The Plight of Employment Policies that Exclude Customary Practices in the Workplace

South Africa is called a “rainbow nation”, and with its 11 official languages, the country is a melting pot of diverse cultures, traditions, and beliefs. This diversity is not without challenges. This brings interesting and complex questions from an employment perspective; therefore, striking a balance between the employer’s rights versus the employee’s traditional practices has become a significant challenge. The article analyses these challenges that arise as a result of the failure of section 8(3) of the Constitution to give a direct mandate to develop customary law to put into effect or limit a right that is found in the Bill of Rights and in this instance the right to fair labour practices in terms of section 23. The article will also analyse the cases dealing with employees who wanted to enforce their rights conferred to them by the Constitution to practice their culture but were excluded and discriminated against on some of the grounds listed in section 9(3) of the Constitution. The article will conclude by recommending that labour laws and the Constitution should be reviewed to cater for native persons, in particular, the recognition of customary laws and practices at the workplace.