KTH SU 5 Ch 39 Letting and Hiring of Work.pdf - KTH 220...

KTH 220 Marissa Badenhorst
STUDY UNIT 5: LETTING AND HIRING OF
WORK
CHAPTER 39
Prescribed study material:
Commercial Law paras 39.01-39.22 (not 0.5; 09-22) → look at scope provided on ClickUP
[108] Smit v Workmen”s Compensation Commissioner 1979 1 SA 51 (A)
[109] Tulloch v Marsh 1910 TPD 453
[119] Sifris v Vermeulen Broers 1974 2 SA 218 (T)
THEME 1: INTRODUCTION
LO 1. DESCRIBE THE ORIGIN OF THE CONTRACT OF LETTING AND HIRING OF WORK
 The Romans distinguished between 3 types of contracts of letting and hiring and hiring, namely:
a. Locatio conductio rei (the letting and hiring of a thing)
b. Locatio conductio operarum (the letting and hiring of a piece of work)
c. Locatio conductio operis (the letting and hiring of services, today known as an employment contract)
Difference between the letting and hiring of services (an employment contract) and the letting and hiring of a
piece of work lies in the fact that the employee always delivers the services under the control and supervision
of the employer, while a lessee of a piece of work (the contractor) delivers the work and complies with his
duties independently of the lessor (the client)
 These contracts are especially relevant in the building or construction industry, in the field of
engineering and in other instances such as plumbing works, electrical repairs and the
development of computer software
o This type of contract goes hand-in-hand with mandate , in terms of which one party
completes an instruction given to him by another, in exchange for compensation
LO 2. WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF A CONTRACT OF LETTING AND HIRING OF WORK
 A contract for the completion of a piece of work is a reciprocal agreement between a client (the
lessor of the work) and a contractor (the lessee of the work) in terms of which the contractor
undertakes to deliver a finished product of work within an agreed time, in exchange for the
payment of remuneration by the client to the contractor
 You ask someone to do work for you but they do not become your employee
o E.g. engineering contract; plumber; electrician etc.

KTH 220 Marissa Badenhorst
LO 3. WHO ARE THE PARTIES TO A CONTRACT OF LETTING AND HIRING OF WORK
 Difference between:
LETTING AND HIRING OF SERVICES LETTING AND HIRING OF WORK
Object is the rendering of personal services by the
employee on the employer. The services/labour is
the object of the contract.
Object is the performance of a certain specified
work or the production of a certain specified result.
The product or the result of the labour is the object
of the contract.
Parties referred to as employer + employee → on a
more permanent basis
Parties referred to as client/employer +
contractor/subcontractor (even though this is NOT
an employment contract between an employer and
employee)
Employee works under supervision of employer Contractor works independently
Services are at the disposal of the employer Lessee of work is bound to perform a certain
specified work
An employee is subordinate to the will of the
employer
The lessee of work is on an equal footing with the
lessor