South African rugby players' contracting model is set to change drastically from the 1st of November 2020 as some mind-boggling changes were made to the junior/development contracts to be offered to the newcomers to professional contracts.
Bart and SHANE WAFER @ 0794952714 are careful when we discussed the legality of the junior/development and fixed-term contracts. All rugby players and most of the coaching staff in South Africa is employed via a fixed-term contract.
Many employers utilize the Fixed Term Contract purely as a means of evading their statutory obligations in terms of the BCEA and the LRA and the EEA, and also to save money by denying the employee the opportunity of pension/provident fund benefits and also medical aid benefits. Further, in the event of retrenchments, the employee on a fixed-term contract is robbed of his/her severance pay.
However, if an employee is compensated under the legal threshold (currently being R205 433.30 per year), labour law limits such a period to 3 months with certain exceptions. According to me, that has an extremely limited legal knowledge, all junior players that earn less than the legal threshold should be treated like permanent employees.
Unfortunately, this "question" of the legality of the player agreements will never be answered unless tested in court. We all agreed that if you dare to go to court to test the legality you will never be contracted in South Africa and most probably worldwide again.
Even more worrisome is the new conditions specifically aimed at the players who will sign a rugby contract for the first time in his career in South Africa. The player commits himself to South African rugby for a minimum of 3 years and if he is regarded as a player of national interest a minimum period of 4 years.
The details are discussed and explained in the video which left us with only one question. Who in his right mind will sign a junior/development contract in South Africa.
My advice is to run, run far away or contact SHANE WAFER @ 0794952714