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Notice Periods in South Africa: Resignation, Dismissal and the BCEA Minimums
⚡ Quick answer BCEA notice periods are the same for resignation and dismissal: 1 week for service up to 6 months, 2 weeks for 6 to 12 months, and 4 weeks for over a year (farm and domestic workers always get 4 weeks after 6 months). Contracts may agree longer but never shorter. Notice must be in writing, may be paid in lieu, and does not apply to summary dismissal for gross misconduct. Notice pay is separate from severance pay in retrenchments. Notice periods look like the simplest clause in the contract — until a resignation lands badly, a dismissal is botched by a week, or a retrenchment package forgets…
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7 Employment Contract Mistakes That Cost Employers at the CCMA
⚡ Quick answer The employment contract mistakes that cost South African employers most are: no written contract at all, copied foreign templates, missing BCEA section 29 particulars, unlawful deduction clauses, notice periods below the BCEA minimums, restraint clauses that are too wide to enforce, and unsigned or outdated contracts. Every one of these surfaces at the worst moment — a dismissal dispute, a resignation battle, a Department inspection — when fixing it is no longer possible. At the CCMA, the contract is exhibit one — and it is remarkable how often it loses the case before the evidence starts. These are the employment contract mistakes commissioners and inspectors see every…
