Ask Your Question
Ask your question below anytime, any day any query and Craig Hardie will answer you ASAP. 
If Mr. Hardie has been of help to you please leave him a message in the ‘Give Us Your Feedback’ box below to let him and our readers know just how much you appreciate his advice. Thanks in advance! 
P.S. As this is a free service provided by Craig Hardie through Nearly Illicit Magazine – please bear in mind that there MAY be a delay in response from Mr. Hardie as he receives high volumes of mail on a daily basis.
Please ensure that your questions do not exceed 500 words. Thank you 
Dear South Africans and Loyal Readers of Nearly Illicit Magazine:
Please note that Craig will be unable to answer questions for +/- two weeks. Please bookmark this page and come back to it at a later stage to leave your question.
We do apologize for the inconvenience caused, however, this is a free service and from time to time we will be unavailable.
Thank you for your understanding.
- Craig Hardie and The NiM Team
Please click the ‘ASK!’ button once only. It may take a few seconds to update.
If Craig has been of help to you, please let him and our readers know just how much you appreciate the advice by leaving a comment below. Thanks in advance!
Have you considered how your loved would cope in the event of your passing? Get your FREE; NO obligation quote now! and we will bear the cost of calling you back.
I just want to say a huge thanks to Craig.My previous company tried to scare me with a restraint of trade and after following Craig’s advice things are starting to look much better and I feel better seeing that I can sleep again.Thanks Craig
Craig assisted in clearing up a matter around another Restraint of Trade Agreement”. His advice was professional, to the point and clear. His factual feedback is regarded valuable, his knowledge seems to be outstanding and his willingness to assist is highly appreciated!
1st good website that gives a no nonsense answer. Very Informative going through the other questions. Thank you.
this site rocks!!!
Mr Hardie ,i love this site ,all the facts and more ,may you go from strength to strength
Almost INSTANT reply(took but a few minutes) with precise information and really easy and clear to understand. Thank you Craig
Thank you very much for your quick reply Craig, you have been of great help.
Thank you so much for your advise…….will definitely use this website again. Quick to the point and in plain english!!!!!
I realy do appriciate your quick responce as you don’t get them very often & thank you Craig for the information you shared with me which has put me at ease.
Thank you for your info. Very grateful for all your professional advice. Kind regards.
This is a brilliant site!! the response was fast and to the point. Thanking you soo sooo much!!
Great if you don’t know what the law says. Not much use if you want an interpretation of that law and how it gets applied in the real world. A brief reading of labour cases will quickly show that the findings of the CCMA and labour court often involve questions of fairness and not simply whether a company’s actions comply with the letter of the law.
Thank you so much for your reply. I know that sometimes the employees are done in. There just never seems anywhere for employers to go, I really appreciate sites like this and the ability to ask a question and receive such a speedy reply. Thank you again
This is the best thing since sliced bread! Thank you for your quick response and help. Much appreciated.
Hi Craig, i like your site alot and subscribe to it in order to recieve emails. I have however seen a reply where someone asked if leave is accrued while on maternity leave and you said it wasnt, now i also belong to the SA Labour Guide and they state that it is, according to section 20 of the BCEA as an employer must grant an employee 21 days leave in a leave cycle if that person is employed for 12 months or more, it doesnt state that the employee must actually be at work in order to accrue? Could you provide some more clarity please?
The Act does not say say leave is accrued while on maternity leave. In fact it makes no prescription on this at all.It does say to grant 1 day per 17 worked. If SA Labour says it does then good for them. Thats their opinion. Mine is different.
but now what does 1 tell staff? where do you draw the line, do you accrue or not? coz it does make a big difference, i have a case like that at the moment. and when the employee takes it up at the CCMA what would stand?
Hi Craig
I had to go for a polysomnogram at a sleep clinic yesterday, to resolve a sleep disorder that is causing me to fall asleep at work. My employer is aware of this medical problem but now they want me to take annual leave for yesterday, even though I was actually booked into the clinic and can provide a doctor’s note to show this. The testing involved sleeping during the day whilst being monitored with various equipment, EEG’s, etc.
They do not consider this as sick leave, even though the problem itself is preventing me from doing my job properly and medical intervention is required.
Are they correct? And do employees normally have to take annual leave when going to see the doctor/dentist/dermatologist/etc?? Surely if you are booked into a hospital or clinic for a day, this should count as sick leave?
Thanks for your help!
Your help in this matter will be much appreciated
Hi Craig, many thanks for your quick response and advice. Much appreciated!
Hi Craig, thanks for being our support in our plight over the past two months. Your involvement has helped us get through. Everyone looks up to you and we will continue this process with you heading it. You have given every one of us “hope”. You will most certainly be blessed!!
Craig,
Thank you for your response. For us that are not in the know regarding the details of what can, and what cannot, be done to the employee, it is a relief to know that there is somewhere we can turn to seek advice without being charged an arm and a leg. Thank you.
hi craig
i would just like to find out from you is it true that when you are a temporary employee’s contract has been renewed more then 4 times that they employee must be taken on as permanent?
regards
Candice
Hi
I have a colleague who confronted management re issues. In response they offered her 4 months salary to leave “peacefully”. A “friendly” labour laywer did the paperwork. once agreed it was announced that she resigned (in front of 30 witnesses) for personal reasons(?)
however, the lawyer said it can be treated as retrenchment for UIF purposes. Is this fair? I intend resigning now- but it seems better to make a fuss and get a healthy lumpsum and be able to claim UIF! (it’s at least the 2nd case here that I know of)
thanks
Hey craig, just a quick one, i worked with a guy for 4 months, contracting for a lift company. During the 4 months he would make excuses for not being able to pay me, problem was i knew him before working with him so i would give him a break ‘pay me when u can’ lol not so bright i know but anyways, i stopped working with him, with a condition that i’d come back when he pays what he owes me, its been 5 months and he’s made no effort to pay and i cant wait anymore. I had no contract with him or the lift company. Do i have any legal rights? and what steps do i take?
Hi, I am being retrenched at the end of March. What gets deducted from the retrenchment package ? i.e. 1 week service for each yr;leave pay;notice pay : Does tax and UIF get deducted from the lump sum total ?? Do I need a Tax Directive and if so who must apply for it?? The leave pay : they say it works out to plus minus one and a half days leave ??
Thanks
good day i am working under a very destructive boss and would like to give my resignation in i have been working here since april 2010 and by law i am allowed to give 2 weeks but my contract states otherwise what do i do i cannot give a month due to my circumstances not allowing me to
Hi Graig,
I recently went for an interview, my employer said that he will pay me a salary at the end of each month, but i will be named a contractor. I am also pregnant and he had no issue with me taking my maternity leave. He also said that when i came back from maternity leave a structure will be in place where i will earn a basic commission as well, with my salary.
On the day that i started he gave me another document stating that i am a contractor, and that he will be paying me a salary for the first 3 months, thereafter he will work on a commission ONLY structure. He also is just giving me one month maternity leave. I work 5 days a week, and should an event be booked over weekends and after hours during the week, i will have to work as well with no overtime. Is this legal, please can you give me a indication on what i can tell my employer.Thank you
Hi Craig,
I have a problem with my boss at the moment she is threatening me with legal action for spreading rumours about her company. The only “rumour” I spread was stating the fact to some co-workers that I have been paid late last month and the month before and not being able to get a single payslip out of her. (I have been working there for 4 months now) Now she accuses me of spreading rumours about her company being bankrupt. What can I do about her acusations ?
If a business is sold as a going concern and the employees all stay in employment, may they still require a severance package from the seller (first owner)? The business was run as a sole trading entity.
Thank you for your assistance.
Hi. I have just discovered that an employee who resigned and left my employ was not performing his duties for at least 6 months and now I have numerous interest and penalties to pay. He lied to my clients who have since taken their business away. I have witheld his leave pay in lieu of damages. What do you think?
To whom it may concern:
Please advise if you are able to help me with some advice with regard to issues I’m currently having at work.
I’ll try to be as brief as possible.
I applied for compassionate leave at my company to attend my niece’s funeral in Lydenburg on Friday afternoon,
for 1 1/2 days (Friday & Saturday) since the distance to travel from JHB to Lydenburg is far and we plan to stay over
the night & come back on Saturday.
My application for leave was declined as I was informed a “niece” is not direct family.
I then advised I’m prepared to take it as unpaid leave.
I have now been informed they will grant me 1 day on Friday as unpaid however, I have to report to work on
Saturday otherwise I will be charged with “neglect of duty” and “absent from work without good reason / leave or collective absence”.
Kindly advise if they can charge me for this.
I have worked with the directors for 23 years and find this treatment very unfair after so many years of loyal service
(20 years at a previous company & 3 years at the new company they have opened).
Over the last 3 years I’ve had a lot of health problems and hence have used up all my sick leave and they have been deducting this off my salary.
End of February they deducted a whole R 7000 off my salary, for sick leave (I went into hospital for an operation on both feet.
Was meant to be booked off for 1 week but went into work the very next day, with feet in bandages and even though I was not meant to walk).
I asked them before hand if they could not split the deductions over a few months to assist me as I’m already in financial difficulty to which they said no, they did not want to compromise the company in any way.
Unfortunately myself and the lady employed as Financial Manager / HR are clashing and I feel this has now become a personal issue.
Please advise what are my legal rights in this regard or do I not have any?
Thanking you in anticipation of your urgent response.
Thanking you,
Jennifer
Hi Craig.
What really is getting to a lot of people working as contractors for a labour broker is that they are being dismissed and no reason being given by the the company not the labour broker who they worked for.This thus makes the fat cats untouchable. Time for the the laws to change.