The university's handling of the incapacity process came under close scrutiny during the court proceedings.
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, finding that the university failed to properly accommodate her medical condition or explore alternatives to dismissal.
Judge Molatelo Makhura found that the university 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.
