Unfair dismissal - not happy with settlement

[Greig Whitton]

Even if the employer retrenched you, or even if it was an unfair dismissal, the most you will get is one week for each year served. That's what was awarded to you.

Er ... no. Compensation for unfair dismissal can be up to 12 months' salary, regardless of the period of employment. If a dismissal is deemed to be automatically unfair, then the compensation can be as much as 24 months' salary.

It's not just the Labour Relations Act that is heavily weighted towards employees. The Basic Conditions of Employment Act sets out minimum employment terms, so employers can't just treat employees as they please. The Employment Equity Act introduces mandatory employer conduct standards by prohibiting unfair discrimination, as well as mandatory employment demographic targets for medium and large companies. Don't even get me started on the forthcoming amendments to these laws, or the all-new Employment Services Bill that will be signed into law soon ...

[Dave A]

I signed a settlement for 2 months salary and letter of good service.

So it was settled at the conciliation stage then, and never went to arbitration.

Can't really blame the LRA or the CCMA for the result then, and no, you don't get a second bite at the apple (which I find hard to believe wasn't mentioned anywhere along the way, by the arbitrator and/or your lawyer).

Interesting that your lawyer suggested this was the best he/she could do for you. Either really bad counsel or you really didn't have much of a case.
Again, hard to blame the LRA or the CCMA for either possibility.

[Justloadit]

I had quoted based on a recent case where unfair dismissal was claimed for 4 years service. Not sure if there is a vast difference in the final procedure, excluding the circumstances running up to the CCMA conciliation hearing.
In a case approximately a year ago, an employee absconded due to health reasons, and never informed the employer, approximately 6 months later, he approached the CCMA and claimed unfair dismissal, and was awarded 8 weeks wages for unfair dismissal. (Note - the employer was negligent in attending the CCMA arbitration, but did follow procedure in attempting to contact the employee for confirmation of absence).

[adrianh]

I think that there is a hell of a lot more to this story. If you were a good employee then the employer would have done his level best to keep you. If you got fired over one day then that one day must have been the straw that finally broke the camels back. I am also an employer and I take a lot of $h1t from employees. It takes a hell of a lot for an employer to finally toss an employee at the risk of being taken to the CCMA

[Minnie14]

Thank you all for the replies. There is couple things I might have expressed incorrect. We do have a excellent labour law, the people at ccma is fabulous and very helpful, the commissioner was excellent. My lawyer said it is a very good offer! I was employed for just over a year, before that 8 years, same position at another company. I did have a very strong case, 100 % unfair dismissal, but yeah, wrong decisions.....uninformed. The lawyer was great. But there was misunderstandings and mostly I am not familiar at all with this which I know would not stand anywhere. Because I did have a lawyer.....

[Dave A]

Don't get too down, Minnie. We all make mistakes along this journey called life.

The trick is to learn some lessons from them and do a better job of things going forward.

Today's the first day of the rest of your life. Onwards and upwards to a better future, my friend.

[Minnie14]

Thanks Dave, and all of u. Yes well honestly I would've like to now, cause I also feel there is a lot more to this. Still can't believe it. But yeah, rather wanna use my skills experience etc at another place that would not treat employers like that. (Cause I'm not the only one) Another question please: what do I do when employer do not meet the arrangements as stipulated in the agreement for settlement?

[Greig Whitton]

Another question please: what do I do when employer do not meet the arrangements as stipulated in the agreement for settlement?

I stand to be corrected here, but I am pretty sure that you would then approach the Labour Court and apply for a court order to have the agreement enforced (i.e. the Labour Court tells the employer that they must follow through with the agreement or else).

One of the flaws with our labour law system is that employers can delay the consequences of not playing by the rules (e.g. by simply ignoring settlement agreements or arbitration awards and waiting for the affected employees to apply for a court order to enforce them; or by disputing awards and escalating those disputes to the Labour Appeal Court). I have seen labour disputes drag on for years (in some cases, literally more than a decade) because obstinate employers and their unscrupulous labour attorneys gamed the system even though they were clearly in the wrong.

Obviously these obstructive tactics can come at a price (e.g. additional penalties or cost orders), but none of that is of much consolation to the affected employees who may end up waiting years for relief.

One of the important implications of the recent amendments to our labour laws is that enforcement will be sped up to mitigate these scenarios, and penalties for non-compliance will be magnified to deter it from happening in the first place.

[xcorporation]

I am just curious why someone would be upset with you for a whole year.
Surely you tried smoothing bricks ?

Did you gave stuff you were able todo as promises in the recruitment process and unable to adhere to afterwards ?

I can promise you; if you going to court; your x-manager will take arsenal and facts with.

Move on ...

[Minnie14]

I would've loved that, .... Sometimes its the manager that rather wanna get rid of an employee that knows to much and is actually a threat, and the cost implications of getting employee out of way is much lower than exposure. Not always an employee. I've learned a lot and will take it and go forward.