21/08/2026
Negligence or gross negligence? The Labour Court has drawn the line.
Higgs Attorneys Inc. successfully represented the applicant in this matter before the Labour Court in Johannesburg. The judgment is reportable and has been published by SAFLII.
An employee with 26 years of unblemished service was dismissed following a VAT audit verification. The Court found she had performed the audit but had not recorded the findings, and held that those are two different failures.
Two factors weighed against the employer. The employee was never suspended and continued performing the same duties, and the employer's own evidence confirmed the trust relationship remained intact. SARS suffered no financial loss.
The dismissal was found substantively unfair. The employee was reinstated retrospectively with a written warning.
If you are running a disciplinary process, the charge you select and how you conduct yourself afterwards are both evidence.
Read the full judgment: https://www.higgsattorneys.co.za/makhura-j-review-mahlaba-vs-sars/
Mahlaba v CCMA and Others [2026] ZALCJHB 252, case JR2102/22, Labour Court of South Africa, Johannesburg, 11 August 2026.
