Venolan Naidoo: Hello and welcome to the Fasken Legal Podcast.
I'm Venolan Naidoo, I'm a partner at Fasken Johannesburg office in the Department of Labour and Employment,
human rights group. A bit of my background.
I advise clients on various labour and employment issues, as well as advising clients on AI governance issues.
Data privacy law in conjunction with Popia.
I'm pretty ecstatic about the intersection between the changing workplace landscape in relation to technology,
the law, compliance, and people. I've had the honour of contributing to the University of the Western Cape's Centre for Transformative
Regulation of Work. This was focused on non-standard workers that typically work through digital platforms.
The project, which has guided the National Economic Development Council, also known as Nedlac,
on the proposed labour laws amendments on non-standard workers.
I've also been privileged to have been the National President of the South African Society for Labour Law for two terms,
which has provided me with further insight on the constant development of our labour relations law.
I've written extensively and presented at events on various topics.
This has covered the workplace and the law as well as on the technological impact given the advent of AI.
In this podcast series, I aim to cover and navigate for you the evolving new ways of work and the future of work,
and what best to be prepared for and plan ahead for.
Today, I'm covering an overview of what will be discussed in upcoming episodes in the evolving world of work,
from various vantage points in conjunction with current affairs.
In this podcast series, I advocate for good workplace relations, whether your workplace is flourishing or when faced with downsizing and
having to relook at alternative or other new employment approaches for employees,
this could be based on technological changes and the like.
Whether this may be upskilling or reskilling certain segments of the workforce to align with such changes or considering other ways of
workplace adaptability. In the coming months, I'll be covering various topics or themes,
and these are AI taking a hold in a multitude of sectors and industries, and how to manage many of the unforeseen legal risks at the workplace when
it comes to AI, as well as other disruptions, including other technological impacts on the workplace.
I'll also be looking at the evolving work arrangements, taking into account both workplace efficiency as well as employee wellbeing.
We will also be looking at the globalized world of work, employment, mobility and the approach on regulating employment relationships that go beyond
borders in other countries. The ever-changing outlook on mental health and the workplace.
We will also look at non-standard workers, also known as gig workers, in South Africa,
especially in light of the recent Uber and other ride hailing strikes taking place,
but also considering non-standard workers in certain instances as an alternative work model to possibly gain special skills and other talent.
This would create more opportunity in this relatively new segment of workers in particular industries.
The future of employment and other possible new forms of work.
What would it look like in the coming years, especially from a South African context?
As mentioned earlier, we will consider a new look at skills development in which employers would need to possibly invest in their workforce
training to best equip their employees for the skills needed in the future that would ultimately form part of that workplace in a new landscape.
And lastly, managing the ever-evolving workplace.
In times of technological change, whether through automation or economic uncertainty in certain industries,
including the recent tariffs placed by the US and what to plan ahead for.
We are living in a world of constant change, and having such insight in navigating through this change would indeed be critical for employers and
organizations. The ultimate aim of this legal podcast series is to keep abreast of these changes,
and to provide legal and industry insight in what to best plan ahead for in a changing workplace environment.
This undoubtedly requires adaptability in fostering a work environment that is both productive as a net output for the workplace,
as well as being satisfying for employee wellbeing than for part of it.
These are some of the topics in the world of work that we will be covering in the coming episodes.
What's happening now and how we can help you?
These will indeed be discussed in the coming episodes.
I'm Venolan Naidoo. Of course, feel free to reach out to me and I look forward to hosting the series in meeting you to help you your
business in dealing with the changing world of work.