Recent News
COVID-19: Small Businesses, Employment Laws, and Survival Support
“The secret of crisis management is not good vs. bad, it’s preventing the bad from getting worse” (Andy Gilman) We can only guess at how the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak will end, but let’s all take whatever concrete steps we can right now to lessen its impact on our...
Your Neighbour Builds Without Plans – Can You Get a Demolition Order?
"The primary remedy therefore is an order for removal of the structure" (extract from the judgment below) What can you do if your neighbour has started (or finished) building without the necessary municipal approvals? In a nutshell, our courts will very probably...
How to Stop an Ex-Director from Competing With You
“…the default position is that an executive director or a senior employee may not carry on business activities which fall within the scope of his company’s business during the time when he serves as director or works as employee. The default position however changes...
Beware the “Common Law Marriage” Myth
“In our law cohabitation does not have special legal consequences. Generally the proprietary consequences and rights flowing from a marriage are not available to unmarried couples, regardless of the length of their cohabitation” (extract from judgment below) If you...
Website of the Month: COVID-19 – Entrepreneurs and Your Growth Opportunities
“Never let a good crisis go to waste” (Winston Churchill) The COVID-19 coronavirus crisis will, like all crises, eventually give way to economic and societal recovery. Even before that inevitable upturn actually sets in, entrepreneurs should remember...
Budget 2020: Good News for Property Sellers and Buyers, and Some Useful Tax Calculators
“To support the property market, the threshold for transfer duties is adjusted” (Finance Minister Tito Mboweni) Transfer Duty Exemption Up Some good news for property sellers and buyers in particular is the increase in the transfer duty exemption to R1m. See the table...
Running a Business in a Residential Area – Check Your Zoning First!
“It is unquestionable that an owner of land is not permitted to perform activities which contravene the restrictive title conditions or the zoning restrictions” (extract from judgment below) You decide to open a home business, or perhaps you are about to buy a house...
Watch What You Say on WhatsApp – The Case of the R20m Lottery Win and the R1m “Offer”
“Engage brain before hitting send” (Anon) WhatsApp comes with a host of business and personal benefits, and its use is growing exponentially here as in the rest of the world. Which brings us to a possible downside – binding yourself to a legally-enforceable agreement...
How to Stop an Ex-Director from Competing With You
“…the default position is that an executive director or a senior employee may not carry on business activities which fall within the scope of his company’s business during the time when he serves as director or works as employee. The default position however...