Daleen Frey - Attorney & Labour Practitioner

23/11/2023

THE IMPORTANCE OF A COMPLETE RECORD OF THE ARBITRATION PROCEEDINGS

The importance of a complete record of the arbitration proceedings

Lessons from Minister of Police v Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) Obo Senti and Others (PA15/2021) [2023] ZALAC 19 (23 August 2023)

The importance of a full and proper record of the arbitration in review applications was brought into sharp focus in the case of Minister Of Police v Police And Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) obo Senti and Others.

By Bankey Sono – Director and Neo Sewela – Associate

In this case, 2 police officers, Warrant Officer Senti and Constable Folokwe, of the South African Police Service (SAPS) were dismissed following a disciplinary hearing. Following their dismissal the two employees referred an unfair dismissal claim to the Safety and Security Sectoral Bargaining Council (the SSSBC). The commissioner appointed to arbitrate the dispute found that the dismissal of the 2 employees was unfair and ordered that they be reinstated by SAPS.

Dissatisfied with the commissioner’s award, SAPS brought a review application seeking to overturn the commissioner’s award or, alternatively, to have the matter heard afresh before another SSSBC commissioner.

As the applicant in the review, SAPS was required to file the complete record of the arbitration proceedings however in this case a substantial portion of the record was missing. Crucially, the missing portion included the cross-examination of Employees’ only witness, Mr Senti himself, and the video footage related to the misconduct which was crucial at the arbitration.

The Labour Court upheld the arbitration award however the Labour Appeal Court (the LAC) overturned the Labour Court’s decision.

Dealing with the missing record, the LAC found that the record (before it and the Labour Court) was inadequate to arrive at a fair and reasonable determination. Further, the LAC found that –

[27] The missing evidence is necessary to determine the reasonableness of the Commissioner’s decision. To argue that the onus is upon the Appellant to ensure a full and proper record is before the Court is in my view not always correct. It is the responsibility of all the parties particularly the Commission, who has the responsibility to ensure not only that it keeps a full and proper record, but to ensure in the event of a review, that a full and complete record of the proceedings is before the reviewing Court. (emphasis added)

This case clearly shows the importance of a full and proper record as without it the review court is not able to determine the reasonableness of the commissioner’s decision.

Furthermore, this case shows the complications that arise when the record, or parts thereof, go missing. It provides a good lesson for all litigants, not just the commissioner/panellists, involved in labour litigation on the importance of ensuring that a good and proper record of the arbitration hearing is kept and that ultimately a full and proper record is placed before Labour Court in a review.

Article published with the kind courtesy of Werksmans Attorneys www.werksmans.com

04/05/2023

Unequal pay does not necessarily equal unfair discrimination In a recent judgment the Labour Court dismissed the claim by five black employees that Makro had…

25/04/2023

NEW CCMA RULES AND FORMS 2023

IMPORTANT UPDATE

The CCMA has published its long-awaited amendments to the rules for proceedings before the Commission. As a result of these amendments, updated LRA forms were also published (referral forms such as the LRA 7.11).

The CCMA rules and LRA forms can be downloaded free of charge from our website here.

https://labourguide.co.za/misconduct/free-downloads-misconduct/new-ccma-rules-and-forms-2023/

We will soon present a morning workshop, discussing the amended rules in detail.

14/03/2023

’n Man wat onder meer talle buite-egtelike verhoudings aangegaan en sy vrou se onderneming probeer kaap het, het sy dreuning teëgekom.

14/03/2023

https://www.netwerk24.com/netwerk24/stemme/menings/dis-wat-rugby-ons-oor-arbeidsverhoudinge-kan-leer-20230313

Suid-Afrika kan baie leer oor arbeidsverhoudinge deur na ons rugbyspanne te kyk, skryf prof. Bennie Linde.

13/03/2023

Here is an article making some interesting points. I will comment on it a little later in the day.

A recent court case reiterates harassment laws.

25/02/2023

The attached article makes one wonder how bail in South Africa works. How is it possible that some people get away with R500 and others have to pay thousands of Rand?

According to The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa any person who has been arrested can apply for bail, irrespective of the type of crime the person has been charged with.

There are three different bail applications:

a) Police Bail
b) Prosecutor Bail
c) Bail Applications in Court

I only discuss bail in court for the purposes of this entry.

If a person is charged with a schedule 5 or schedule 6 offence, they have to make a formal bail application before court in terms of Section 60 of the Criminal Procedure Act. (murder, r**e, sexual crimes, crimes against children, human trafficking, armed robbery, etc.)

This application can be done by way of an affidavit or by calling witnesses or the accused to the stand.

The accused must disclose any pending cases or previous convictions to the court. Not doing it, constitutes a criminal offense.

The prosecutor may oppose the bail. The court will take all this information into account before making a decision. The court will also take various other factors into account before granting the bail eg:

The accused will need to ensure the court that:

a) his/her release will not endanger their safety or the safety of the public or another person.
b) the accused will not avoid trial
c) the accused will not try to influence or intimidate witnesses or hide or destroy evidence
d) the accused will not undermine the justice system
e) the accused will not disturb public order, peace and security

If the Magistrate is of the opinion that one of the above instances exists, bail will be refused and you will be placed in custody until the end of your trial, which can take years. Once bail is denied, you cannot apply for bail again unless new facts arise or your personal circumstances change. An accused could appeal the ruling if bail were refused.

Once bail has been granted, the accused needs to be present at every appearance, otherwise bail can be revoked, and the accused can be arrested and taken into custody.

It is important to keep in mind that bail is not a form of penalty and that the amount of bail does not indicate the seriousness of the case. The amount is determined to secure an accused’s return to court to finalise the matter.

It is advisable to use an attorney in the event of having to apply for bail.

DISCLAIMER: This entry does not serve as legal advice.

Borgtog van R500 elk is Vrydag aan die vermeende ontvoerders van Gerhard de Jongh (63), ’n bekende prokureur van Bellville, toegestaan.

21/02/2023

Die nuwe drempel vir mense wie se maksimum werkure en oortydbetaling deur die Wet op Basiese Diensvoorwaardes gereguleer word is Maandag bekend gemaak. .

Dit is tot R241 110,59 per jaar verhoog. Die drempel verhoog op 1 Maart.

Die nuwe nasionale minimum loon is R25,42 per uur.

1. Mense wat minder as R20 000 per maand voor aftrekkings verdien, geniet die beskerming van die Wet op Basiese Diensvoorwaardes.

2. Mense wat meer as R20 000 per maand verdien, kan nie aandring op oortydbetaling nie – tensy dit reeds deel van hul dienskontrak is.

3. Mense in senior bestuursposte is nie onderhewig aan die bepalings van die wet nie. ’n Senior bestuurder word beskryf as iemand wat die gesag het om mense aan te stel, te dissiplineer en af te dank.

4. Aan die ander kant mag regte wat mense ingevolge hul dienskontrak reeds het, nie verwyder word nie.

5. Vir mense wat minder as die drempelbedrag verdien, geld die volgende:

• Oortyd mag net soos ooreengekom tussen die werkgewer en die werknemer gewerk word en nooit meer as tien uur per week nie.

• Mense onder die drempel moet 1,5 keer hul normale uurlikse loon vir oortyd betaal word. Werknemers mag tyd af, eerder as betaling kry, maar net as dit so ooreengekom is.

• Werknemers mag nie meer as 45 uur normale ure per week werk nie en nie meer as tien uur oortyd per week nie. Hulle mag ook weier om meer as 12 uur op enige dag te werk (nege uur gewone tyd en drie uur oortyd), tensy dit ’n noodgeval is.

• Dispute met 'n werkgewer kan by die Kommissie vir Versoening, Bemiddeling en Arbitrasie aangemeld word.

• ’n Vastetermynkontrak van langer as drie maande word beskou as heeltydse werknemers.

Vir mense wat meer as die drempelbedrag verdien, geld die volgende:

• Hulle kan nie eise stel oor maksimum werkure, oortydbetaling of enige ander bepalings van die wet waarop die drempelbedrag van toepassing is nie. Hulle mag egter daaroor onderhandel en die dienskontrak sal bepalend wees.

• Indien oortydbetaling onderhandel word, mag dit wel minder as 1,5 keer die uurlikse loon wees. Dieselfde geld betaling of tyd af vir Sondagwerk en werk op openbare vakansiedae.

• Aan die ander kant mag werknemers weier om op Sondae, vakansiedae of op bystand te werk. Werkgewers moet dus ook daaroor onderhandel.

• As hulle enige dispuut met hul werkgewer het, moet hulle hulle tot die arbeidshof wend.

• Selfs as hulle op ’n vastetermynkontrak van langer as drie maande aangestel is, word hulle nié as heeltydse werknemers beskou nie.

02/02/2023

Lug solank jou mening oor die voorval hieronder waaroor Netwerk24 in Januarie berig het. Ek sal volgende week in 'n kort video verduidelik hoe ek d**k die situasie hanteer moet word.

’n Enkelma van Bethlehem gaan ’n beskermingsbevel teen ’n manlike kollega kry ná ’n onderonsie vandeesweek by die werkplek waarin sy met die vuis in die gesig geslaan is.