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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2020 |
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Delay in prosecuting a review must be measured against IMATU; an erroneous prescription ruling by an arbitrator was set aside and remit ordered.
Labour law – review of CCMA jurisdictional ruling – prescription – Rule 7A(8)(b) condonation – delay in prosecution of review – application of IMATU – remit to CCMA for new arbitrator.
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7 December 2020 |
| November 2020 |
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Reported
Labour Court cannot adjudicate picketing‑rule breaches without CCMA conciliation; interdicts must not evict employees or be overly broad.
Labour law – Picketing disputes – s 69 LRA – mandatory CCMA conciliation before court may order compliance with picketing rules; Interdict – scope and limits – interdict amounting to eviction by implication invalid; Protected strike – employer entitled to limited relief against unlawful/criminal conduct by named employees; Urgency does not override s 69 conciliation requirement.
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17 November 2020 |
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Reported
An arbitration award for reinstatement/back-pay is a "debt" and review proceedings interrupt prescription until finalisation.
Labour law; prescription of arbitration awards; Prescription Act applicable to LRA claims; arbitration award for reinstatement/back-pay is a "debt"; referral to CCMA and review proceedings interrupt prescription until finalisation (Pieman’s applied).
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17 November 2020 |
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Reported
Organizational rights cannot be based on outdated membership data; current representativeness is essential.
Labour Law – Organisational Rights – Entitlement based on representativity – Requirement for current membership assessment for organizational rights.
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13 November 2020 |
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Reported
Employee bore evidentiary burden to prove justification; hearsay did not establish private defence, dismissal was fair.
Labour law – dismissal for misconduct – SAPS Disciplinary Regulations Reg 20(z) – commission of common‑law offence as misconduct; Onus and evidentiary burden – employee must prove justification/private defence on balance of probabilities; Section 192(2) LRA does not shift burden to employer to disprove defences; Hearsay – investigatory witnesses’ recounting of employee’s out‑of‑court version inadmissible as proof of justification; Criminal acquittal irrelevant to disciplinary misconduct finding.
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13 November 2020 |
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Reported
Inconsistent evidence and lack of notice precluded contempt finding, but the arbitration reinstatement order remains enforceable.
Labour law — contempt of court — requirement of proof beyond reasonable doubt for wilful non‑compliance with certified arbitration award; credibility and inconsistencies in evidence critical to contempt findings; fines for contempt are punitive and payable to the State; arbitration awards remain enforceable despite dismissal of contempt application.
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13 November 2020 |
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Reported
Adverse costs order without reasons in a labour matter justified appellate interference despite mootness.
Practice and procedure — Mootness — Whether exceptional circumstances justify hearing costs only; Labour law — Costs in labour matters — costs do not ordinarily follow the result; Requirement that presiding officers give reasons and judicially exercise discretion when awarding costs; Enforcement of certified arbitration awards — interplay with section 143(4) of the LRA; Appellate interference where lower court misdirects on costs.
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13 November 2020 |
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Reported
A newcomer’s pay‑progression complaint failed: "any other arbitrary ground" is narrow and collective bargaining terms are not PAJA administrative action.
* Employment equity – scope of "any other arbitrary ground" – narrow, analogous‑grounds approach; "newness" not analogous. Labour law/collective agreements – PSCBC Resolution altering pay‑progression qualifying period; contractual product of collective bargaining. Administrative law – PAJA applicability – collective agreements and related ministerial/departmental policies regulating conditions of service do not, by virtue of s 5(6) deeming, necessarily constitute administrative action reviewable under PAJA. |
9 November 2020 |
| October 2020 |
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Reported
The applicant’s pattern of unwelcome sexual conduct warranted dismissal; appeal dismissed with costs.
Labour law; sexual harassment — unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature; single incidents and cumulative conduct can constitute harassment; power imbalance and supervisory position relevant to substantive fairness and sanction; inconsistency defence not sustainable where comparator was acquitted for evidential reasons.
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13 October 2020 |
| August 2020 |
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Deeming provision s359(2) is a rebuttable presumption; Labour Court may decide ancillary section 359(2)(b) relief; Rule 11 dismissed.
Companies Act s359(2) – deeming provision and rebuttable presumption; Liquidation – notice to liquidator, waiver and approbate-and-reprobate; Labour Court incidental jurisdiction to determine ancillary section 359(2)(b) relief; Evidentiary sufficiency for establishing winding-up and liquidator appointment dates; Rule 11 applications in Labour Court.
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4 August 2020 |
| May 2020 |
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Reported
Employer’s dismissals for intimidatory shutdown of site were substantively fair; dismissal was appropriate sanction.
Labour law – unfair dismissal – intimidation of subcontractors and management; deliberate site shutdown – review of CCMA award for unreasonableness – evaluation of evidence and balancing of mitigation and employer’s interests – sanction: dismissal appropriate.
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29 May 2020 |
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Reported
Continued work after fixed-term expiry tacitly creates an indefinite contract; reinstatement is the primary remedy absent exceptional circumstances.
Labour law – fixed-term contracts – continuation of services after expiry – tacit novation to contracts of indefinite duration; employer control and payment arrangements through implementing agents do not negate employment relationship; unfair dismissal – jurisdiction to determine dismissal where employment continued; remedies – s193(2) LRA mandates reinstatement absent exceptional circumstances.
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28 May 2020 |
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Reported
An applicant may not pursue separate CCMA proceedings on the same dismissal once a non-resolution certificate has been issued.
Labour law – CCMA jurisdiction – multiple referrals arising from a single dismissal – res judicata not applicable to certificate of non-resolution; lis pendens bars duplicate proceedings; s158(2) LRA allows amplification or referral by Labour Court.
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28 May 2020 |
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Reported
A CCMA grant of stop-order rights under s21(8C) does not exempt minority-union members from agency shop fees.
Labour law – agency shop agreements – section 25 LRA – employer obligation to deduct agency fees from employees identified in collective agreement, including minority-union members; Organisational rights – section 21(8C) LRA – empowers CCMA commissioner to override section 18 thresholds but does not override agency shop agreements; Constitutional and international law – section 25 consistent with Constitution and ILO standards; Distinction between agency fees and union membership subscriptions.
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28 May 2020 |
