KEY POINTS
- The Labour Court restored the officer’s position as a result of an improper disciplinary process used by authorities.
- The officer faced disciplinary charges for acting with favoritism when she let her foster child walk free from the police facility.
- The court restored her employment position and ordered payment for all the time she worked away from service because the judicial process had several procedural issues.
The Cape Town Labour Court restored a police officer to her position and required compensation to be paid to her within 30 days.
An officer received a final written warning but lost compensation benefits during an almost nine-month period because of accusations about providing unfair treatment to a foster child during the COVID-19 crisis.
The misconduct charges emerged following lockdown requirements
A police dismissal occurred after the officer released her adult foster child unlawfully from police station custody when the child faced arrest for breaking COVID-19 Disaster Management Regulations.
The disciplinary proceedings charged her with obstructing police work through her instruction to her foster child about leaving before proper processing.
The first arbitrator decided to keep the dismissal because the officer compromised the reputation of the police service.
Judge Robert Lagrange of the Labour Court identified that the arbitrator performed an overly limited assessment regarding this case by failing to consider essential procedural elements.
The officer received reinstatement due to an unfair hearing process
The officer won her job back through reinstatement based on the fact her disciplinary hearing was not fair. Her chosen union representative was denied entry during the hearing after the hearing chairperson refused to accept her.
Her failure to find replacement advocacy resulted in a three-hour time frame leading to a legal proceeding which ultimately produced a dismissal of the employee.
According to Judge Lagrange the police officer needed compensation due to an unlawful disciplinary hearing process which denied her fair treatment.
The court acknowledged her wrongdoings yet found dismissal as an inappropriate punishment so they gave her backpay and restorated her employment position.
