- Aslam Moolla – 04 October 2021
The employee in this case was a constable in the crime intelligence unit in Cape Town. He was dismissed from work for attending a party with gangsters and in the process breaching Covid-19 regulations.
The employee’s defence was that he had gone to his sister-in-law’s home to take his child to the hospital. And thereby stumbled upon a social gathering that was already in progress.
The Employer argued that there was a complaint regarding the party and when police arrived on scene they found the employee drinking with “known gangsters”.
At the CCMA the Commissioner found that there were many contradictions in the employee’s testimony. Also that the employee had failed to produce a medical certificate to prove that his child was sick. It was also improbable that the employee was unaware of the party would be because he had dropped his wife and child off there earlier in the morning.
This resulted in the employee’s case being thrown out for unfair dismissal.
Key takeaways:
1. Always get a sick note (if you claiming any member of your family was ill)
2. Do not breach COVID regulations (it can lead to your dismissal)
3. And do not attend parties where there are known gangsters present (especially if you are a police officer)
Maybe he was undercover?
