Court says workplace rules must be consistent

WORKPLACE rules must be clear and consistently applied and not only exist on paper; the Labour Court has ruled in upholding a CCMA ruling that the dismissal of an employee for using a vehicle without permission is substantively unfair.

- ZELDA VENTER

In coming to the aid of Pumeza Poswa, the Johannesburg Labour Court dismissed a review application by Europcar South Africa, a division of Motors Group Limited (the employer), for an order that Poswa should be fired.

Europcar South Africa operates in the vehicle rental business. Its vehicles constitute revenue-generating assets at the core of its operations.

A central submission by the employer is that employees may only use company vehicles with proper authorisation. Unauthorised use of such vehicles is expressly recorded in the disciplinary code as a serious offence warranting dismissal.

While vehicles could occasionally be used by employees, such use was permitted only subject to strict conditions, Europcar said.

Acting Judge S Rajah noted that in this case, it appears from the evidence that these lines had, over time, become blurred. This ambiguity complicates the assessment of whether the employee's conduct concretely amounted to misconduct, the judge added.