Tag: racist comment

In a judgment handed down by the Constitutional Court on 13 September 2018, in the case of Duncanmec (Pty) Limited v Gaylard N.O. and Others [2018] ZACC 29, the court was faced with the question as to whether employees who sang a racially offensive struggle song during a peaceful strike should be dismissed.

Is a dismissal of an employee who posted alleged racist comments on Facebook substantively fair? The dismissal of an employee who posted alleged racist comments on Facebook will be substantively fair only if a reasonable person ascribes the comment as racist and the comment has a negative bearing on the employee’s continued employment relationship.

Your social media posts, as well your comments and likes on other people’s posts, can be liked or shared and can easily make their way to your employer. A racist comment made on social media is very serious and it is potentially accessible to hundreds, if not thousands, of other social media users. Even if the post is deleted, once it is shared or if some has taken a screen shot, it can continue circulating on social media or the internet.