With the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) set to come into full effect tomorrow, many South African companies have been sending messages to customers to notify them of their rights under the act.

This includes the ability to opt-out of marketing communications and informing clients about how they can access and manage the private information that the company processes about them.

As a result, a chain message has spawned that is doing the rounds on the platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.

The message claims that “administrators will be required to obtain your consent for being part of this WhatsApp group”.

It further asked that members do not use other people’s names and phone numbers visible in the group chat without first obtaining consent.

The message is reproduced below.

PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION (POPI) ACT

Hi everyone,

We just need to share a POPIA disclaimer as all WhatsApp groups need to adhere to the Act from 1 July 2021.

As we all know the compliance due date for the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”), being 30 June 2021, is steadfastly approaching. This deadline brings a few changes.

One of these changes is that the administrators will be required to obtain your consent for being part of this WhatsApp group. As such, you are herewith notified that you are entitled to refuse such consent and you may exercise such a right by leaving this group.

Should you elect to remain in this group, it will be accepted that you have consented to being a part of this group and to your personal information (being your cell phone number and name) being noticeable to any person in this group.

In this regard, we implore on all members of this group not to make use of such personal information for whatsoever reason, without obtaining the consent of the relevant person.

Do NOT reply to this Notice. If You Do NOT want or Need 2b On Group Feel Free to remove Yourself.

Thank You
ADMIN

MyBroadband asked several top South African law firms specialising in POPIA about this message. Their feedback was unanimous — most group administrators don’t need to send out a message like this.

John Giles, the managing attorney at Michalsons, further suggested that people read the guide on “How to Use WhatsApp Responsibly” published on the chat app’s website.

The video from the guide is embedded at the end of the article.

Wilmari Strachan, the executive for technology, media, and telecommunications at ENSafrica, said there are some nuances worth noting.

“That would depend on the type of group,” said Strachan, explaining that POPIA does not apply to the processing of personal information in the course of a purely personal or household activity.

“So no need to send this to all your family groups — unless you’re really bored.”

However, WhatsApp is also often used for more formal groups, such as school classroom groups, where you get added whether you like it or not. For these, Strachan said, it might be prudent that groups post a notice and basic rules.

“Persons or businesses that create groups to market their goods and services must get consent.”

Strachan said that they recommend that when you create a non-personal group, you rather send someone a link to join if they want to, instead of simply adding them.

Ahmore Burger-Smidt, the director and head of data privacy practice at Werksmans Attorneys, also emphasised that the POPIA is clear when it states that it does not apply to purely personal or household activity.

“If this is what the legislation spells out, I find it utterly bizarre that this message is addressed to all WhatsApp group admins and in fact that group admins now in a huff and puff post it!”

Burger-Smidt said that this demonstrates the complete lack of understanding of what the legislation entails and when it applies.

“POPIA is not consent driven. In addition, what is the consent for? Where is the privacy policy informing this consent?” said Burger-Smidt.

“You cannot fool yourself to think now that you are forcing someone to consent that all is fine in the land of POPIA compliance.”

Burger-Smidt also said that it is different for a business on the WhatsApp Business platform — then consent may be required.

“We need to remind ourselves that the POPIA legislation provides for lawful processing of personal information on the basis of, amongst others, entering into a contract or then contractual obligations or if there exists a legitimate interest i.e. the legitimate interest of the responsible party (company) or a third party.”
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article originally posted on Mybroadband News

Amazon is advertising 168 jobs in South Africa, including work-from-home positions that can be done anywhere in the country.

Initially founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 as an online marketplace for books, Amazon has shown exceptional growth and is now the largest ecommerce player in the world.

It has also expanded into other areas, including cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence.

This growth has seen the company increase its workforce by 500,000 employees around the world last year alone.

South Africa is one of the countries where Amazon is expanding its presence. Last year Amazon Web Services (AWS) went live with the Cape Town region, which opened many new positions.

This followed an announcement by Amazon in June 2020 that it was hiring 3,000 new staff members in South Africa, ranging from customer service associates to technical experts.

Amazon customer service director in South Africa, Andrew Raichlin, said they were “thrilled with the talent in South Africa.”

This hiring spree will take the number of employees of Amazon in South Africa to 7,000, which makes it one of the largest tech employers in the country.

Another vote of confidence in South Africa is Amazon’s decision to base its new African headquarters in Cape Town.

The company is the anchor tenant in the new R4 billion River Club development, which received the go-ahead from the City of Cape Town earlier this year.

AWS has a long history in South Africa, starting in 2004 when Amazon Web Services (AWS) set up a development centre in Cape Town.

Working from their office in Constantia, South African Chris Pinkham and his team successfully developed the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2).

EC2 allows users to rent secure and resizable compute capacity in the cloud and forms a core part of AWS.

Amazon opened customer service operations in Cape Town in 2010 which now employs thousands of individuals.

In 2015, AWS opened an office in Johannesburg. Two years later the Amazon Global Network expanded to Africa, through AWS Direct Connect.

In 2018, AWS launched Amazon CloudFront locations in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Amazon’s expansion in South Africa continues and the company is now advertising many new vacancies in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

There are also a few work from home vacancies where successful candidates can work from anywhere in South Africa. Applicants must have a fibre broadband connection at home.

Most of the new Amazon jobs are technical, including operations and support engineering, software development, and technical product management.

The table below provides an overview of the latest positions advertised by Amazon in South Africa.

Under the proposals, taxpayers are required to retain relevant records, books of account and documents for a period of five years, said specialist advisory firm Tax Consulting SA.

“It is important to note that such supporting materials must be kept in the prescribed form and manner. Specific requirements apply where these materials are kept in electronic format, as prescribed by the Commissioner for SARS in a public notice.”

Too often, taxpayers seem to forget that the most important aspect of dealing with SARS is to ensure that they can discharge their burden of proof, Tax Consulting SA said.

“As a taxpayer, it is on you to provide SARS with the relevant material that, on a balance of probabilities, supports your position.”

The firm outlined the requirements proposed in the notice and how these records should be kept.

‘Acceptable electronic form’

Electronic records must be kept in an ‘acceptable electronic form’.

This means a form in which the integrity of the electronic record satisfies the standard contained in section 14 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, and that may be accessed by SARS for purposes of performing their administrative duties under the Act, said Tax Consulting SA.

In addition, the person required to keep the records must be able to, within a reasonable period when required by SARS, either:

• Provide an electronic copy of the records in a format that SARS can readily access, read and correctly analyse; or
• Send the records in an electronic form that is readily accessible by SARS; or
• Provide SARS with a paper copy of the records.

The draft public notice proposes that sending the records in an electronic form or providing to SARS a paper copy thereof be removed.

Rather, the only manner to provide to SARS the electronic records, when requested to do so, will be to provide an electronic copy thereof to SARS in a format that is readily accessible, readable, and correctly analysable.

It is proposed that when providing the electronic copy, the person will also have to provide the following:

• Database records on delimited, Microsoft Excel or similar format; and
• Records that substantiate database records, such as supplier invoices, purchase orders, bank statements, in portable document or similar format.

Location of records

Electronic records must be kept and maintained at a place physically located in South Africa. However, a senior SARS official may authorise a person to keep the electronic records at a location outside South Africa if they are satisfied that the person complies with further conditions.

The draft public notice proposes that if a person wants to keep the electronic records outside South Africa they will now have to sign and submit a declaration to SARS via email.

In addition, in the case of a person who is not a South African resident but is liable to register for VAT under section 23(1A) of the Value Added Tax Act,  the natural person responsible for their VAT affairs must also sign and submit such declaration.

“Save for the above two proposed changes, the remainder of the electronic record keeping requirements will remain the same. The draft public notice is open for public comments until 25 June 2021,” Tax Consulting SA said.

“It is encouraging to see that SARS is once again on par with technological developments, thereby ensuring that they can effectively execute their mandate in an everchanging environment.”
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Originally posted on BusinessTech

With the pending full commencement of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) on 1 July 2021, much of the focus has been on the preparations of businesses to ensure compliance.

However, the Act also has ramifications for everyday South Africans and the processing of personal information on social media platforms, say legal experts at Werksmans Attorneys.

The POPIA aims to protect an individual’s right to privacy by offering protection against the unlawful collection, retention, dissemination and use of personal information

In the event that an individual discovers a post on a social media platform disclosing certain ‘personal information’ – including a photograph – the subject of the post may be considered a data subject and the person who made the post may be considered a ‘responsible party’ as defined in the Act, said Werksmans.

“Posting the personal information on social media would also arguably amount to the dissemination of personal information, as contemplated in the definition of processing in POPIA. Thus, the responsible party may be obliged to comply with the provisions of POPIA.”

Consequences

The consequences of being considered a ‘responsible party’ in terms of the POPIA are substantial and include the requirement for a responsible party to comply with the eight conditions of lawful processing of personal information, Werksmans said.

“The conditions include a requirement to obtain the consent of the data subject prior to posting a photograph or the views of that data subject on a social media platform.

“The responsible party would also be required to appoint an information officer and publish and comply with a POPIA manual as read with section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act.”

Arguably, the application of POPIA in the above circumstances would lead to an absurd result where every individual who posts photos, memes, videos, or the views of another person, is considered a responsible party who must comply with onerous conditions, Werksmans said.

To prevent the above mentioned situation from arising, section 6(1)(a) of POPIA states that act does not apply to the processing of personal information in the course of a purely personal or household activity.

Werksmans said that the repercussions of section 6(1)(a) of POPIA are arguably that:

• POPIA applies only to business or professional activities; and
• In so far as any pictures or video taken or views shared are disseminated on social media or any other platform in a personal capacity, POPIA arguably does not apply.

POPIA does not define the terms ‘personal activity’ or ‘household activity’, Werksmans said.

The terms may have to be interpreted not only by the ordinary grammatical meaning of the words but also by taking into account, on a case-by-case basis, what contemplates work as opposed to personal use in respect of the relevant social media user, it said.

“Disgruntled individuals who find their personal information posted on social media platforms without their consent are, however, not without legal remedy.

Our common law, as codified in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, protects individual’s right to privacy on a professional and personal basis.

“Thus, social media users who post what may be considered as personal information, should do so, keeping in mind that the subject of the posts, although falling out of the ambit of POPIA, are still protected by the common law in the event that the post breaches the privacy of the subject.”

• Commentary by Neil Kirby (director), Helen Michael (director), and Zamathiyane Mthiyane (senior associate) at Werksmans Attorneys.

The notice in respect of the 2021 year of assessment was published first published on 14 May, with the revenue collector publishing an additional guidance note this week, says Jean du Toit, Head of Tax Technical at Tax Consulting SA.

The guidance note is aimed at helping taxpayers to make this determination ahead of the filing season starting on 1 July 2021, he said.

Below is the breakdown of requirements and the South Africans who don’t have to submit this year.

Who does not need to file a return?

 The simplest way of assessing your obligation is to determine if you are expressly exempt from filing a return. The notice stipulates that you will not be required to submit a return if your gross income consisted solely of the following:

• Remuneration paid from a single source that does not exceed R500,000 and PAYE was deducted as prescribed. It is likely that this may find application for normal salaried employees whose only source of income is their salary;

• Interest (other than interest from a tax-free investment) from a source in South Africa not exceeding R23,800 if you are below the age of 65 years and R34,500 if you are aged 65 years or older;

• Dividends and you were non-resident throughout the 2021 year of assessment;

• Amounts received or that accrued from a tax free-free investment.

“This exemption may not be applicable if you received a travel, subsistence or office bearer allowance from your employer unless the allowance is aligned with specific rates prescribed by the Commissioner, said du Toit.

“The exemption is also not applicable if your remuneration includes any taxable fringe benefits, or if any part of your remuneration is for services rendered outside South Africa.”

Who must file an income tax return?

Natural persons who do not meet the requirements of the exemption must submit a return in the following instances:

• Resident taxpayers who carried on a trade, other than in their capacity as an employee;

• Non-resident taxpayers who carried on any trade in South Africa, other than in their capacity as an employee;

• Resident taxpayers who had capital gains or losses exceeding R40,000 for the 2021 year of assessment;

• Non-resident taxpayers who had a capital gain or loss that is subject to capital gains tax in South Africa – generally this will only be the case where the taxpayer disposed of immovable property situated in South Africa;

• Resident taxpayers who held any funds in foreign currency or owned any assets outside South Africa if the value thereof exceeded R250,000 at any point during the 2021 year of assessment;

• Resident taxpayers to whom income or capital gains from funds in foreign currency or foreign assets was attributed in terms of the Income Tax Act;

• Resident taxpayers who either alone or together with any connected person hold at least 10% of the participation rights in a controlled foreign company;

• If your gross income does not meet the requirements of the exemption and exceeded the tax threshold – R83,100 (under the age of 65 years), R128,650 (65 years or older but under the age of 75 years) and R143,850 (75 years or older). The requirement to file a return in this instance does not apply if you are notified that you are eligible for automatic assessment and your tax position on SARS’ record is complete and correct when the automatic assessment is accepted;

• Non-resident taxpayers whose gross income included interest from a source in South Africa, which was not exempt under section 10(1)(h) of the Income Tax Act.

“For natural persons, your return must be filed on or before 23 November 2021, unless you are a provisional taxpayer. If the return relates to a provisional taxpayer, it must be submitted on or before 31 January 2022,” said du Toit.
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Article originally from BusinessTech

Law firm ENSAfrica highlighted a recent case in Turkey where the personal data protection rights of an employee were considered. This, it said, could provide some guidance as to how a similar situation may be handled in a South African context.

In this matter, a private bank employee used his corporate email account during working hours to assist his spouse in the running of her business, resulting in the employer terminating his employment.

The employee challenged his termination on the basis that his employer had infringed his right to data protection and freedom of communication when the employer inspected his corporate email without his prior notice or consent.

The Turkish Constitutional Court held that in order to ensure that employees are conducting their work efficiently, and due to the nature of the employer’s business – the provision of financial services – the employer had a legitimate basis for inspecting employees’ corporate emails.

In addition, the employee’s signed contract of employment stipulated that the employee was required to utilise his corporate email for business purposes only.

As such, the employer could inspect the account at any time without prior notification, and the Constitutional Court held that the notification and consent requirement was fulfilled.

The court also took note of the fact that the employer had only had regard to the information which supported the allegations that the employee had engaged in other business activities during working hours.

Therefore, it found that the purpose of collecting the data, and the use thereof, was limited to proving the allegations of misconduct.

What the law says in South Africa

In the South African context, employment contracts usually contain clauses dealing with the monitoring and interception of communication on work devices and emails, said ENSAfrica.

“These clauses usually provide that, as work devices and telecommunication systems are provided to promote the business’ objectives, they must be used for ‘bona fide business purposes only’ and that the employer reserves the right to intercept and/or monitor any direct or indirect communication on their work devices and/or utilising the employer’s telecommunication systems,” it said.

ENSAfrica said that in terms of Popia, the following will apply:

• An employer who processes the personal information of an employee must do so fairly and without negatively impacting the rights of the data subject.

• Ideally, personal information should be processed with the data subject’s consent. Absent consent, there are other grounds that an employer can also rely on in order to process personal information, including where the processing is necessary for pursuing the legitimate interests of the responsible party, in this case the employer, or of a third party to whom the information is supplied.

• To comply with Popia, employers should ensure that any clause in an employment contract allowing for the monitoring and interception of communications on the employer’s devices, or using the employer’s telecommunication systems, also clearly explains the purpose for such monitoring and interception. An employer may monitor and intercept communications on a company device and, if the employee is using their device, communications sent and/or received using the employer’s telecommunication systems. The reason for this is that these devices and/or systems are provided by the employer to enable the employee to perform their duties and to assist the employer to meet its legal, business, administrative and management obligations. This would constitute a legitimate reason for processing. If such a clause was inserted into a contract of employment, an employer could use the argument raised in the Turkish Constitutional Court to justify the processing of information because the employee would have been notified of the reason and the purpose for such processing.

• An employer may only use personal information obtained from the employer’s devices or systems to ensure compliance with its obligations and not for any other purpose. An employee will be provided with an opportunity to object to the use of his/her personal information during an investigation and/or disciplinary process thereby ensuring compliance with the openness and data participation condition.

Employers should carefully consider their existing contracts of employment in order to ensure that appropriate wording so that informed, express and voluntary consent is obtained at the outset, which is also compliant with the processing conditions in Popia is included, said ENSAfrica.

“Including appropriate wording in any contract of employment will entitle the employer to monitor and/or intercept communications on the employer’s devices and/or sent or received using the employer’s telecommunication systems should the need arise at any stage during the employment relationship without seeking ad hoc consent on a case-by-case basis, and could prevent costly future litigation and protracted disputes with employees.”
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• Commentary by Suemeya Hanif (executive) and Nicole Gabryk (executive) at law firm ENSAfrica.

After inflation, the average take-home pay was R12,958 in real terms in April 2021. The average salary increased by 6.8% year-on-year in nominal terms to reach R15,083 in April 2021.

Although this reflects a robust recovery for salaries, one must remember this upturn comes off the low base in April 2020 when strict lockdown restrictions affected industries and salary numbers across the board, BankservAfrica said.

“The majority of businesses had to adjust their operations, or shut down, leading to big payment losses for overtime workers,” it said.

“Although reports of job losses and temporary  pay suspensions surfaced in April 2020, the pandemic induced changes for salaries and retrenchments only became evident in the months that followed.  April 2020 also recorded a decline in average salaries compared to April 2019.”

Salaries still normalising 

BankservAfrica said that the April 2021 data shows the formal sector labour market, or private sector is still ‘normalising’ in salary and employment terms.

“Although our data cannot project the unemployment rates, we are convinced that large private sector employment is close to recovery at 95%.

“We believe the number of large private sector employment are returning to levels before the pandemic.”

Due to the hard lockdown and the government’s financial assistance to affected salaries, retail sales and other consumer consumption measures will reflect more changes than total salaries, it said.

The group also attributed the monthly salary increase to a likely decline in temporary workers contracted on an ‘as and when basis’ by larger firms in 2020.

It is also possible hourly and part-time workers were paid less, which increased the average and even the median take-home pay tracked in the BTPI for April 2021, BankservAfrica said.

“The typical take-home pay increased by 2.2% after inflation. The ‘typical’, also known as ‘median’ is the middle of the overall take-home pay.

“It is not influenced by the number of few well-paid people or decline in the number of temporary workers paid. Therefore, the ‘typical’ represents a better reflection of actual salary trends at present.

“The total value of all salaries paid rose by 4% in real terms in April 2021. But, as a year-on-year comparison – and with the knowledge that the conditions hit some harder than others –  it is not a real indication of current economic trends.”
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Source @BusinessTech News

The demand for skilled artisans such as carpenters, toolmakers, fitters, joiners or mechanics grown in South Africa, despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, says Arjun Khoosal, co-founder of Kandua an online marketplace for home services.

However, there is a scarcity of individuals trained and qualified to meet that demand, he said.

Citing data from Manpower Group’s talent shortage survey and the national list of occupations in high demand, Khoosal said that demand for these services is likely to grow because of their evergreen demand.

“This is quite a cycle-resilient market, especially for those artisan-based businesses that serve homeowners or other small businesses. There will always be something broken in need of fixing, or features that need an upgrade”.

“There has also been a definite upward trend in the home improvement sector since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Khoosal. “In the last year, for instance, demand for renovators has doubled.”

Khoosal said that Kandua has seen a 750% increase in demand for home services over the last year, with the most demand for:

• Movers;
• Carpenters;
• Plumbers;
• Renovators;
• Rubble Removers;
• Landscapers;
• Handymen;
• Panel Beaters;
• Welders;
• Builders.

The vast majority of the services on Kandua’s platform are provided by small businesses or independent contractors, Khoosal said.

Learning a trade is one of the easiest entry points to self-employment and can provide a stable income and decent livelihood with the right support.

“It’s important to recognise that artisan-based businesses have different development needs to other businesses, a crucial one being access to market,” he said.

Trade and vocational professions are also set to receive increased focus over the next five years, as part of a new programme by the Department of Higher Education and Training.

“There is a drive towards adopting a dual system of education and training that will systematically integrate theoretical, practical and workplace learning in almost all vocational programmes offered in a TVET college, over the next 5 to 10 years,” it said in its 2021/2022 annual performance plan..

“The genesis towards an integrated vocational learning approach was already initiated through the Centres of Specialisation, launched in 2018 on 26 college campuses in 13 trades, and is targeted to expand in the coming years.”

Salaries and opportunities

Because of the unregulated nature of trades in South Africa, salaries can vary wildly depending on a person’s qualifications, experience and the task that they will be performing.

Most trade workers also charge an outcall fee when called out to a business or residence for their services.

This is reflected in Payscale’s wage data, with the average salary of a plumber ranging anywhere from a minimum of R69,000 – R338,000 annually.

“An early-career plumber with 1-4 years of experience earns an average total compensation (includes tips, bonus, and overtime pay) of R94,333 based on 20 salaries,” the group said.

“A mid-career plumber with 5-9 years of experience earns an average total compensation of R159,000 based on 17 salaries. An experienced plumber with 10-19 years of experience earns an average total compensation of R195,500 based on 22 salaries.”

Payscale’s wage data for other key trades shows a similar trend, with workers earning substantially more based on their experience and qualifications.

• Carpenters – R47,000 – R307,000 a year
• Electricians – R26,000 – R414,000 a year
• Welders –  R41,000 – R358,000 a year
• Panel beaters – R66,000 – R350,000 a year

Data from Sable International over the last few years shows that electricians in countries like South Africa earn between R37.02 and R153 per hour.

To be on the higher end of this scale, skills such as plant maintenance, switching and routing, and automation are sure to increase pay.

When it comes to plumbers, they can expect to earn between R20 and R117 per hour. While those who work in residential settings, power plants, factories and water treatment facilities (known as master plumbers) generally earn more.

Trade jobs are also commonly found on shortage occupation lists (SOLs) in other countries, including popular emigration destinations such as Australia and the United Kingdom.

When a job occupation is on the SOL, persons in these roles will find it easier to qualify for a skilled worker visa. While not an employment certainty, a trade job can therefore be used as a foot in the door for South Africans looking to move overseas.

The UK’s SOL published at the end of 2020 features a number of skilled trade professions, including:

• Painters and decorators;
• Floorers and wall tilers;
• Plasterers;
• Construction and building trades;
• Glaziers;
• Carpenters;
• Plumbers;
• Roofers;
• Bricklayers.

The critical skills list for Australia also highlights a similar demand for trades, with the following jobs in demand:

• Bricklayer and stonemason;
• Cabinetmaker;
• Carpenter and joiner;
• Fibrous plasterer;
• Glazier;
• Painting trade worker;
• Plumber;
• Wall and floor tile.

An assistant butcher at national meat supplier Eskort Limited, who defied Covid-19 regulations and went to work even though he had tested positive for the virus, has been dismissed.

This is the recent decision of the Labour Court in Johannesburg in which Judge Edwin Tlhotlhalemaje overturned a previous ruling by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), that Sturrman Mogotsi be reinstated with a final written warning.

The judge said the case raised a topical issue surrounding the fairness of the dismissal on account of gross misconduct and gross negligence.

“The facts of this case are, indeed, extraordinary. They are indicative of the need for more to be done at both the workplace and in our communities, ensuring that employers, employees and the general populace are sensitised to the realities of this pandemic; and to further reinforce the obligations of both employers and employees in the face of it, or event of an exposure,” the judge said.

Mogotsi, who was a member of the company’s in-house Coronavirus Site Committee, was dismissed last year after being found guilty of gross misconduct for failing to disclose that he had undergone Covid-19 testing and was waiting for his results.

A second charge, of gross negligence, related to the fact that he put the lives of his colleagues at risk by reporting for duty after he had tested positive.

He took the matter to the CCMA.

The evidence there was that he used to travel to work and back daily with a colleague in his private vehicle. The colleague fell ill, was admitted to hospital where he tested positive for the virus.

At the same time Mogotsi also started to feel unwell. He consulted his wife, a traditional healer, who booked him off work. But he only stayed off two days. He took a test and was informed of the positive result on 9 August 2020.

The next day he went back to work. He was observed in video footage hugging a fellow employee, who had a heart condition. He was also seen walking in the workshop without a mask.

Mogotsi claimed that he had informed management about his contact with his colleague who was eventually hospitalised “but he was not given any clear directive as to what to do”. He claimed he was now being victimized.

He said he did not know that he needed to self-isolate.

While the CCMA commissioner said his conduct was “extremely irresponsible”, the company had deviated from its own disciplinary code and procedure in dismissing him and he should rather be given a final warning.

Reviewing the matter, the Judge said the commissioner’s findings were “entirely disconnected (from) the evidence” and that the disciplinary code was merely a guideline.

He said Mogotsi’s conduct was not only irresponsible and reckless but was “inconsiderate and nonchalant in the extreme”.

“He ignored all health and safety warnings, advice, protocols, policies and procedures of which he was fully aware given his status as a manager and as a member of the committee.

“Through his care-free conduct, he placed everyone he had been in contact with at great risk.

“In the midst of all the monumental harm he caused, and which was clearly foreseen, he could only come up with the now-often used defence that he was victimised.”

The Judge said Mogotsi had shown no contrition and the trust relationship between him and the company had broken down.

He further questioned the company’s seemingly non-adherence to its “fancy Covid-19 policies”, when it allowed Mogotsi, “a maskless hugger”, onto the shop floor.

“Does a basic principle such as social distancing mean anything to anyone at the workplace? All these questions need to be addressed in light of Mogotsi’s version that after (his colleague’s) tests results were made known, business continued as usual hence he continued reporting for duty.

“It is one thing to have all the health and safety protocols in place and on paper. These are however meaningless if no one, including employers, take them seriously.”