Labour Court rules against CPUT in case of employee dismissed over health issues.
The Labour Court in Cape Town has overturned a Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) ruling that upheld an employee's dismissal by the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), finding that the university failed to properly accommodate her medical condition or explore alternatives to dismissal.
Judge Molatelo Makhura found that CPUT did not fulfil its legal obligation to investigate reasonable accommodation measures or consider medical boarding before dismissing the employee on the grounds of incapacity arising from ill health.
The case was brought by the trade union Solidarity on behalf of the employee, who sought to review and set aside a CCMA arbitration award. While the commissioner ruled that the dismissal was procedurally unfair and awarded one month's salary as compensation, the commissioner concluded that the dismissal itself was substantively fair.
The woman commenced her employment with the university in May 1996 and was serving as an Administrator in Human Capital at the time of her dismissal. Between 2015 and 2018, she was seconded and assigned to various departments before returning to her substantive post in January 2019.
