. However, you pause and wonder about whether you can post the photos and identify your neighbour. Is it an invasion of privacy, or in the public interest?
Hybrid work arrangements are great, but is your business information safe?
Your business was forced to enable staff to work remotely during lockdown. Surprisingly, it worked so well for both staff and your business that you have continued with a hybrid working environment with staff working from home and the office on a rotational basis. Productivity has not been affected and staff appreciate the flexibility that the hybrid work arrangement provides. A nagging issue though is the question of whether your business information is as secure with staff being at home as it is in your secure office environment?
Can you dismiss an employee for refusing to be vaccinated?
Many companies are struggling with the question of whether they can make it mandatory for their employees to be vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus and, if necessary, even take disciplinary steps against an employee who refuses to be vaccinated. So what does our law say about this?
Is Preferential Procurement really important for your business?
As much as B-BBEE legislation and scorecards have become a general part of the business landscape for many companies, the procurement aspect remains a difficult one for businesses to get right and understand how important it is to their overall scorecard result. Below we unpack the Preferential Procurement Element of the B-BBEE Scorecard in more detail to illustrate how careful a business should be not to ignore this crucial element in their planning.
Exploring the new Property Practitioners Act
Most estate agents by now know that the new Property Practitioners Act has come into effect. Yet surprisingly, there is still a lot of confusion about how the Act will affect Estate Agencies and their agents. To help, we have unpacked some of the key points to be considered by any estate agency and property practitioner.
Phatshoane Henney Group Transformation Report 2020/21
It is our privilege to present this fourth Group Transformation Report for the periods 2020/21.
Despite the challenges to the legal industry over the past two years, largely due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the contributions of our member firms to transformation over the preceding two years, have on the whole managed to eschew the trend with member firms demonstrating an impressive commitment to transformation despite their own pandemic challenges.