News & Articles
Important increases to the national minimum wage
The media has been reporting on a new minimum earnings threshold for employees. This article briefly summarises the new earnings threshold’s main impact on employees and employers.
Things to know before you undertake a sectional title development
Clients often walk in and ask about the process to undertake a sectional title development, thinking it is an opportunity to develop a piece of land they have. In this article we unpack a few of the practicalities relating to establishing a sectional title development and what you should keep in mind when considering this.
Tackling the issue: who is accountable for rugby injuries?
Rugby is arguably one of South Africa’s most loved sports with players participating from a young age. Despite continual improvements to the safety of the game, injuries are still a frequent phenomenon and of grave concern, particularly when incurred at a scholar level, often raising the question of who should be liable when such a rugby injury happens to a scholar.
Neglecting employee training can be a ticking time bomb for workplace injuries – Who is liable?
An unfortunate yet common phenomenon, is a lack of training afforded to new employees or employees placed in new positions. Business pressures and the unavailability of a manager with time to guide and properly train an employee are usually the reasons advanced to defend the lack of training. But what happens if an employee gets injured because they have not been trained properly? Can the employer be held accountable for this?
Untangling the Knot: Exploring Maintenance Claims at the end of heterosexual life partnerships
In a recent study by Statistics South Africa, it was found that there is a declining interest in marriage with many couples electing to live together as permanent life partners rather than entering into a marriage or civil union. The question that often arises though, is whether a party to such a heterosexual relationship is entitled to claim maintenance when the relationship is terminated.
Trustees take note! How to record your beneficial ownership structure
In a previous article we unpacked the introduction and meaning of the new ‘beneficial owner’ definition introduced into the law of trusts by the General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting Terrorism Financing) Amendment Act 22 of 2022 (“Amendment Act”). With these changes being effective as of 1 April 2023, trustees should be awake to the proposed process for recording and submitting your trust’s beneficial ownership information to the Master of the High Court.
Trustees MUST now report their status! Find out why
With major amendments to South Africa’s anti-money laundering framework scheduled to take effect from 1 April 2023 as part of Government’s strategy to remedy South Africa’s grey listing status, all trustees should take careful note of the new disclosure requirements that will apply to them.
Can you stop your spouse from sharing in your pension fund after divorce?
Can a spouse married in community of property at divorce claim that the other spouse forfeits their right to share in their pension?
Settle your dispute with a settlement agreement
In dispute resolution matters, the settlement agreement has become an important tool to cut short protracted conflict and litigation and for parties to agree to a full and final settlement of their dispute. In this article, we explore in a bit more detail how and when a settlement agreement should be used to settle a dispute.
Are you allowed to install solar panels in your sectional title unit?
As a result of the continuing woes of load shedding , many sectional owners are considering alternative and renewable energy solutions like solar panels to minimize the effect that load shedding has on their households. A common question, therefore, being raised by sectional owners is whether they are allowed to install solar panels at their sectional unit.
Don’t forget about your will when getting married or divorced!
In the highs of getting married or the lows of divorce, parties generally forget to think about their estate planning. This is understandable as no one wants to entertain thoughts of death and division of assets during those times! Unfortunately, such an oversight can create a mess in the event of your untimely death. The golden rule is to always, when there are material changes in your life like marriage, children, divorce and even death, revisit your estate planning and bring it up to date with the necessary changes.
New advertising rules for crypto providers aim to protect consumers
The continuing fascination with cryptocurrencies and the use of cryptocurrency as a legitimate payment medium and investment asset has given rise to loads of crypto providers claiming big returns. Unfortunately, many of the claims made are wildly exaggerated and fail to properly highlight the risks involved in cryptocurrencies. Such uncontrolled advertising has necessitated new advertising rules in respect of crypto advertising.
Can you be fired if artificial intelligence can do your job?
Social media has been flooded with chatter about the chatbot phenomenon ChatGPT which seems destined to be able to, if not far better do, what humans can! So, what does this mean for employees? Can you be replaced by a bot like ChatGPT? In this article, we take a closer look at what this could mean for employees in the not-so-distant future.
New disclosure requirements for companies. Comply or risk being deregistered!
It is no secret that companies are used as vehicles to hide money laundering and terrorist financing activities. Internationally, this has necessitated increasing corporate disclosure requirements to apply to corporate entities. With the new Amendment Act, such disclosure requirements have now also found their way into our law to allow authorities to have a better view of who the beneficial owners are that own and control a company.
We do not wish to marry; how do we regulate our relationship?
“South Africans are losing interest in marriage”, this is the essence of the recent study done by Stats SA on the number of marriages and divorces being concluded by South Africans over the last ten years.
Companies take note of new beneficial ownership reporting requirements
You only need to watch a movie or series about drug trafficking, terrorism or even cyber hackers to associate criminal activities with the use of ‘shelf’ companies, ‘offshore’ companies or some or other form of corporate entity through which clever criminals’ squirrel away their ill-gotten gains out of sight and touch from authorities. But is this all just cliched stereotyping of the poor corporate entity form or are companies really being used and abused by criminals.
How enforceable are penalties levied for failing to build your house in an estate?
Every now and then we get a call from a perturbed client who has just received a sizable penalty on his monthly levy account from his body corporate or homeowner’s association for failing to have started/completed (this can vary) the building of a house on their estate erf. The demand is to know whether this penalty is enforceable and fair.
Alert: South Africa’s grey listing means extensive new compliance requirements!
The announcement on Friday that South Africa has been grey listed has come as a shock to many South Africans blissfully unaware of this sword hanging over our heads. For those in the know, grey listing has been unavoidable given the damning reports levelled against weaknesses in our money laundering and financial control framework. But besides hurting our economy the grey listing has also forced government to introduce stricter control measures to correct the shortcomings and hopefully have the grey listing removed over time. And these control measures will affect all businesses and individuals in some way or another.
Prescription and claims against organs of state
Claims against the state may arise from several causes of action. Important to remember though is that claims against organs of state are also subject to prescription, and care should be taken to not let your claim prescribe. In this article, we examine the current legal position in respect of prescription and claims against the state.
‘Baked’ at work? What can happen?
Recently a client approached us with a concern arising from the well-known Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development & Others v Prince & Others case wherein the use, cultivation and possession of marijuana were decriminalised. Our client was concerned that employees were arriving at work under the influence of cannabis claiming that they are now constitutionally allowed to use cannabis and that as an employer he could do nothing about it. Is this so, and did the Prince case in effect also legalise the use of cannabis at the workplace?
BEE and the new Preferential Procurement Regulations
Following the Constitutional Court judgment in February 2022 where the 2017 Preferential Procurement Regulations were declared invalid, there has been a misconception that this court decision has resulted in the wholesale scrapping of BEE when it comes to public procurement. Now with the new Preferential Procurement Regulations taking effect as of 16 January 2023, many tenderers are unsure of the extent to which BEE will still apply in public procurement.
Don’t get caught napping with a time-bar clause in your construction contract
Clients are often surprised when they discover clauses in their construction contract that requires them to give notice to the building contractor, usually within very short periods of time, of their intention to dispute a set of circumstances, failing which, they lose their right to refer such a dispute for dispute resolution. This then raises the question of why these clauses are present and how enforceable they are.
Terminating a contract – beware of the fine print!
In the world of contracts, the concluding of a contract is only the beginning of the process. Managing a contract to conclusion, including navigating all the pitfalls along the way, is just as big a part of the overall success of a contract. In this article we will explore the importance of correctly terminating a contract, as, let’s face it, things don’t always go to plan and you may need to climb out of a bad contract situation.
Trustees beware! You can now be fined and jailed!
Trusts have for some time now been the target of criticism for their alleged use and abuse in the money laundering environment. The latest challenge to the trust comes in the form of a major amendment to South Africa’s anti-money laundering framework by the General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting Terrorism Financing) Amendment Act 22 of 2022 (“Amendment Act”) which holds serious implications for trusts and trustees. In this article we will focus specifically on how the trust form is abused and how the Amendment Act aims to curb such abuse.
New anti-money laundering amendment legislation to affect companies and trusts
Major amendments to South Africa’s anti-money laundering framework have almost unnoticed introduced serious changes to the trust and company law environment, including the addition of hefty fines and jailtime for trustees! So, although these changes have been aimed at the fight against money laundering and terrorism, the real impact of the amendments will be far wider.
New notification requirements for small business mergers
“New guidelines for small merger notification have been issued by the Competition Commission and businesses should take note of these when considering any mergers or acquisitions in the coming year. In this article, we look at the main aspects of these new guidelines.”
Is an agreement between spouses contrary to the ANC valid?
“Can spouses conclude an agreement which is contrary to their antenuptial contract and which is valid and enforceable?”
Can an employer dock an employee’s salary due to loadshedding?
“With loadshedding woes affecting all businesses and causing widescale disruption to work hours, employers have started asking whether they can dock employee pay if employees are not able to work as a result of loadshedding. In this article, we unpack this question and give guidance on the legal position.”
Greater consumer protection when dealing with crypto assets
“When dealing with crypto assets, a question that arises without fail is whether crypto assets are regulated in South Africa and to what extent a consumer has any protection when buying crypto assets.”
Who may access the financial statements of a private company?
“It is often thought that the financial statements of a private company are like the name implies ‘private’. But how private is this private and who has a right of access to such financial information?”