INCAPACITY ON THE GROUNDS OF TEMPORARY ILL HEALTH OR INJURY

1. The Basic Conditions of Employment gives all employees, who work 5 days per week, 30 days’ paid sick leave in each 3 year cycle. Once the employee’s sick leave entitlement has been exhausted, the employer is no longer obliged to pay the employee for any future absences of sick leave within the 3 year cycle.

2. The employer has to take cognisance of both the substantive and procedural fairness prior to contemplating dismissing the employee:

Substantive fairness should include the following:
– The nature of the incapacity
– The cause of the incapacity
– The likelihood of recovery
– The improvement or recurrence
– The period of absence and its effect on the employer’s operations
– The effect of the employee’s disability on other employees
– The employee’s work record and length of service

Procedural fairness should include the following:
– The employer’s counseling sessions with the employee regarding the employee’s ailment/ s
– In conjunction with the employee, the employer should try and find a solution to the problem
– The employee should be assessed whether the employee is still capable of performing the duties for which the employee has been employed
– The employer should investigate all the possible alternatives short of dismissal
Can the employee be offered suitable alternative work?
Can the employee be retrained in order to retain a job?

Bearing in mind the above, dismissal is justified in the case of illness or injury, which illness or injury occurs frequently.

Contact Bernard Reisner 021 423 3959 or e-mail bernard@capelabour.co.za