RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN S.A. EMPLOYMENT LAW

Date of Judgment & Seat of Court: 18 February 2026, Labour Court, Gqeberha Case No: P57/2023 Name of Judge(s): Thys AJ Summary of Factual Matrix: Ms Tshentu, an employee of the Eastern Cape Department of Health appointed in January 2020, referred a dispute to the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) in September 2022 about the interpretation and application of Resolutions 3 of 2009 and 1 of 2012, which she contended entitled her to a salary adjustment. Without hearing oral evidence, and after the parties had been told that the merits would be decided after evidence, an arbitrator conducted the proceedings virtually and, on 27 April 2023, issued a ruling that the PSCBC lacked jurisdiction because Ms Tshentu had been appointed after the relevant date. The employee and her union applied to review that ruling, contending that it concerned the merits and not jurisdiction, that the arbitrator had relied on a DPSA circular rather than the resolutions, and that the...

Date of Judgment & Seat of Court: 11 September 2026, Labour Court, Johannesburg Case No: 2026/216977 Name of Judge(s): Bekker AJ Summary of Factual Matrix: Ms Hlahla, a Deputy Director: Acquisitions (Supply Chain Management) in the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, was served on 26 August 2026 with a notice of disciplinary proceedings containing 11 allegations of misconduct, some dating from 2024. She claimed to have made protected disclosures about interference in supply chain processes and irregular expenditure, and that the proceedings were an occupational detriment under the Protected Disclosures Act and unfair disciplinary action short of dismissal. She referred a dispute to the CCMA (later transferred to the bargaining council) on 1 September 2026, and her attorney's letter demanding an undertaking that the hearing be held in abeyance was not met. She brought an urgent application to interdict the hearing, scheduled for 7 to 9 September 2026, pe...

Date of Judgment & Seat of Court: 18 September 2026, Labour Court, Johannesburg Case No: JR2685/21 Name of Judge(s): Heideman AJ Summary of Factual Matrix: Mr Maila, a truck driver employed by Sekhukhune Logistics since October 2019, was dismissed on 21 September 2020 after a disciplinary hearing at which he was found guilty of four counts of negligently damaging the employer's trucks, essentially because prop shafts had fallen off and, on one occasion, a clutch plate had burnt. A bargaining council arbitrator found the dismissal substantively unfair on 24 November 2021, concluding that causation between his conduct and the damage was not established, that the mechanics rather than drivers were responsible for tightening the bolts, and that the employer had not applied progressive discipline. He ordered reinstatement and three months' backpay. The employer's s 145 review, filed in time with all papers delivered by 6 July 2022, was not enrolled until the employee...

Seat of Court: Labour Court, Johannesburg Date Delivered: 21 September 2026 Case No: JS602/20 Name of Judge(s): Snyman AJ Factual Summary: Ms Shekwambane and four other cleaners were dismissed for operational requirements after Curro Academy Pretoria outsourced its cleaning function. The new service provider, Suburban, guaranteed them positions on the same terms and with their service intact, but they refused the alternative on the union's advice, and the union did not engage in the s 189 consultation process. After a three-day trial, the Labour Court held on 30 July 2026 that the dismissals were substantively and procedurally fair and dismissed their claim. The applicants applied for leave to appeal on 24 August 2026, three days after the 15-court-day period under Rule 67(2) had expired, without applying for condonation. They contended that another court 'may reasonably find' differently, challenged the findings on the transfer agreement, the union's failure to...

Date of Judgment & Seat of Court: 28 September 2026, Labour Court, Johannesburg Case No: JR2160/2022 Name of Judge(s): Prinsloo J Summary of Factual Matrix: Mr Mokoatsi worked for the Vaal University of Technology from May 2013 as an invigilator on a pay-by-claim contract. From April 2017 he worked full office hours, Monday to Friday, performing the duties of an administrative assistant and no invigilation, and he was paid overtime for Saturdays. In February 2021 he was given a three-month fixed-term contract as an administrative assistant, which expired on 30 April 2021; he was not shortlisted when the posts were advertised with a new M+3 requirement. The employer's witnesses did not dispute the nature of his duties and said that he had been allowed to work in the office on humanitarian grounds. He referred a dispute under s 198B of the Labour Relations Act. On 17 August 2022 a CCMA commissioner found that he had not been dismissed, because his fixed-term contract had ex...

Seat of Court: Labour Court, Johannesburg Date Delivered: 28 September 2026 Case No: 2026-193255 Name of Judge(s): Prinsloo J Factual Summary: In August 2026 the Labour Court set aside the enforcement and execution of an arbitration award of 5 December 2025 (FSD072502) against the Nala Local Municipality, the award having been satisfied, and made a provisional order that the municipality's costs be paid de bonis propriis by Mr Majoe's attorneys, Qhali Attorneys Inc, and his advocate, Mr Feni, jointly and severally. The execution had forced the municipality to launch an urgent application, which was opposed without regard to the Income Tax Act or the prospects of success, and the heads of argument had been criticised. The legal representatives were given seven court days to show cause why the order should not be confirmed. They submitted that they were mere messengers for a client who had done his own research, that Mr Feni had relied on internet articles and the views o...

Date of Judgment & Seat of Court: 21 September 2026, Labour Court, Johannesburg Case No: JR685/2018; J1349/2018 Name of Judge(s): Myburgh AJ Summary of Factual Matrix: Mr Ndlovu, then the Chief Financial Officer of Air Traffic and Navigation Services SOC Ltd (ATNS), was charged with misconduct in November 2017. In April 2018, while his disciplinary enquiry was under way, he launched a review application (JR685/2018) and an urgent application (J1349/2018) to interdict the enquiry. The enquiry concluded on 25 April 2018, and on 26 April 2018 the urgent application was postponed sine die at his request, with costs reserved. He was dismissed on 28 May 2018, never filed his replying affidavit, and in 2019 launched a further review (J1513/19) seeking to set aside his dismissal. He withdrew the first review on 30 July 2026. ATNS applied to consolidate the two applications and for its wasted costs in both, on the attorney and own client scale, contending that they had been abandoned ...

Date of Judgment & Seat of Court: 21 September 2026, Labour Court, Johannesburg Case No: JR851/2023 Name of Judge(s): Myburgh AJ Summary of Factual Matrix: Mr Sibaya, a bulk truck operator and shop steward at Engen's Alrode depot, was dismissed on 25 April 2022 after being found guilty of three charges relating to his timekeeping in January 2022: being absent without leave on 27 January, being late on 11 occasions (while on a current written warning for the same misconduct), and dishonestly claiming an hour's overtime. A bargaining council arbitrator found the dismissal substantively unfair and ordered his retrospective reinstatement. On charge 1, the employer's lay representative relied throughout on an email from a supervisor, Mr Mamosebo, which the arbitrator never ruled upon until his award, when he held it to be inadmissible hearsay and drew an adverse inference from the failure to call its author. On charge 2, he found Mr Sibaya not guilty because a co-passe...

Date of Judgment & Seat of Court: 16 September 2026, Labour Court, Johannesburg Case No: 2026/208356 Name of Judge(s): Bekker AJ Summary of Factual Matrix: On 9 June 2025 Daniels J ordered the applicant to pay two former employees, Mr Caydavul and Mr Gurcu, R1,676,426.76 and R4,020,376.32 respectively in unpaid remuneration for the period 26 May 2020 to 12 December 2023, during which they had been on an unextended lay-off. Leave to appeal was refused by Daniels J, the Labour Appeal Court and the Constitutional Court, and an application by a related company, Kamal Steel Tanzania, to set aside the writ was dismissed on 1 August 2026. After a sale in execution was scheduled, the applicant obtained the employees' bank statements, which reflected monthly income from a third party during the lay-off. On 25 August 2026 it applied to rescind the judgment at common law on the ground of fraud and, on an urgent basis, sought to interdict the sheriff from selling its attached propert...

Date of Judgment & Seat of Court: 30 July 2026, Labour Court, Johannesburg Case No: 2026-161831 Name of Judge(s): Phehane J Summary of Factual Matrix: Mr Maluleka was the Municipal Manager of the Mogalakwena Local Municipality under a five-year fixed-term contract running to 31 August 2027. On 18 June 2026 he tendered what he called a 'conditional resignation', effective 30 November 2026. The Council noted that resignation on 29 June 2026, but on 1 July 2026 a differently constituted Council resolved to approve it and to place him on compulsory leave until 31 July 2026. An earlier urgent application was struck off the roll for want of urgency on 2 July 2026. On 8 July 2026 he brought a fresh urgent application to stay the decisions placing him on compulsory leave, interdict his dismissal and the appointment of an acting municipal manager, and be allowed to resume his duties pending a review application. He contended that his resignation was coerced and invalid. The re...

Date of Judgment & Seat of Court: 9 July 2026, Labour Court, Durban Case No: D377/2022 Name of Judge(s): Prior AJ Summary of Factual Matrix: The Transport Retail and General Workers Union (THORN), registered since 1997 under number LR2/6/2/442 and renamed in 2018, had its registration cancelled by the Registrar of Labour Relations, whose notice was published on 21 July 2022. The Registrar acted on the complaints of a Ms Kovu, a former general secretary removed from office in 2015, who claimed to represent a competing faction under the former name THOR. The Registrar's stated grounds were that the union had ceased to function as a genuine trade union and in terms of its constitution, and had failed to comply with ss 98 to 100 of the Labour Relations Act. The union had filed audited financial statements, and the cancellation was suspended pending appeal on 11 August 2022. The union appealed under s 111(3). The Registrar raised non-joinder of THOR in her heads of argument an...

Seat of Court: Labour Court, Cape Town Date Delivered: 8 October 2026 Case No: C447/2024 Name of Judge(s): Gandidze J Factual Summary: Fourteen members of IMATU, employees of the City of Cape Town, claimed in contract that they were entitled to be paid for overtime and that the City had breached their contracts by unilaterally ceasing to pay it. On 7 August 2026 the Labour Court dismissed the claim, holding that the term relied upon did not exist, and ordered costs against the union. The plaintiffs sought leave to appeal, contending that the letters of appointment, read with the contracts and policies, were ambiguous in providing for terms 'as amended from time to time', that the City could not unilaterally remove overtime pay, that the court had wrongly held the constitutional right to fair labour practices to have been unpleaded, and that the matter was of wider importance. The City opposed, pointing to how the plaintiffs' case had evolved and to the concessions m...

Date of Judgment & Seat of Court: 28 September 2026, Labour Court, Cape Town Case No: C425/2024 Name of Judge(s): Gandidze J Summary of Factual Matrix: Ms Dube, a Learner Law Enforcement Officer employed by the City of Cape Town on a fixed-term contract, tested positive for cannabis, heroin and codeine in a random test on 12 March 2023. The City's Substance Abuse System Procedure treats the presence of any such substance, at any level, as being under the influence. A re-test two weeks later was negative. She pleaded guilty, the only issue being sanction, and was dismissed on 29 September 2023. Law enforcement officers carry firearms, drive vehicles and work in gang-affected areas, and an executive director's instruction required them to be held to a higher standard. On 2 May 2024 a bargaining council commissioner found the dismissal procedurally fair but substantively unfair, treating the matter as a cannabis-only case and relying on Enever v Barloworld, and ordered r...

Date of Judgment & Seat of Court: 10 April 2026; Labour Court of South Africa, Johannesburg Name of Judge(s): Collis AJ Summary of Factual Matrix:  Harmony launched an application to review an arbitration award issued by the CCMA under case number FSW 2381-21. On 15 May 2023, Solidarity (acting for Mr Visagie) launched a Rule 11 application to dismiss the review application and make the arbitration award an order of Court. Harmony delivered its notice of intention to oppose and answering affidavit on 29 May 2023.  The applicant's replying affidavit to the Rule 11 application was delivered only on 17 August 2023, approximately two and a half months late. Harmony delivered a notice of objection on 18 August 2023.  The applicant then delivered a condonation application on 7 September 2023. The present judgment addressed the condonation application. Summary of Findings: "[14] It is trite that in an application for condonation, a deponent will be required to address the fo...

Date of Judgment & Seat of Court: 8 April 2026; Labour Court of South Africa, Johannesburg Name of Judge(s): Makhura J Summary of Factual Matrix:  On 26 November 2025, the Court dismissed with costs the applicant's application to review and set aside an arbitration award issued by the second respondent on 30 October 2019. In that award, the second respondent concluded that the dismissal of the individual applicant was both substantively and procedurally fair. The applicant subsequently filed an application for leave to appeal against that judgment and order. Summary of Findings: "[3] I have considered the application for leave to appeal, together with the grounds advanced by the applicant as further developed in the written submissions. I have also had regard to the applicable statutory test for the grant of leave to appeal contained in section 17(1) of the Superior Courts Act and am satisfied that the application meets the requisite threshold." As such, the Court c...

Date of Judgment & Seat of Court: 20 April 2026; Labour Court of South Africa, Johannesburg Name of Judge(s): Daniels J Summary of Factual Matrix:  The third respondent was appointed as section engineer on 1 August 2018. In late March 2021, he was charged with misconduct: (i) conduct unbecoming for appointing a supplier (Fikra) that did not meet safety requirements; (ii) acting against company regulations by not following procurement policy; (iii) gross negligence for taking suppliers underground without induction/training; and (iv) corrupt/fraudulent practices for appointing incompetent suppliers who performed substandard work at inflated rates.  The applicant's case was that the third respondent motivated for Fikra's appointment, indicating compliance with safety directives, but Fikra charged significantly more than the existing supplier (Premier), performed substandard work requiring re-doing, and lacked a safety file. The third respondent testified he sought savings t...