Latiff v Donro (Pty) Ltd (JS 711/01) [2004] ZALC 56; [2004] 11 BLLR 1151 (LC); (2004) 25 ILJ 2219 (LC) (6 August 2004)

Latiff v Donro (Pty) Ltd (JS 711/01) [2004] ZALC 56; [2004] 11 BLLR 1151 (LC); (2004) 25 ILJ 2219 (LC) (6 August 2004)

The court held that the definition of 'day' in the Labour Court Rules does not apply to statutory time periods prescribed by the Labour Relations Act. Instead, the computation of days must be governed by section 4 of the Interpretation Act 33 of 1957, which requires counting days exclusively of the first and inclusively of the last day, unless the last day falls on a Sunday or public holiday. There was nothing in the language or context of section 191(11)(a) of the Labour Relations Act to justify a departure from this method. As a result, the applicant's referral was out of time and, in the absence of an application for condonation, the referral was dismissed with costs.

Citation
[2004] ZALC 56
Parties
Applicant: Zarina Latiff; Respondent: Donro (Pty) Ltd
Court
Labour Court
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
6 August 2004
Case Number
JS 711/01
Procedural Posture
Labour Law Application / In Limine Objection to Jurisdiction/referral Delay
Outcome
Application dismissed with costs due to late referral and absence of condonation.
Judges
Maya
Legal Topics
Automatically Unfair Dismissal, Pregnancy Discrimination, Computation of Days, Condonation of Late Referral
Labour Law Civil Procedure Automatically Unfair Dismissal Pregnancy Discrimination Computation of Days Condonation of Late Referral

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Zarina Latiff

Applicant

Donro (Pty) Ltd

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Labour Law Application / In Limine Objection to Jurisdiction/referral Delay

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the applicant's referral to the Labour Court was made within the prescribed 90-day period under section 191(11)(a) of the Labour Relations Act.
  2. 2 Whether the definition of 'day' in the Labour Court Rules applies to statutory time periods under the Labour Relations Act.
  3. 3 Whether the method of computation of days under the Interpretation Act 33 of 1957 applies to section 191(11)(a) of the Labour Relations Act.

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that the definition of 'day' in the Labour Court Rules does not apply to statutory time periods prescribed by the Labour Relations Act. Instead, the computation of days must be governed by section 4 of the Interpretation Act 33 of 1957, which requires counting days exclusively of the first and inclusively of the last day, unless the last day falls on a Sunday or public holiday. There was nothing in the language or context of section 191(11)(a) of the Labour Relations Act to justify a departure from this method. As a result, the applicant's referral was out of time and, in the absence of an application for condonation, the referral was dismissed with costs.

Court Disposition

Application dismissed with costs due to late referral and absence of condonation.

Orders

  • The respondent's point in limine is upheld.
  • The applicant's referral is dismissed with costs.