South Africa’s RICA law is unconstitutional: court ruling
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South Africa’s Constitutional Court has confirmed that the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (RICA) is unconstitutional.
In a judgement handed down on Thursday morning (3 February), the court said that the legislation is unconstitutional in that it fails to provide adequate safeguards to ‘protect the right to privacy, as buttressed by the rights to freedom of expression and the media, access to courts and a fair trial’.
The ruling comes after journalist Sam Sole – who has been the subject of state surveillance – and the Amabhungane Centre for Investigate Journalism applied to challenge the Act’s constitutionality.
Working from home in South Africa – here’s what your boss is and isn’t allowed to do
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Since Covid-19 lockdowns and self-isolation, remote working with associated overtime claims has become the norm, which presents employers with challenges around monitoring and privacy
According to a snap survey in August-September by recruitment agency Michael Page of 200 respondents on its website, 79% of South African professionals were working from home compared with only 26% before lockdown.
This presents employers with an obvious predicament: they have less control and supervision over employees’ work, both in terms of working hours and value, says law firm Webber Wentzel.