Tag: fair dismissal

To have a chance of winning a case at the Labour Court, a party must present proof to the judge. In the case of Malekunutu vs Joburg Bolt (Lex Info 17 January 2025. Labour Court case number JR1806/21), the employee faced retrenchment. The employer claimed financial difficulties as the reason for this decision.

A recent Labour Court judgment reaffirms the court's position to support employers that dismiss employees for racial misconduct, whether casual or brazen.

On Friday 21 January 2022, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) delivered a much anticipated first pronouncement on the fairness of a dismissal following an employee’s refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccination.

A recent judgement Woolworths v CCMA and others [2021] ZALAC 49 in the Labour Appeal Court (LAC) held that an employee can be fairly dismissed for dishonesty if the employee claims to be ill and then uses sick leave entitlement to attend a sports match.

In a recent judgment, Joseph v Killarney Engineering (Pty) Ltd and others (JR 586 18), the Labour Court found that it did not have jurisdiction to determine review proceedings for a liquidated company if the person who instituted the legal proceedings failed to deliver the necessary notice to the liquidators.

Labour relations and the fairness standards for dismissal of an employee in South Africa have long been centred around the formality of disciplinary or incapacity enquiry processes, and the tradition of the usage of these processes has built up an expectation that they are mandatory.  

A recent case decided by the South African High Court has examined the curious interplay of an employee's rights as they arise from both the written contract of employment and, at the same time, labour legislation. Although the judgment may at first seem confusing, a careful analysis of its outcome sheds light on how these parallel sources of the parties rights and obligations operate in conjunction.

In the case of Moloi vs Quthing Construction and Developers CK (2007, 8 BALR 720) the accused was given a final warning after he had been repeatedly late for work and had displayed a ‘negative attitude’.