Professionals in Employment Law
ANTHONY SOLOMON BA. LLB.
On completing his articles in 1990 Anthony specialised in Employment Law and was a practising attorney for ten years. He then joined a listed entity in the food manufacturing sector, with a complex, large and highly unionised workforce. As a Director Anthony was instrumental in initiating a major restructuring of the Company including positive changes to the relationship between Management and Union leaders. He gained invaluable experience in workforce restructuring, retrenchments, strike action and closures. Anthony returned to private practise in 2011 where his ongoing corporate exposure and legal expertise make him the ideal consultant, providing practical solutions to a company’s Employment Law and Employee Relations requirements. Anthony is an accredited mediator.
KATHLEEN HOLMES B.SOCSC; LLB AND ADVANCED DIPLOMA IN LABOUR LAW
Kathleen Holmes is a practising attorney with over 22 years of experience in Employment Law and Employee Relations. She completed her articles and worked at Adams and Adams in Pretoria specialising in Employment Law. From 1995 to 2012 she alternately worked or consulted for Goldfields gaining invaluable experience in Industrial Relations within the mining sector. This included mine health and safety and in particular accident investigations and disciplinary action associated with accidents and serious safety transgressions. In addition, she gained extensive experience in section 189 and 197 processes, strike management and collective bargaining. She also advised Goldfields during various rounds of wage negotiations, participated in external forums including the Mining Councils and was involved in policy work. In 2012 she left Goldfields to resume practicing for her own account. She has continued to provide legal advice primarily to the mining sector. Kathleen has been granted an award by SASLAW in recognition of the pro bono work and she has recently acted on a pro bono basis as a Judge in the Labour Court. Her area of expertise includes advice on individual dismissals, representations at the CCMA and the Labour Courts, the management of collective agreements and related structures with Unions, strike management, policy work and training and development, restructuring of large organisations and section 197 processes.
THERESA ACHADA BCOM. LLB
Theresa lectured law for two years at Rhodes University before entering private practice. Since being admitted as an attorney in 2005, she has practiced exclusively in the field of employment law. Theresa has a wide range of expertise and advises multinational companies, South African corporate employers, and executive and senior employees extensively on a broad range of labour law related issues. These include employment consequences of commercial transactions as well as restructurings, dismissals, employment contracts, HR policies and procedures. Theresa also offers training services to her clients and is a member of The South African Society for Labour Law (SASLAW). Theresa recently completed an Advanced Programme in Labour Law through the University of Pretoria.
JAYSON KENT BCOM. LLB
Jayson Kent is an attorney, having completed his articles in a law firm specialising in employment law. Before joining solomonholmes, Jayson was a Senior Associate in the employment department ENSafrica. He specialises in and enjoys all aspects of employment law litigation and has represented clients in the Labour Appeal Court, Labour Court, the CCMA, and a number of Bargaining Councils. Jayson regularly advises clients on all aspects of both collective and individual employment law. Jayson has extensive experience in collective bargaining disputes and strike law. He has been involved in several reported Labour Court, Labour Appeal Court and Constitutional Court cases which have developed various legal aspects of the right to strike and collective bargaining. Jayson is closely involved in advising clients on a broad range of disciplinary and other employment law-related issues, and regularly advises clients on conducting disciplinary and performance hearings and also has expertise in prosecuting such cases. Jayson has advised clients in a many large-scale retrenchments and restructuring processes. He also advises clients on business transfers in terms of section 197 and has conducted a number of due diligence exercises and employment law compliance audits. Jayson has a particular interest in advising clients on restraints of trade and in conducting restraint of trade litigation. Jayson has also presented training workshops on management of strike action, internal disciplinary hearings and managing poor performance, amongst other employment-related topics. Over the course of his career, Jayson has acted for a wide range of clients, including clients in the following sectors: mining, banking, construction, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, aviation, education, management consulting, automotive, retail, and manufacturing.
GERALDINE BOSCH B.COM. LLB
Geraldine Bosch is an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa. Geraldine obtained her B.Com Law and LLB degrees from the University of Johannesburg and was admitted as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa in 2016. Geraldine specialises predominantly in labour and employment law (including both individual and collective labour law) but also has experience in general civil litigation.Geraldine has been involved in several reported Labour Court, Labour Appeal Court and Constitutional Court Cases. She specialises in advising clients on employment related issues such as dismissal, unfair labour practices, strikes, retrenchments etc. Geraldine has experience in chairing and initiating disciplinary enquiries, negotiating settlements, appearing at the CCMA on behalf of clients to argue preliminary points and drafting pleadings for the CCMA, Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court.
HLONIPHILE SINGO BA LLB
Hloniphile graduated from Rhodes University with a BA (Law and Economics) degree and an LLB degree, and has graduated with a LLM specializing in Labour Law from the University of Cape Town. Hloniphile joined solomonholmes Attorneys Incorporated in January 2021 as an articled clerk. She has an interest in collective labour law disputes, restraint of trade agreements, and dispute resolution. Hloniphile is a member of SASLAW.
ZANDILE TABATA LLB
Zandile graduated with an LLB degree from Stellenbosch University. She joined solomonholmes Attorneys Incorporated in January 2023 as a candidate legal practitioner. Zandile has interests in constitutional law and employment law, particularly how these two areas of law work synergistically to achieve individual and collective labour protection. Apart from her commitment to social justice and law, Zandile is an Allan Gray Orbis Foundation Fellow and a music enthusiast who is the host of her own music podcast.
Samancor Chrome Ltd (Western Chrome Mines) v Willemse
It is widely accepted that employers are entitled to set their own standards of conduct and enforce measures that mitigate risk in the workplace. The operational requirements of some workplaces necessitate the adoption of a “zero-tolerance” drug and alcohol policy as a safety precaution to prevent the occurrence of potentially disastrous workplace accidents, which would be detrimental to an employer and its employees.
Can an employer dismiss an employee for refusing to work overtime?
Meeting and exceeding production targets is every employer’s goal, and to achieve this an employer relies on the co-operation of its employees, sometimes with the expectation that employees will work overtime. The question of whether an employer can dismiss an employee for refusing an instruction to work overtime was the question before the Court in the case of AMCU obo Mkhonto v ANDRU Mining (Pty) Ltd.
Mukuru Financial Services (Pty) Ltd and Another v Department of Employment and Labour
Legislation regarding the employment of foreign nationals is constantly changing and employers should ensure that they are informed of the developments to avoid being held liable for non-compliance. Businesses have various needs and tailor their models to suit the demands of their client base. Within those specific business needs, an interesting question does present itself. What if a business requires a unique skill such as language proficiency or cultural awareness that South African citizens or permanent residents cannot fulfil. Would this permit the employment of foreign nationals, or would the company be prohibited by legislation from looking for employees abroad?
Loadshedding – can employers apply the No Work No Pay rule?
Outgoing CEO Eskom Andre de Ruyter has recently expressed the view to EWN that the 2023 Loadshedding outlook remains bleak.
South Africans are currently experiencing stage 6 loadshedding. One of the questions that has arisen is what the future holds for businesses that are electricity-dependent and cannot supplement this need with alternatives such as generators or renewable resources. Current levels of loadshedding mean that such businesses may be without electricity for up to 8 hours a day during which employees cannot work.
Is a 4-day workweek practical in a South African context?
In a growing global trend, companies are looking to scrap the 5-day workweek and replace it with a 4-day system.
Covid-19 sent us all home to work, and if the trend was to be believed, we would never return to the workplace. Elon Musk, together with thousands of other employers around the world think otherwise, and are now coercing employees back into the office. All of this has no doubt got employers thinking.
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