Watts v Fidelity Corporate Services (Pty) Ltd (JS326/05) [2006] ZALC 99; [2007] 6 BLLR 579 (LC) (1 December 2006)

Watts v Fidelity Corporate Services (Pty) Ltd (JS326/05) [2006] ZALC 99; [2007] 6 BLLR 579 (LC) (1 December 2006)

The court held that, although section 189A of the Labour Relations Act generally requires procedural fairness disputes in retrenchment cases to be brought by way of application, this separation is not always practical in cases involving individual employees. The facts and merits of procedural and substantive fairness are often intertwined, and it would be unfair to exclude the applicant's procedural challenge from the trial proceedings. The court found that the solution adopted in SA Five Engineering, allowing both aspects to be heard together, was appropriate in this matter. Accordingly, the applicant was granted relief to have his procedural fairness challenge incorporated into the...

Citation
[2006] ZALC 99
Parties
Applicant: Thomas, Keith Ashley Watts; Respondent: Fidelity Corporate Services (Pty) Ltd
Court
Labour Court
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
1 December 2006
Case Number
JS326/05
Procedural Posture
Urgent Application / Application to Incorporate Procedural Fairness Challenge Into Trial Proceedings on Substantive Unfairness
Outcome
The applicant is granted relief to have his procedural fairness challenge incorporated into the trial proceedings on substantive unfairness.
Judges
E Revelas
Legal Topics
Retrenchment, Procedural Fairness, Substantive Fairness, Section 189a, Individual Vs Collective Dismissal
Labour Law Retrenchment Procedural Fairness Substantive Fairness Section 189a Individual Vs Collective Dismissal

Case Brief

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Parties

Thomas, Keith Ashley Watts

Applicant

Fidelity Corporate Services (Pty) Ltd

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Urgent Application / Application to Incorporate Procedural Fairness Challenge Into Trial Proceedings on Substantive Unfairness

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the applicant may incorporate his challenge to procedural fairness into trial proceedings on substantive unfairness.
  2. 2 Whether section 189A of the Labour Relations Act precludes individual employees from raising procedural fairness in trial proceedings.
  3. 3 Whether the procedural and substantive aspects of a retrenchment can be heard together in cases involving individual employees.

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that, although section 189A of the Labour Relations Act generally requires procedural fairness disputes in retrenchment cases to be brought by way of application, this separation is not always practical in cases involving individual employees. The facts and merits of procedural and substantive fairness are often intertwined, and it would be unfair to exclude the applicant's procedural challenge from the trial proceedings. The court found that the solution adopted in SA Five Engineering, allowing both aspects to be heard together, was appropriate in this matter. Accordingly, the applicant was granted relief to have his procedural fairness challenge incorporated into the...

Court Disposition

The applicant is granted relief to have his procedural fairness challenge incorporated into the trial proceedings on substantive unfairness.

Orders

  • The application to incorporate the procedural fairness challenge into the trial proceedings is granted.
  • Both procedural and substantive aspects of the applicant's dismissal will be heard together.