<strong>By: Aadil Patel the National Head of the Employment practice at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr</strong>

<h2><b>What this means for businesses and employees</b></h2>

In light of the increasing cases of Covid-19 reported in South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a national state of disaster to contain the coronavirus. Just a week after a KwaZulu-Natal man became the first person to test positive in the country, there are now at least 61 confirmed cases of the virus. In his address to the nation yesterday, Ramaphosa announced measures aimed at containing the virus that will impact schools, international and domestic travel and businesses.

Aadil Patel the National Head of the Employment practice at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr says with the increasing changes to conventional ways of working and doing business and the knock on effect on economic productivity, businesses may have increased concerns on basic employment rights. “The ban on gatherings of more than 100 people, has undoubtedly raised questions on the nature of gatherings that have been banned. And although the president has not explicitly advised businesses to allow employees to work remotely, organisations and employers need to work together to ensure that basic employment rights are upheld”.