Dismissals With Immediate Effect: A Different Approach

In a previous ENSight, we discussed the decision of the Labour Court in Mtati v KPMG Services (Pty) Ltd. In this case, it was decided that employees may not be disciplined if they have resigned "with immediate effect". The resignation is regarded as terminating the contract of employment immediately and the consequence is that the employer is denied the opportunity to pursue disciplinary action against the employee. A subsequent dismissal will be null and void. This judgment has been criticised and is considered to be controversial.

The Mtati judgment was recently considered in the judgment in Mark Michael Coetzee v The Zeitz Mocca Foundation Trust and Another. During the course of a meeting between the applicant employee in this matter and representatives of his employer that took place on 15 May 2018, the employer's representative handed the applicant a document, in terms of which he was suspended, as well as a letter in terms of which he was given the