Employees are the lifeblood of any business, but if they are incompetent and under-qualified they can also be its death knell. That’s why the growing phenomenon of employees lying about their qualifications is such a problem. The employer must now contend not only with the business risks of having someone unqualified in place, but also with the nightmare of a labour law issue. That’s why new legislative amendments (not yet in place but certainly on the horizon) are so welcome. Both duplicitous employees, and the fraudulent academic institutions that often enable them, will face serious criminal penalties…

Being a company director (or a senior manager) comes with onerous duties and risks which require constant management. And 2020 is shaping up to be a year in which you will find yourself under increasing scrutiny, with the NPA now showing a distinct appetite for charging delinquent directors criminally, and with the ongoing risk of personal liability and class actions by trade unions and other stakeholders. We discuss the standards to which you are held by the Companies Act and remind you of several specific and growing risk areas, not all of them immediately obvious but all of them important.

SMMEs (Small, Medium and Micro-Enterprises) play an integral role in our economy, and it is alarming therefore to read recent research showing that a massive 70% - 80% of South African small businesses fail within five years. Why the high failure rate? What factors contribute to the success or failure of small businesses? Why are some entrepreneurs more successful than others, and what characteristics should you have (or develop) to maximise your own chances of success? What can government contribute?