Owethu Mbambo is a Partner in the Labour, Employment and Human Rights practice group. Owethu specializes in labour and employment law and advises clients on compliance with employment laws in South Africa. Her expertise includes general employment advice, preparing and reviewing employment contracts, workplace policy and practise documents, and all employment related agreements.
Owethu also advises clients on implementing and enforcing of workplace rules and policies through conducting misconduct, incapacity and operational requirements processes, as well as providing client training on implementing workplace policies and discipline. She conducts investigations and prepares investigation reports on behalf of Companies.
Owethu advises clients on employment law aspects in various commercial transactions including mergers and acquisitions, retrenchments and restructurings, and the closure of businesses, including conducting due diligences prior to the acquisition or closure of companies for entities operating in South Africa.
Owethu has advised and represented clients in various types of employment related litigation, including internal hearings, dismissal disputes, unfair labour practice disputes, unfair discrimination disputes and disputes relating to the deeming provisions of the Labour Relations Act, 1995. She also chairs disciplinary and incapacity hearings.
Owethu has appeared in arbitrations in the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration ("CCMA"), the Bargaining Council for the Metal and Engineering Industries, and appears in application proceedings and trials in the Labour Court.
She advises clients on collective bargaining matters, including disputes concerning the enforcement and application of collective agreements, and strike related matters. Owethu has successfully brought urgent applications to oppose unprotected strike action. Owethu has also advised and appeared before the Essential Services Committee of the CCMA in relation to the deeming of a service as an Essential Service.
In addition to providing clients with general employment advice, Owethu advises clients on a wide range of health and safety legal matters. In this regard, she advises clients on various aspects of compliance with health and safety laws, particularly the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 ("OHSA"), Mine Health and Safety Act, 1996 ("MHSA") and the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, 1993 ("COIDA") and the regulations thereunder. This includes reviewing health and safety systems, risk assessments, safe operating procedures, and health and safety specifications and general legal compliance.
Owethu also liaises with regulators on behalf of clients, particularly the Department of Labour’s Health and Safety Inspectorate on behalf of clients. Particularly, she has liaised with the Department of Labour in respect of decisions and directives affecting clients as well as the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy in relation to migrating a workplace from the jurisdiction of the MHSA to the jurisdiction of the OHSA.
Owethu also advises clients on data privacy laws, including advice on various aspects of compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA) and Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (PAIA), as well as advising clients on the implementation of workplace POPIA or PAIA systems, policies and procedures.
In 2022 Owethu completed an LLM at the University of the Witwatersrand with distinctions in administrative law and company law.
She is a committee member of the South African Society for Labour Law (SASLAW) Gauteng Chapter committee. SASLAW promotes the advancement of labour law in South Africa.
Experience
- Appearing in the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration
- Part of a team conducting investigations and preparing reports on behalf of a Company
- Part of a team assisting clients in preparing for strike related issues
- Part of a team assisting clients with retrenchments under sections 189 and 189A of the LRA
- Part of a team advising clients on various consequences of business transfers in terms of section 197 of the LRA
- Providing training to employees on how to conduct grievance and disciplinary hearings
- Drafting of pleadings, affidavits, notices, opinions and correspondences
- Part of teams assisting clients with bringing urgent strike interdicts in the Labour Court
- Part of a team assisting an employee in the construction industry in a health and safety inquiry in relation to a fatality
