It is not often that one comes across the Latin maxim “vigilantibus non dormientibus lex subvenit” in the employment law context. Translated, the maxim states: You have delayed in prosecuting your case, therefore your case must be dismissed! This maxim…
Applications for recusal can be made to the presiding officer, the arbitrator or the judges seized with any matter. The test to be used in deciding whether a presiding officer must recuse themselves or not has been comprehensively dealt with…
In George v Nyoka and Others, the Honourable Judge Tlhotlhalemaje, dealt with an urgent application to declare the appointment of the disciplinary chairperson and the disciplinary enquiry unlawful. This excerpt provides a glimpse into the legal manoeuvring often observed in…
Following a near-miss accident at a four-way intersection controlled by traffic lights, the applicant was instructed to attend a disciplinary hearing. At the time of the incident the applicant was driving a large truck carrying gas canisters. It was common…
When a CCMA commissioner found that Andira Maharaj’s dismissal was substantively unfair, her employer took the award on review to the Labour Court. Maharaj, the employer’s accountant, had been informed that her salary would be cut by 40% and that…
An employee who was already on a final written warning for not taking the breathalyser test each time when entering the company premises, was again caught for using a different entrance to avoid being breathalysed. After he was caught, he…
One of the requirements in the City of Johannesburg’s advertisement for a position of Deputy Director: Legal Support was that candidates must be qualified attorneys “admitted to the bar”. The applicant, who was already employed by the City as a…
In 2018 the Constitutional Court decriminalised the use of cannabis in a private space, that is, at home. The workplace, however, is not a private space. Cannabis contains a chemical substance known as THC, and this substance stays in the…
Some years ago the Constitutional Court said in Equity Aviation Services (Pty) Ltd V CCMA and Others that: “Reinstatement is the primary statutory remedy in unfair dismissal disputes. It is aimed at placing an employee in the position he or…
In SAUO obo Moller v MEC for Department of Education: North-West Province an arbitrator directed the respondents to place the applicant on the correct post level and to pay her backpay with interest. The award was certified in terms of…