In a country characterised by high unemployment and an economy which has delivered lower than forecasted growth rates, employers should avoid being tempted to believe that staff reduction will be the solution to their financial woes.

Item 4 of the Code of Good Practice to the Labour Relations Act, 1995, in dealing with fair procedure, provides that “Normally, the employer should conduct an investigation to determine whether there are grounds for dismissal.”

Data protection in South Africa is regulated by the Promotion of Access to Information Act No. 2 of 2000 (“PAIA”); Promotion of Personal Information Act No. 4 of 2013 (“POPI”) and the Electronic Communications Act (“ECT”) No 36 of 2005