A former SA Revenue Service investigator who was too sick to work, but was later spotted on TV protesting, singing and dancing with EFF red beret clad supporters during the Clicks protests in September 2020, has had his dismissal confirmed by the Labour Court of South Africa.
Benneth Mathebula, who was employed as a junior investigator by Sars, had reported sick and submitted a medical certificate, missing work due to a “medical condition” in September 2020.
He was then spotted among EFF supporters on a 7pm news broadcast by his supervisor, Pule Mantsho, and was later dismissed after being found guilty on charges of dishonesty and gross dishonesty by the tax services revenue collector.
Mathebula approached the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), which found that his dismissal was substantively unfair and ordered Sars to reinstate Mathebula and to pay him for his loss of salary.
Sars took the ruling on appeal at the Labour Court where Judge Graham Moshoana handed down the judgment on Friday, setting aside the CCMA’s arbitration award and found Mathebula’s dismissal was substantively fair. No costs were ordered.
The court judgment showed, that in an email response to Mantsho, Mathebula said a friend had invited him to accompany him to Sandton, and he claimed he saw nothing untoward and saw it as an opportunity to stretch.
“I thought maybe it is good to go out, stretch a bit, as I was not bedridden and I felt probably after that I would be fine. So it is true that you might have seen me, unfortunately, the following day I got worse, and I did let you know. If there is any wrongdoing I might have committed, I am willing to take full responsibility for my actions,” he said.
He was charged with dishonesty and gross dishonesty for deliberately and intentionally misleading his supervisor to believe he was sick, medicated, and asleep, when in actual fact, he had been partaking in the EFF protest in Sandton.
“By so doing, you broke the trust relationship between you and Sars, misused the time your employer offers to recover from the illness in a dishonest manner, and thereby violated the contractual obligations of serving the employer with trust and being honest at all times,” Judge Moshoana said.
The Labour Court said the CCMA arbitration process did not provide sufficient answers as to whether Mathebula was “so indisposed that he could not attend to his work”.
“An answer to this pertinent question reveals the misleading information that Mathebula presented to Sars. In light of the uncontested evidence of participation in the protest action, it axiomatically follows that he was not so indisposed that he could not attend to his work,” said Moshoana.
The court said Mathebula feigned illness as he was aware Mantsho would not grant him permission to attend the EFF protest action.
“Had he indicated to his supervisor that he seeks to be excused from work in order to participate in a protest action, his supervisor would not have excused him. Knowing full well that if he provides the true reason for being excused he will not be indulged, in all probability he had to fake illness in order to achieve a putative authorised or justified absence,” said Moshoana.
The judge said Mathebula also only sought medical care two days after reporting ill and that the medical certificate indicated he was not fit for work on the day he presented to a Dr Chewane, and not two days prior.
“Despite calling ill, Mathebula attended a protest action where he sang and clapped hands in support of the action. Surely, a person who is not feeling well cannot be expected to act in that manner,” said Moshoana.
IOL