Mahlamu v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and Others (JR 1702/ 09)
Mahlamu v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and Others (JR 1702/ 09) [2010] ZALC 182; [2011] 4 BLLR 381 (LC); (2011) 32 ILJ 1122 (LC) (30 November 2010)
The court held that the automatic termination clause in the applicant's employment contract, which allowed termination upon the client's decision that services were no longer required, constituted an unlawful contracting out of the statutory protection against unfair dismissal under the LRA. Such clauses are invalid under section 5 of the LRA unless expressly permitted by the Act, which was not the case here. The commissioner committed a material error of law by finding that there was no dismissal. The termination of the applicant's employment was therefore a dismissal for the purposes of the…
Source excerpt
- Automatic Termination Clauses
- Unfair Dismissal
- Section 5 Lra
- Fixed Term Contracts
- Operational Requirements
- Contracting Out Of Statutory Rights