Andrew Goldschmidt

As even the youngest Boomers (the generation born between 1946 and 1964) approach the “Big Sixty”, an increasing number of employees will be thinking about whether or not they want to retire. And an increasing number of employers will be wondering whether to ask them to stay on or to retire them (and if so, when). Bear in mind that our law does not recognise any concept of a general “normal/sta...

Wedding Season is well and truly upon us, and if you (or anyone near and dear to you) is busy planning for marriage (note that we are talking “civil marriage” here, “customary marriages” and “civil unions” are beyond the scope of this article), you will have a long “To Do” List to work through. Venue, invites, catering, flowers, service, this, that, the other. The list goes on, and on… But no m...

Here’s yet another reminder from our courts in Thokan v Kriegler and Another (40781/2018) [2022] ZAGPJHC 680 on the danger of not complying strictly with every provision in a property sale agreement. Don’t be like Douglas Adams and listen to the deadlines go whooshing by – missing a property sale deadline is a mistake, probably an expensive one. The deadline set by every bond clause is no excep...

You should always take as much security for your claims as you possibly can before advancing credit or lending money to a debtor. That’s because if your debtor fails and is “liquidated” (if a corporate) or “sequestrated” (if an individual), without security you will have only a concurrent claim in the estate. And with a concurrent claim, you will be lucky to get back more than a few cents in th...

Employers have a general duty to ensure health and safety in the workplace. But as a recent Labour Court case illustrates, policies dealing with these issues must be correctly drawn, implemented and enforced. A mine’s “no high heels” policy challenged A mining operation introduced a health and safety policy, applicable to all employees, requiring that: “Appropriate shoes must be worn at all time...

If you are emigrating, or perhaps just going overseas for an extended holiday or work contract, you may well leave behind some form of “unfinished business”. Perhaps you own a property, other assets or bank accounts needing attention, or have outstanding tax/business/financial affairs, or contracts to be signed, cars to be licenced, or something else unresolved that requires your future agreement ...

Buying “plot and plan” in a residential complex allows you the freedom to build your own dream house in a secure environment, quite apart from providing what is likely to be sound long-term investment. Just make sure that you will actually be ready to build within the time frame required by the HOA (homeowners’ association). If you don’t, you risk having to transfer the plot back to the developer ...

The Constitutional Court’s limited legalisation of personal cannabis use in private seems to have lulled some employees into a false sense of security when it comes to their employer’s right to restrict their cannabis use. A recent Labour Court decision of Enever v Barloworld Equipment, a division of Barloworld South Africa (PTY) Ltd (JS 633/20;JS926/20) [2022] ZALCJHB 161  illustrates. Not st...

“Family helps family in times of need” - that’s been part of human culture since long before the dawn of history but be sure to observe all legal formalities. A recent High Court decision of Herclass and Another v Herclass (2322/2021) [2022] ZAFSHC 157 provides an excellent example of the risks of not doing so. Parents lose R540,000 A daughter in the middle of a divorce borrowed R540,000 from he...