Jacobson v VITALAB (JS1042/19) [2019] ZALCJHB 157; (2019) 40 ILJ 2363 (LC) (28 May 2019)

Jacobson v VITALAB (JS1042/19) [2019] ZALCJHB 157; (2019) 40 ILJ 2363 (LC) (28 May 2019)

Section 187(1)(c) of the Labour Relations Act, as amended, is designed to protect the collective bargaining process and does not apply to individual dismissal disputes. The provision's wording and legislative intent, as clarified in the Explanatory Memorandum, restrict its application to situations where an employer seeks to compel acceptance of a demand by multiple employees. In this case, the applicant was the sole employee affected, and the dispute did not concern collective bargaining. Even if the demand to sell shares could be considered a matter of mutual interest, the statutory protection does not extend to individual dismissals. Therefore, the applicant's claim based on...

Citation
[2019] ZALCJHB 157
Parties
Applicant: Merwyn Jack Jacobson; Respondent: VITALAB
Court
Labour Court Johannesburg
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
28 May 2019
Case Number
JS1042/19
Procedural Posture
Exception Application / Exception to Statement of Claim; Preliminary Determination of Cause of Action
Outcome
Exception upheld; applicant's claim of automatically unfair dismissal struck out; alternative claims remitted to CCMA; no order as to costs.
Judges
Van Niekerk
Legal Topics
Automatically Unfair Dismissal, Section 187 1 C, Exception to Pleadings, Collective Bargaining, Mutual Interest, Remittal to Ccma
Labour Law Civil Procedure Automatically Unfair Dismissal Section 187 1 C Exception to Pleadings Collective Bargaining Mutual Interest Remittal to Ccma

Case Brief

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Parties

Merwyn Jack Jacobson

Applicant

VITALAB

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Exception Application / Exception to Statement of Claim; Preliminary Determination of Cause of Action

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the applicant's dismissal constitutes an automatically unfair dismissal under section 187(1)(c) of the LRA.
  2. 2 Whether section 187(1)(c) applies to individual dismissals or is limited to collective disputes.
  3. 3 Whether the applicant's refusal to sell shares constitutes a matter of mutual interest for purposes of section 187(1)(c).

Ratio Decidendi

Section 187(1)(c) of the Labour Relations Act, as amended, is designed to protect the collective bargaining process and does not apply to individual dismissal disputes. The provision's wording and legislative intent, as clarified in the Explanatory Memorandum, restrict its application to situations where an employer seeks to compel acceptance of a demand by multiple employees. In this case, the applicant was the sole employee affected, and the dispute did not concern collective bargaining. Even if the demand to sell shares could be considered a matter of mutual interest, the statutory protection does not extend to individual dismissals. Therefore, the applicant's claim based on...

Court Disposition

Exception upheld; applicant's claim of automatically unfair dismissal struck out; alternative claims remitted to CCMA; no order as to costs.

Orders

  • The exception set out in paragraph 3 of the Notice of Exception is upheld.
  • The applicant's claim that his dismissal constituted an automatically unfair dismissal is struck out.