Clinton Cilliers, a father of four from Rustenburg, in the North West Province, is set to receive a substantial sum in compensation from the Gupta-owned Westdawn Investments (Pty) Ltd t/a JIC Mining Services.

The 40-year-old mine captain was reinstated and awarded R287 880 in back pay by Commissioner Molapo.

The employee was dismissed in August 2014 for gross misrepresentation, dishonesty and gross dereliction of duties and thereafter lodged a dispute with the CCMA, in Rustenburg. The parties could not conciliate the dispute and the matter proceeded to arbitration.

The Commissioner ruled that the employee’s dismissal on all three charges were substantively unfair. The Commissioner found that the employee was employed for almost 10 years with JIC Mining Services with no negative disciplinary record. Moreover, he contributed immensely to his employer’s operation by working abnormal hours without extra remuneration.

The Commissioner also found that representatives of the employer had lied to the Commissioner during the arbitration proceedings in order to unlawfully gain a postponement. The employer was ordered to pay the employee’s costs in respect of this postponement.

The employee, in compliance with the ruling of the Commissioner, subsequently returned to work on 3 March 2015, but was refused access to the workplace.

“The employer has now also indicated it intends reviewing the ruling granted by the Commissioner,” says the employee’s attorney, Jean-Paul Rudd, a Partner from the Commercial, Property, and Litigation practice of law firm Adams & Adams, who is representing the employee.

Written by Jean Paul Rudd, partner at Adams & Adams