Lewis Stores (Pty) Ltd v Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration and Others (D669/09) [2008] ZALC 225 (17 October 2008)

Lewis Stores (Pty) Ltd v Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration and Others (D669/09) [2008] ZALC 225 (17 October 2008)

The court found that the employee did not instigate the group grievance, as the letter was already prepared before his arrival and there was no evidence of intimidation. The employee's act of calling the customer was a reasonable step to verify the facts of the grievance and did not bring the company into disrepute,...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2008] ZALC 225
Parties
Applicant: Lewis Stores (Pty) Ltd; Respondent: Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration; Respondent: Commissioner A Zwane; Respondent: Muntu Johannes Mthiyane
Court
Labour Court
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
17 October 2008
Case Number
D669/09
Procedural Posture
Review Application / Judgment
Outcome
Application for review dismissed with costs.
Judges
Pillay D
Legal Topics
Unfair Dismissal, Review of Arbitration Award, Misconduct, Insubordination, Group Grievance, Workplace Investigation
Labour Law Unfair Dismissal Review of Arbitration Award Misconduct Insubordination Group Grievance Workplace Investigation

Source-derived case record

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Lewis Stores (Pty) Ltd

Applicant

Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration

Respondent

Commissioner A Zwane

Respondent

Muntu Johannes Mthiyane

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Review Application / Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the employee's conduct constituted gross insubordination justifying dismissal.
  2. 2 Whether the employee instigated a group grievance amounting to misconduct.
  3. 3 Whether involving a customer in an internal dispute brought the company into disrepute.

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that the employee did not instigate the group grievance, as the letter was already prepared before his arrival and there was no evidence of intimidation. The employee's act of calling the customer was a reasonable step to verify the facts of the grievance and did not bring the company into disrepute, especially since the company had already failed to deliver the customer's goods. The evidence did not support the employer's allegations of misconduct or gross insubordination. The commissioner did not err in weighing the probabilities, and the arbitration award was reasonable. The application for review was therefore dismissed.

Court Disposition

Application for review dismissed with costs.

Orders

  • The application for review is dismissed with costs.