Does section 198A (3) of the labour relations act create a sole or dual employment relationship after the period of three months?
Date
2022
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Abstract
This research report is an overview of section 198 of the Labour Relations Act which regulates temporary employment services. It also evaluates the nature of employment of employees who are employed at the instance of the TES after a period of three months from the date of their employment. In 2002 this Act was amended by the Labour Relations Amendment Act which inserted section 198A. The purpose of this insertion was to protect TES employees from being exploited by their employers by making them work for years on a temporary basis. Employees would be deprived from acquiring permanent employment benefits because of the temporary contracts they are working under. However, it has appeared that this amendment did not fulfil its purpose because section 198A(3)(b) leaves employees even more vulnerable as it gives the window period of three months without being clear on what happens to the tripartite
relationship between the parties. This section does not explain who the employer after the lapse of three months is, this leaves employees not knowing where they stand with both the client and the TES. Therefore, this research report discusses section 198A (3) of the LRA, with a view of assessing whether the client is the only employer (sole employment relationship) orboth TES and the client are employers (dual employment relationship). Further, this paper gives an overview of the case laws that have dealt with this section in trying to analyse and decide on the intention of the legislature when enacting the Amendment Act
Description
A research report submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Laws (LLM) (Research Report) in the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022
Keywords
TES employees, Labour Relations Amendment Act, TES, Labour Relations Act, Section 198, UCTD
Citation
Shei, Nqubeko. (2022). Does section 198A (3) of the labour relations act create a sole or dual employment relationship after the period of three months? [Master’s dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. WireDSpace. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/38645