Few will be able to claim ‘home office’ expenses
Many South Africans who had to start working from home due to the national coronavirus lockdown imposed on businesses will not yet be able to claim "home office expenses". By Darren Britz, admitted attorney; and Laurence Mbokwane, tax consultant at Tax Consulting SA...
Covid-19 reveals risk in inauthentic governance
The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed another risk to investors, namely: 'governance washing' in the way of inauthentic delivery on sustainable governance guidelines. Responsible asset manager Old Mutual Investment Group has identified this as a real risk that requires...
Is IT or HR responsible for digital transformation?
Did you know that over the last decade, digital transformation projects have had less than a 20% success rate? According to McKinsey's latest research, 2018 indicated a 16% success rate - the lowest over the last few years. This begs the question: With technology...
In a post-pandemic world, home is where the work is
What I'm learning from the Covid-19 pandemic is that the definition of productivity used in the workplace over the last few decades misses the point, writes Mandy Duncan, Aruba country manager, South Africa. Professional productivity should be measured in what is...
The shift to remote working for start-ups
Remote working has become the norm for companies of all sizes during these trying times. By Ronald Ravel, director: B2B South Africa at dynabook South Africa Over the past few weeks, we've seen a significant rise in remote workers never seen in the business world...
Compliance: What’s key over the next three months?
Although Covid-19 is not the first pandemic the world has faced over the last 100 years, its effects are unique due to increased globalisation and interconnectivity which have altered the way organisations in every country operate. And, unlike before, workers on an...
Must expatriates pay provisional tax to SARS?
With the first provisional tax payment being due on 31 August 2020, there is some confusion regarding whether expatriates are deemed to be provisional taxpayers by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) or not. Reabetswe Moloi, expatriate tax attorney at Tax...
Tips for negotiating TERS payments
The Department of Employment and Labour has approved a temporary employer/employee relief scheme (TERS). By Yolandi Esterhuizen, registered tax practitioner and compliance manager at Sage Africa & Middle East This enables employers to pay employees with funds made...
Gender or sex: don’t discriminate against either
What if your white male employee self-identified as a woman? Or your African male colleague identified as an African female to score more BEE points? This is not a test. This is the future of the workplace where gender and racial identities are fluid and organisations...
Take care of tech talent when it matters
In what feels like a minute, the world has gone massively digital. People are doing everything online because of Covid-19, and the strain is showing. To the extent that the global economy is running, it’s doing so on digital sales and distribution. By Ruth Ebeling,...
Covid-19 relief options for businesses
Most South African small and medium businesses are struggling to operate and pay their employees during the national lockdown imposed by government to slow the spread of Covid-19. Rob Cooper, chairman of the Payroll Authors Group of South Africa, and host of the Sage...
Covid-compliant workplaces a new priority
As more South Africans return to work in May, workplaces re-designed to combat Covid-19 infection, while simultaneously reassuring workers, are the new priority. Fortunately, South African innovation is rising to the challenge of reimaging shared workspaces in the...