The Labour Court has ruled that the dismissal of a KFC restaurant manager in Bloemfontein was fair. The court found that he showed favouritism among staff and that trust had broken down.
Acting Judge ME Manala set aside a CCMA arbitration award that had gone against the company. The judge ruled that the dismissal of Sebata Alfred Ntahane was fair in both procedure and substance.
Ntahane was the general manager of the KFC Rocklands restaurant. His employer was Rohloff Group, which trades as KFC. The company asked the Labour Court to review the award after it lost at the CCMA.
The company brought several misconduct charges against him. It said he treated employees differently and showed favouritism. It also said he shouted at an employee in front of colleagues and customers and caused discord in the team.
Rohloff Group also accused Ntahane of dishonesty during the disciplinary process. The company alleged that he wrote employees’ statements in his own handwriting. It said he then had them signed and handed to the hearing and appeal chairpersons.
Other charges said he intimidated employees into signing statements. The company alleged that he neglected the restaurant while browsing on his cellphone. It also said he failed to complete a food cost report and refused to follow instructions. The charges said he missed scheduled training and took unauthorised leave.
The court heard evidence from employees and company representatives. One witness was Refilwe Bonolo-Khosi, a former shift supervisor. She testified that Ntahane treated and disciplined employees differently and favoured one employee.
Bonolo-Khosi also told the court about a dispute at the restaurant that Ntahane had to manage. She alleged that he handled it in a way that favoured the same employee.
The court said these parts of her evidence were not challenged in cross-examination. Ntahane did not deal with them in his own evidence either.
Judge Manala said the CCMA was left with an undisputed account that Ntahane had favoured the employee. The court found that a reasonable reading of the evidence could not have led to the CCMA’s outcome. It ruled that the award was unreasonable and had to be set aside.
The court chose not to send the case back for a new arbitration. It said the evidence before it was enough to decide that the dismissal was fair.
The court said the evidence pointed to serious acrimony between Ntahane and Bonolo-Khosi. Judge Manala said the two could not reasonably be expected to work together, given the hostility in their accounts.
The court found that evidence from company representatives and employees showed the trust relationship had broken down. It said the evidence could lead to no outcome other than dismissal.
The court replaced the award with an order declaring the dismissal procedurally and substantively fair. It made no order as to costs.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL. Image: IOL. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice News desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Kgomotso Maake covers news and politics for Tzaneen Voice. Kgomotso reports on government, Parliament, municipalities, courts, crime and service delivery across South Africa, with a close eye on how national decisions reach towns like Tzaneen and the wider Limpopo province. Stories are written in plain English and focus on the facts: who made the decision, what it means, and what happens next.