The Labour Court has reaffirmed that employers must meaningfully investigate reasonable accommodation and alternatives before dismissing an employee for ill-health or incapacity.
Dismissals based on ill-health or incapacity present some of the most sensitive challenges in employment law. Unlike misconduct dismissals, incapacity cases are not concerned with employee fault, but rather with whether the employee remains capable of performing the inherent requirements of the job and whether the employer has taken reasonable steps to accommodate the employee before considering dismissal.
Item 21 of Schedule 8: Code of Good Practice on Dismissal provides clear guidance on how employers should manage dismissals arising from ill-health and other forms of incapacity. Central to these provisions is the principle that dismissal should always be a measure of last resort.
The Labour Court recently reaffirmed this principle in Solidarity v Cape Peninsula University of Technology and Others (C196/24) [2026] ZALCCT 107 (8 July 2026), where the Court considered the extent of an employer’s duty to investigate reasonable accommodation, medical boarding and alternatives to dismissal before terminating an employee’s employment.
The Facts
Ms Samaai commenced employment with the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) in 1996 as an Administrator within the Human Capital Department. Between 2015 and 2018, she occupied various alternative positions before returning to her original role in...
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