labor-law south-africa
Is It Unfair For A Business To Change Its Severance Package Policy During A Pandemic?
<p>In South Africa could it be considered an unfair Labour Practice if the practice and policy within a company had been to pay two weeks severance pay for each year worked. Then when the Covid 19 pandemic broke and the company realised that it need to retrench a large number of employees and it changed the policy to pay the minimum severance package required in law which is one week.</p>

<h2>Unfair</h2>
<p>The laws of Rugby are completely fair - each side can field 15 players and the referee is impartial and the sole arbiter of time and motion.</p>
<p>You get to pick the best team you can from your local club. I get to field the Springboks. All totally fair according to the laws of Rugby. Who wins?</p>
<p>This site and the courts don’t care about fairness - it only cares about what’s lawful.</p>
<h2>So, what’s lawful?</h2>
<p>If it is part of your employment contract then it can’t be changed unilaterally.</p>
<p>If it’s just “policy” then it can.</p>
