Article by Lavery Modise and Shaa'ista
Bulbulia
The Labour Court has recognised that the employee's general
duty is to render a service to the employer, and that failure to
discharge that duty could potentially lead to disciplinary
action.
If an employee is absent for several days from work without
communicating his or her absence to the employer, the assumption is
often made by the employer that the employee has absconded.
Employees will be deemed to have deserted only when evidence
proves that the employee had a clear and unequivocal intention to
abandon employment.
The employer has the onus of proving that the employee had such
intention. The Labour Court has previously decided that an act of
desertion constitutes a breach or repudiation of the contract of
employment. What happens in a situation where an employee, who has
been absent from work for several days, has every intention of
returning to work?
