Cabinet has approved major labour law changes that could make it easier to dismiss employees during probation while expanding protections for gig workers. The bill now heads for public comment. Picture Credit: Labourman
By Aisha Zardad
South Africa – Cabinet has approved wide-ranging amendments to South Africa’s core labour laws, proposing significant changes to both the Labour Relations Act and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
The reforms propose increased retrenchment benefits, broader coverage for gig workers, revised parental leave provisions, and enhanced enforcement powers for employees. However, they also offer concessions to employers, including greater flexibility to terminate employment during probation and a temporary two-year exclusion for new small businesses from bargaining council agreements.
Lisa Szöke, Associate Director at Guy & Associates Incorporated, characterised the amendments as a far-reaching restructuring of South Africa’s employment framework.
A key shift, she noted, is that employers will find it significantly easier to terminate employment during the initial probation period.
“It’s much easier to terminate in the initial stages of employment,” Szöke said, adding that the change addresses a longstanding concern among businesses.
“I think that’s been quite a long-term gripe — that you hire someone and then you essentially have a permanent employee, regardless of the fact that you still want that kind of initial period to assess.”
Simultaneously, enforcement mechanisms for workers will be strengthened. The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) will receive expanded powers to assist employees in enforcing arbitration awards.
“Increasing the CCMA’s powers is really recognising that a vulnerable employee who has been unemployed for a significant period of time can now be successful at the CCMA,” she said.
Until now, employees had to rely on the sheriff to enforce arbitration awards, a process that was often costly and out of reach for many.
“A sheriff to an unknown party is not going to do anything without obtaining a deposit,” Szöke explained, noting that the CCMA will now be able to assist with those fees.
The reforms also significantly impact the gig economy. Under the proposed changes, Uber drivers, Uber Eats delivery personnel and similar gig workers will now be classified as employees rather than independent contractors.
Szöke warned that this broader definition of “employee” will have wide-ranging consequences.
“All of these amendments — every single other amendment — has a knock-on effect because now they’re going to apply to a larger group of people,” she said.
Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth has argued that the reforms modernise labour laws and extend protections to workers previously excluded from the formal framework. Szöke agreed to an extent.
“The modernisation is trying to recognise that employment doesn’t look like we always thought it looked before,” she said, pointing to gig workers and on-call employees without fixed working hours.
Parental leave reforms come in response to the Constitutional Court’s Van Wyk judgment, which ruled parts of the previous parental leave system unconstitutional.
“It’s the Van Wyk judgment that actually said this is unconstitutional. We need to give more equal rights to both parents to parent their new child,” Szöke said.
However, she cautioned that practical questions remain, especially in cases where employers already offer leave benefits exceeding the statutory minimum.
The amendments are not yet law. The bill has been tabled and must undergo a public consultation process before being debated and approved by Parliament and signed into law.
Szöke added that the proposals appear to be the product of extended consultations, likely through the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC).
“If it has gone through NEDLAC already, it means that the trade unions are in agreement to some of these proposals,” she said.
