Employers must ponder the implications of the judgment on labour brokers
There are various interpretations about the Constitutional Court’s judgment in this case, so employers need to get the facts right
On July 26 2018, the Constitutional Court in Assign Services (Pty) Limited v National Union of Metalworkers of SA and Others handed down judgment in favour of the so-called "sole employer" approach. On this interpretation the employees of a temporary employment service (TES) who earn less than R205,433.30 a year, and who are placed at a client of the TES for a period exceeding three months, are deemed to be employees of the client for purposes of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995, as amended (the LRA). Certain commentators have since sought to suggest that the judgment does not hold any significant implications for employers who make use of TES employees and that the status quo will, to a large extent, remain, subject to a slight adjustment to the service level agreements entered into between the client and the TES. In particular, the suggestion seems to be that a client of a TES could simply, by signing a power of attorney in favour of the TES, authorise the TES to act in its ste...
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