“A company must keep minutes of the meetings of the board, and any of its committees…” (Extract from the Companies Act) Steinhoff and other high profile corporate scandals both here and overseas highlight the need for directors to ensure that their board and committee meetings (and the decisions taken at them) are […]
The media has been awash with reports (sometimes conflicting, often vague) of what the recent Constitutional Court ruling actually means in practice. Whether you agree with the ruling or not, and whether or not you personally have ever had (or intend to have) anything to do with cannabis/marijuana/weed/dagga, we all need to be […]
The inevitability of death doesn’t detract from the shock and distress that it brings to the grieving survivors, and much as we don’t like to plan for these things it will help at least a little to know what to do in practice after a death. The formalities There is unfortunately a lot of […]
“Honesty is the best policy” (Benjamin Franklin) A recent High Court decision again confirms that when it comes to selling your house, honesty is indeed the best policy. Specifically, disclose all defects you know of to potential buyers, or risk expensive litigation and damages claims. Defects and Defences The buyers of a house, who […]
Section 76 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act requires the employer to prove the accuracy and validity of any record that it maintains and, if it has failed to maintain a record, it must prove that it has complied with the Act. In Venter vs Symington & De Kok the Court pointed out […]
Here’s one more reason to never ever allow yourself or anyone else to drive when over the legal limit (for non-professional drivers, a breath alcohol content of 0.24mg per 1,000ml or a blood alcohol limit of 0.05g per 100ml). If you are caught by the police (statistically, a regular offender will be caught sooner […]
“Buy land – they’ve stopped making it” (Mark Twain) So you’ve decided to buy your first house – exciting! There’s nothing like owning and living in your very own dream house, and if you choose wisely your home could well be one of your most important investments ever. Get started with these tips […]
On 31 August 2018 a full bench of the Western Cape High Court ordered that the State is obliged to implement legislation to recognise Muslim marriages and the consequences thereof within 24 months. Prior to the judgement, a draft bill to legally recognise Muslim marriages was introduced for public comment, but according to the Minister […]
“A man who dies without a will has lawyers for his heirs” (Anon) It’s natural not to want to make plans for our own mortality, but we owe it to ourselves and our loved ones to do exactly that, and to do it without delay. Why? Sooner or later we all […]
In terms of Section 34 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), an employee may make a deduction should such deduction need to be made to reimburse an employee for loss or damages. For such a deduction to be made, the following criteria are to be met: The loss or damage should have occurred […]