Mtimkulu v Commission for Conciliation Mediation And Arbitration and Others (JR1212/08) [2010] ZALCJHB 32 (2 November 2010)

Mtimkulu v Commission for Conciliation Mediation And Arbitration and Others (JR1212/08) [2010] ZALCJHB 32 (2 November 2010)

The court found that the applicant's learnership contract was for a fixed term and expired on 31 March 2006. Any extension of the employment relationship was contingent upon the applicant continuing his studies, as recommended in a memorandum by the acting HR manager. The applicant was not registered for any course...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2010] ZALCJHB 32
Parties
Applicant: Mtimkulu M N; Respondent: Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration; Respondent: Ntsoane D S (N.O.); Respondent: South African Civil Aviation Authority
Court
Labour Court Johannesburg
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
2 November 2010
Case Number
JR1212/08
Procedural Posture
Review Application / Judgment on Review of Arbitration Award
Outcome
The application to review and set aside the arbitrator's award on substantive fairness is dismissed; the application on procedural fairness is upheld.
Judges
Lagrange
Legal Topics
Unfair Dismissal, Procedural Fairness, Learnership Contracts, Termination of Employment
Labour Law Civil Procedure Unfair Dismissal Procedural Fairness Learnership Contracts Termination of Employment

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Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Mtimkulu M N

Applicant

Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration

Respondent

Ntsoane D S (N.O.)

Respondent

South African Civil Aviation Authority

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Review Application / Judgment on Review of Arbitration Award

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the termination of the applicant's learnership contract constituted an unfair dismissal.
  2. 2 Whether the termination was substantively and/or procedurally fair.
  3. 3 Whether the arbitrator failed to consider critical evidence and misrepresented the applicant's case.

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that the applicant's learnership contract was for a fixed term and expired on 31 March 2006. Any extension of the employment relationship was contingent upon the applicant continuing his studies, as recommended in a memorandum by the acting HR manager. The applicant was not registered for any course after 2005 and did not render services to the employer. The arbitrator reasonably concluded that the employer was entitled to terminate the relationship when the condition for its continuation—completion of studies—was no longer met. However, the court held that the employer failed to follow fair procedure by not giving the applicant an opportunity to justify his inactivity...

Court Disposition

The application to review and set aside the arbitrator's award on substantive fairness is dismissed; the application on procedural fairness is upheld.

Orders

  • The arbitrator's finding that the termination of the applicant's learnership contract did not constitute an unfair dismissal is substituted with a finding that the termination was substantively fair but procedurally unfair.
  • The third respondent is ordered to pay the applicant an amount equivalent to two months' remuneration calculated at his rate of remuneration at the time of dismissal. If the parties cannot agree on the monthly remuneration, the matter may be remitted to the court for determination.