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GroundUp reports that the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) has ruled that the dismissal of an “anti-vaxxer” was fair but in the same breath found the employer to be at fault for sending him a “do or leave” Whatsapp message, without proper consultation.
This was in contravention of the Covid-19 directives issued by the Minister of Employment and Labour, the CCMA found. The ruling was centred on the dismissal of articled clerk Dale Dreyden from Wellington-based law firm Duncan Korabie Attorneys at the end of August 2021. The firm had a mandatory vaccination policy because its owner, Duncan Korabie, suffered from life-threatening conditions, had co-morbidities, and had been advised by his doctors to minimise possible exposure to Covid. Other employees, who worked in an open plan office, were also considered high risk or had relatives with co-morbidities. Korabie indicated that there had been various meetings to discuss the issue of workplace safety due to the pandemic. In January 2021, he drafted a policy which set out “the need to vaccinate and the consequences of non-compliance which included disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment”. Korabie then sent a group Whatsapp message giving all employees ten days to get the jab. Dreyden responded, reaffirming his decision not to be vaccinated. That same day, Korabie responded saying, “thank you for your notice” … “Tomorrow will be your last day … you don’t have to come in. I will pay you until tomorrow.” The commissioners noted that Dreyden had shown a “willingness to follow so-called conspiracy theories about the vaccine”. Instead of engaging with him personally, Korabie had used a workplace Whatsapp platform to send the “do or leave message”. The firm was ordered to pay Dreyden, who earned a stipend of R2,500 per month, one month’s compensation and four weeks’ notice pay, totalling just more than R4,800 by 25 March.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tania Broughton at GroundUp
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page