| (1) | If an employer fails to comply with a request made by the Director-General in terms of section 43(2) or a recommendation made by the Director-General in terms of section 44(b), the Director-General may apply to the Labour Court— |
| (a) | for an order directing the employer to comply with the request or recommendation; or |
| (b) | if the employer fails to justify the failure to comply with the request or recommendation, to impose a fine in accordance with Schedule 1 on the employer. |
| (2) | If an employer notifies the Director-General in writing within the period specified in a request or recommendation that it does not accept the request or recommendation, the Director-General must institute proceedings in terms of subsection (1) within— |
| (a) | 90 days of receiving the employer's notification, in the case of a request; or |
| (b) | 180 days of receiving the employer's notification, in the case of a recommendation. |
| (3) | If the Director-General does not institute proceedings within the relevant period contemplated in subsection (2), the request or recommendation, as the case may be, lapses. |
| (4) | Any challenge to the validity of the Director-General's request or recommendation may only be made in the proceedings contemplated in subsection (1). |
[Section 45 substituted by section 17 of Act No. 47 of 2013]
