Compliance with labour legislation within the small enterprise sector

Abstract: The purpose of the study was to investigate how compliance to labour law- particularly- particularly to the Labour Relations Act (LRA) and to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) – can be promoted as sound governance practice. The study adopted a qualitative approach and eight experts in the field were purposefully sampled and interviewed. The results of the study suggest that the small enterprise owners are not knowledgeable with labour laws hence they are not able to comply with the law. Labour laws are also cumbersome to small enterprises and negatively impact governance through their forced implementation. It is suggested that different requirements be applied to this sector. Guidelines are proposed which legislators could use to assist the government of South Africa in modifying the requirements of the LRA and the BCEA as they apply to the small enterprises sector. The study fills a gap in the South Africa literature in the field of employment relations associated with small enterprises and governance