“Look before you leap.” (Wise old proverb) Imagine sealing the deal on your dream property, only to wake up at 3 a.m. beset by sudden doubts. Thoughts like “Can we…

“My word is my bond.” (Once the motto of 16th-century merchants, adopted by ’90s hip-hop artists, and now tossed around by duelling politicians) Many people are unaware that there are…

It’s vital for both employers and employees to understand the practical and legal differences between permanent and fixed term employment arrangements. What is a fixed term contract? A fixed term…

“A body corporate’s lot is not an easy one.” (With apologies to Gilbert and Sullivan) One of a body corporate’s core functions is to collect current and outstanding levies. When…

“Good in parts” (Like the curate’s egg) Transfer duty threshold increased by 10% You pay no transfer duty if the property you are buying sells for less than the set…

“All that glisters is not gold” (William Shakespeare in Merchant of Venice) Buying or selling a home could be one of the most important financial decisions you’ll ever make. It’s…

“The minute you read something that you can’t understand, you can almost be sure that it was drawn up by a lawyer.” (Will Rogers, cowboy and actor) We’ve all seen…

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” (Benjamin Franklin’s warning to fire-threatened Philadelphians in 1736) Cases of Business Email Compromise (BEC) fraud continue to surge, and recent…

From 1 April 2025, the earnings threshold under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) will increase, impacting not only the BCEA but also employee protections under the Labour Relations…

“O, I do not like that paying back.” (Falstaff, in Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part I) A standard clause in loan agreements, suretyships and the like is the “certificate of balance”…

“If you didn’t hear it from the horse’s mouth, it came from the other end of the horse.” (Anon) The rapid rise of AI is hard to ignore. DeepSeek’s AI…

“The right of self-defence is the first law of nature.” (St. George Tucker, Blackstone’s Commentaries, 1803)  South Africa’s chronically high crime rates have left many of us wondering what the…

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) for each “ordinary hour worked” has been increased from 1 March 2025 by 4.4% from R27,58 per hour to R28,79 per hour.  Domestic workers: Assuming…

“Home wasn’t built in a day.” (Jane Ace, radio comedian) You find the perfect plot on which to build your dream home in a security estate. Your offer is accepted…

“Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.” (Pablo Picasso) If you own assets outside South Africa, you may have wondered: Is my local…

“The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing… If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.” (Groucho Marx) We’ve all had this experience – meal over, relaxed and…

“Only in our dreams are we free; the rest of the time we need wages.” (Terry Pratchett) Retrenching employees can be an expensive business. You’ll have to pay each employee…

“I never knew of a morning in Africa when I woke up that I was not happy.” (Ernest Hemingway)  Are you a visitor dreaming of waking up with giraffes on…

“To be prepared is half the victory.” (Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote) Perhaps you’re a director losing sleep over the risk of losing everything if creditors sue you…

“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” (Mark Twain) Our Constitution guarantees everyone rights to education, but that doesn’t mean parents can necessarily pick and choose which…