CDH Conversations

On 28 February 2022, the Minister of Employment and Labour published a Draft National Migration Policy and Employment Services Amendment Bill for public comment. This podcast by Employment Law Director Phetheni Nkuna, focuses on the Bill which seeks to regulate and facilitate the employment of foreign nationals. 

Once enacted, the Minister will be able to introduce quotas for the employment of foreign nationals either across sectors, occupational categories, nationally, or within one or more regions in a sector. Employers of foreign nationals will be required to ascertain that they are entitled to work in South Africa, and to perform the work for which they are employed, satisfy themselves that no other person in South Africa (other than foreign nationals) has requisite skills to fill the vacancy – before recruiting the foreign national, and to prepare a skills transfer plan. Finally, digital labour platforms will be recognised as employers.

Secondment refers to any contract that results in the temporary transfer of an employee to another employer or position. In this podcast, Christine Mugenyu and Janette Nyaga analyse the secondment relationship; particularly the roles of the different employers and the termination of the secondment relationship. 

This discussion is guided by the recent Court of Appeal Case of Kenya Methodist University v Kaungania & another (Civil Appeal 61 of 2017) and the decision by the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nyeri in Mary Nyangasi Ratemo & 9 others v Kenya Police Staff Sacco Limited & another [2013] eKLR.

Every month CDH Kenya Partner, Njeri Wagacha publishes a podcast 'Njeri  Talks Law'. This month Njeri talks to Nicola Muriuki, Senior Legal  Counsel at Tala (https://tala.co.ke/and), and Kevin Mutiso, Chairman of  Board Digital Lenders Association of Kenya (DLAK) on the recently passed  Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Amendment Act which aims to regulate  digital lenders in Kenya.

For many South Africans, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought waves of uncertainty. Throughout, the pinnacle of uncertainty has always rested with the implications of the virus for the South African workforce. These implications have begun to materialise with the implementation of mandatory vaccination policies in the workplace. In the case of TM v Goldrush Group, one such employee faced the implications of refusing to be vaccinated in the face of a mandatory vaccination policy. 

In this podcast, Dylan Bouchier and Tamsanqa Mila discuss the case of TM  v Goldrush Group, and breakdown the decision of the Commissioner.

To secure COVID-19 vaccines, governments from around the world were required to provide a partial indemnity from liability to COVID-19 Vaccine manufacturers, in the case of any severe side effects vaccines may cause. In April 2021, South Africa implemented the COVID-19 No-Fault Compensation Scheme altering the approach to how a person may lodge a claim for injury or loss arising from a COVID-19 Vaccine. Legal experts from CDH discuss product liability, consumer protection law, and the influence of the COVID-19 No-Fault Compensation Scheme in this episode of the podcast series focusing on Liability and Recourse for Covid-19 Vaccine Injuries.

CDH Real Estate Law experts conduct a quick conversation answering the often-asked questions about the many compliance certificates required from sellers of immovable property. These include the Electrical Compliance certificates, Electric Fence Compliance certificates, Plumbing Compliance certificates, Gas Compliance certificates, as well as the Entomologist Compliance certificate, better known as a Beetle Compliance certificate. 

The podcast will unpack when and where the compliance certificates are required,as well as their validity period.

The directions empowering employers to implement mandatory vaccination policies require an employer to counsel an employee where the employee refuses to be vaccinated either on medical or constitutional grounds. Imparting information to assist employers ease worker anxiety, our experts discuss how vaccinations have been approved for use in South Africa and the regulatory framework which has enabled the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) to ensure vaccine safety and efficacy.

As many mandatory vaccinations policies become effective in February 2022, employers are faced with the practical challenges of managing the processes prescribed by the Consolidated Direction on Occupational Health and Safety issued by the Department of Employment and Labour on 11 June 2021, particularly the exemptions procedures. Looking to the emerging CCMA arbitration awards, our Employment Law experts discuss how to deal with employee objections to becoming vaccinated. 

Every month CDH Kenya Partner, Njeri Wagacha publishes a podcast 'Njeri Talks Law'. On this year's first episode Njeri Wagacha talks to Opibus a Swedish-Kenyan company that has developed and launched Kenya's first electric bus.