The much awaited Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) judgments on the Foodcorp and Oceana challenges to the Section 21 policy were handed down on the 28th and 29th March 2012 respectively. Justice Navsa JA handed down judgments in both matters which were heard together.

As you are no doubt aware by now the letters containing the results of the 2009 Performance Review Process were circulated by DAFF by way of email just before Christmas 2011. It is apparent from the deluge of queries we are receiving that the performance review letters received by right holders are riddled with errors. It appears that right holders have been incorrectly assessed under almost every possible heading in the performance review letters.

Another year is almost past and before moving on we at Dawsons thought it appropriate to give a brief review of what 2011 brought to us and what 2012 may have in store.

On the 30th November 2011 our firm celebrated its 15th birthday with a cocktail party for clients at the Granger Bay Hotel School. It was a beautiful evening and those who attended enjoyed a memorable occasion.

Historically, there is a common practice within the fishing industry that skippers on fishing vessels act as independent contractors whilst rendering their service to the vessel owner. As a result of this it has been assumed that between skipper and owner the relationship is not that of an employer/employee.