Labour Court rules in favour of employee dismissed for social media posts.
The Labour Court has dismissed an application by Academy Brushware (Pty) Ltd seeking to overturn a CCMA finding in favour of an employee who was dismissed for alleged gross insubordination after posting photographs on social media.
Acting Judge AC Oosthuizen, sitting in the Labour Court in Cape Town, ruled in a matter arising from the dismissal of Geswent, who had been working for Academy Brushware since September 2002 and from 2013, was employed as a computer clerk.
The case centred on photographs the employee posted on social media in March 2017. Academy Brushware alleged that the posts were inconsistent with the company's reputation and professional standards and that Geswent had deliberately ignored an instruction from her manager not to post such photographs.
The photographs showed Geswent posing alongside a cutout model used by the company in its marketing campaigns. The cutout depicted a blonde woman wearing shorts and high heels and standing against a backdrop featuring the company's name and brushware products. Geswent posted photographs of herself alongside the cutout, adopting a similar pose.
