THE COST AND DELAYS OF PROTECTING ONE'S RIGHTS

I refer to my previous article on Retrenchments and apprise you of the final outcome and the end of the saga.

I acted for a senior employee, employed with a listed company. The employee was awarded close to R1,000,000 (8 months' salary).

The employer took the award on review. The employer's application was unsuccessful.

The employer then appealed the unfavourable review decision. The employer was again unsuccessful.

The employer then petitioned the Labour Appeal Court for leave to appeal the Labour Court's award in the review matter. The employer was again unsuccessful.

The fact that the employer exhausted its review and appeal remedies, resulted in the employee incurring huge costs in having to defend the review and appeal attempts. This delay lasted approximately three years.

The Labour Appeal Court, in rejecting the employer's petition, did not order the employer to pay the employee's costs.

This matter reveals the delays that are inherent in the process when an employer takes an Award on review.