Baker McKenzie Johannesburg

Employment & Compensation

Johan Botes heads Baker McKenzie’s Employment & Compensation Practice Group in Johannesburg. Johan is experienced in employment law and labor relations, focusing on South African and sub-Saharan African employment law and employee relations. He regularly advises multinational clients on industrial relations, employment negotiations, labor dispute resolution, change management, and organizational restructuring. His team manages multijurisdictional employment and employee relations projects on behalf of various multinational clients.

Johan's practice spans a range of industries including financial services, consulting, aviation, media, retail, manufacturing and mining. He focuses on multijurisdictional employment law and employee relations projects, from amending contracts, benefits and policies across multiple jurisdictions, to employment aspects of legal entity integration and post-transaction integration, to restructuring and reductions in force in various locations. With his award-winning team he assists global clients with corporate restructuring, employment litigation, advising and assisting with collective bargaining and trade union recognition, managing relations with trade unions, acting as negotiator for management teams, managing industrial action, employment disputes, transfers of undertakings and employment law implications of such transfers, and optimizing contracting models.

His experience also includes advising on voluntary and involuntary termination of employment, collective labor law issues, as well as labor disputes and strategic advice in relation to trade unions. Johan is well regarded for his comments around employment matters and often appears in radio and television interviews concerning various employment law issues.

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Law Society of the Northern Provinces - Member South African Society for Labour Law (SASLAW) - Member Pension Lawyers Association - Member