More and more employees are working from home under lockdown conditions. Some may even continue to work from home on an indefinite basis. The Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 (the Act) allows employees to claim tax deductions for home office expenses that will typically include rent of premises, interest on bond, cost of repairs… Continue Reading
Is working from home working out?
Is working from home working out? Under lockdown, the number of employees working either temporarily or permanently from home has surged. ‘Telecommuting’ does eliminate ever-lengthening commutes and allows employees to work the hours that suit them best. Management can hire applicants who live anywhere in the world. When the pandemic ends, will working virtually become… Continue Reading
The National Credit Act and Reckless Lending.
The National Credit Act and Reckless Lending The National Credit Act, Act 34 of 2005 (‘NCA’). The provisions that prohibit reckless credit granting form part of the measures that were introduced by the NCA with the aim of resolving the problem of over-indebtedness and preventing reckless credit lending. In terms of section 81(2) of the… Continue Reading
The right to lateral support
If a landowner causes damage to the land and buildings of his neighbour through excavations on her property, does the neighbour have a right to claim damages? Our law provides that landowners may use and enjoy their property in a manner that does not cause harm to or unreasonably interfere with the neighbouring landowner’s right… Continue Reading
Employment rights under lockdown
What happens if a business is forced to close because of Covid-19 and it becomes impossible for an employer and employee to perform under an employment contract? The law states that if both employer and employee are unable to do so, then the obligations of both parties are suspended, until the lockdown ends, and it… Continue Reading
Does the estate of a deceased grandparent have an obligation to support a grandchild?
Phillipa Susan van Zyl NO v Getz (548/19) [2020] ZASCA 84 The mother of a child asked the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) for a ruling obliging the estate of a grandparent of her child to maintain the child. Both parents were alive. The mother could not afford to maintain the child and the father… Continue Reading
POPIA Has Finally Arrived
Stay ahead of the curve and join Michalsons’ data protection programme today! The Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (the “POPIA”) became effective on 1 July except for certain provisions that only come into force on 30 June 2021 that allow for operational readiness of the Information Regulator who polices compliance. There will be a… Continue Reading
Once-off movement of persons and goods allowed
In terms of a Gazette published on 14 May 2020, permissions have been granted to facilitate the once-off movement of persons and goods across provincial, metropolitan or district boundaries during the period of Alert level 4, where: a person is relocating to a new place of residence; the movement is necessitated due to domestic violence;… Continue Reading
Disaster Management Act Regulations: Movement of Persons and Goods
The Department of Co-Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs has published Regulations relating to the movement of persons and goods withing and across provincial, metropolitan or district boundaries during Level 4 of the national lockdown. These apply to tenants of lease agreements and home buyers who needed to move to new leased premises or homes but… Continue Reading
Appointments in Foreign Estates
http://www.bregmans.co.za/process/ What is a “foreign estate?” Where a deceased left assets in the Republic, whether or not he or she was ordinarily resident in the Republic, no person may deal with the South African assets unless authorized thereto by a Master of the High Court in South Africa (section 13(1) of the Administration of Estates… Continue Reading
COVID-19 Update