People

Hiring them, paying them, and staying on the right side of the law.

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How things work, and how to do them. A spread across the whole hub — open a section for everything in it.

Hiring
Hiring your first employee
The point where a business stops being one person's work. None of the obligations are difficult, and almost all of them are easier before you hire than after.
Content Agency25 August 2026
Hiring
How to Start a Business While You're Still Employed
Content Agency11 September 2020archive
Hiring
Listen: @SpotlightOn interview with BenPeta Holdings
SDF Projects2 September 2020archive
Payroll and benefits
Bonuses and increases
Neither is automatic in law. Both may become obligations anyway — including through having quietly done it every year without ever saying it was discretionary.
Content Agency26 August 2026
Payroll and benefits
Leave: what employees are entitled to
The area where small employers most often act on what they believe the rules are rather than what they are — usually with the best intentions, and occasionally…
Content Agency26 August 2026
Payroll and benefits
Payslips and deductions
An employee is entitled to written details of what they were paid and what came off it, every time. It is one of the first things asked for when anything goes…
Content Agency26 August 2026
Labour law and the CCMA
Retrenchment
Lawful, sometimes necessary, and with a process that must be followed before the decision is final. The common failure is deciding first and consulting…
Content Agency26 August 2026
Labour law and the CCMA
What happens at the CCMA
Far less intimidating than expected, provided you arrive with the documents. The employer generally carries the onus of showing the dismissal was fair.
Content Agency26 August 2026
Labour law and the CCMA
Can An Employer Make Use Of Online Or Social Media Platforms To Hold Retrenchment Proceedings?
Legalese
Contractors or employees
Paying contractors
Mostly like paying any other supplier. The exceptions are the ones that cause trouble, and they are worth knowing before the first invoice rather than at year…
Content Agency26 August 2026
Contractors or employees
Using temporary staff
They solve a real problem, and they carry obligations businesses frequently do not realise they have taken on. You are not simply a customer.
Content Agency26 August 2026
Contractors or employees
Working with freelancers
Most disappointing freelance work is a briefing failure rather than a competence failure. And reputation as a client is real — freelancers talk to each other.
Content Agency26 August 2026