The Labour Court has upheld a Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) ruling that ordered a Cape Town company to pay its former sales executive eight months salary after she was dismissed for working from home.
Energy firm Medici Energy showed Desiree Roux the door after she had been working from home in Paarl for over two years. Roux argued that the work-from-home arrangement was put in place because her son suffers from an autoimmune disease.
The Labour Court in Cape Town dismissed an application by energy company Medici Energy (Pty) Ltd for seeking to review a Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) ruling ordering it to pay an employee it unfairly dismissed eight months’ salary.
CCMA’s verdict challenged
Medici Energy brought an application on January 28 against CCMA commissioner CM Bennet, the CCMA and Roux in order to challenge the CCMA’s verdict that Roux was dismissed unfairly.
In an electronic judgement handed down by Labour Court acting judge Graham Leslie recently, Leslie upheld the CCMA’s ruling that Medici Energy’s dismissal of its employee Desiree Roux was unfair.
Medici Energy also challenged the CCMA’s verdict that the company must pay Roux compensation equivalent to eight months’ salary.
Medici Energy challenged the CCMA’s ruling in the Labour Court. It argued that the ruling should be reviewed and set aside. Medici Energy’s application was unopposed.
According to evidence presented in court, Roux was previously employed by Medici Energy as a sales executive.
She was dismissed on the grounds of alleged misconduct on July 28 2022.
At the internal disciplinary hearing, Roux was found guilty of two counts of misconduct.
Dismissal challenged
Roux challenged the fairness of her dismissal at the CCMA.
The CCMA concluded that her dismissal was both substantively and procedurally unfair. It awarded Roux compensation equivalent to eight months’ salary.
Roux testified at the CCMA that she worked from home in Paarl, Western Cape. This went on for a significant period of time (in excess of two years).
Her evidence was that this arrangement was put in place because her son suffers from an autoimmune disease.
On Friday, June 10 2022, Medici Energy issued an instruction to Roux to commence working from the company’s office in Cape Town with effect from Monday, June 13 2022.
Roux did not comply with the instruction, and this ultimately led to her dismissal.
Roux challenged the fairness of her dismissal in the CCMA.
Dismissal ruled unfair
The commissioner of the CCMA concluded that her dismissal was both substantively and procedurally unfair.
Roux was awarded compensation equivalent to eight months’ salary.
Medici Energy challenged the CCMA’s ruling in the Labour Court, arguing that it was not reasonable.
In his judgement, Leslie disagreed with Medici Energy, stating that there is no merit in the company’s submission. Leslie said the CCMA commissioner’s ruling is more than justified by the evidence that served before him.
Leslie said, without any prior consultation or warning, Roux was issued with the instruction to work from the office with effect from that coming Monday.
Reasonable conclusion
“… No plausible reason was put up by the applicant for this sudden termination of Ms Roux’s work-from-home arrangement. The only reasonable inference is that the instruction was issued in retaliation for her stated intention of filing a grievance. Certainly, on the evidence, this was at least a reasonable conclusion to reach.
“In my view, the applicant has not made out a proper case, on grounds of reasonableness, justifying interference with the award on review… The application is dismissed,” said Leslie.
