Shoprite Checkers loses CCMA ruling review
The Labour Court (Durban) has dismissed an application by Shoprite Checkers to overturn a CCMA ruling that found the dismissal of long-serving employee Thandeka Mabel Ngcobo substantively unfair.
IoL reports that Judge Kelsey Allen-Yaman upheld an arbitration award ordering Ngcobo’s retrospective reinstatement with back pay after she lost her job following the disappearance of R10 000 from a store cash office.
Ngcobo, who had worked for Shoprite since 1988 and served as a cash office clerk for more than a decade, was dismissed in November 2017 after money went missing during her shift.
During her shift, Ngcobo briefly left the cash office to use the restroom, leaving a trainee manager alone in the room with the safe unlocked.
The missing funds were discovered the following day during a routine shift handover.
Although an internal investigation and subsequent polygraph tests cleared Ngcobo of directly stealing the money, Shoprite dismissed her on grounds of gross negligence, asserting she violated company protocol by failing to lock the safe when she stepped away.
A trainee manager who had been left alone in the cash office was not subjected to a polygraph examination.
Ngcobo challenged her dismissal at the CCMA.
In May 2018, a CCMA commissioner ruled her dismissal was substantively unfair and ordered Shoprite to reinstate her with full backpay.
IoL reports that Shoprite petitioned the Labour Court to review and set aside the arbitrator's decision.
Judge Allen-Yaman found the retailer failed to provide documentary proof establishing a rule existed requiring the safe to be locked every time an employee briefly left the room.
Furthermore, Ngcobo admitted she had left the safe unlocked. She testified it was common practice for staff and managers to leave the safe open for convenience, stating the office operated on trust and reopening the safe repeatedly was time-consuming.
The court agreed Shoprite had not established Ngcobo’s conduct amounted to negligence, let alone gross negligence.
The court pointed to her 29 years of unblemished service, her honesty during the investigation and the fact she was the sole breadwinner in her family.
The court dismissed Shoprite’s review application.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
