- A George Hospital clerk lost her Labour Court case after taking a lost cellphone home instead of keeping it safe at the hospital.
- The court said the employee never explained why she took the phone off hospital grounds.
- She had worked for the department for more than 28 years before she was dismissed.
A long-serving George Hospital administrative clerk has lost her Labour Court case after the judge found she broke workplace rules by taking a lost cellphone home instead of following hospital rules for misplaced valuables.
Sandra Noelene Opperman worked for the Western Cape Department of Health for more than 28 years with a spotless disciplinary record. She was dismissed after a cellphone left behind at the hospital admissions area ended up in her possession.
The hospital had clear procedures that any lost or handed-in valuables must be locked in a safe before being returned to their owners. Opperman did not follow this process and took the cellphone home instead.
The court heard that Opperman later gave the cellphone to someone identified as Mr Malgas after picking it up from her house. The judgment does not say anything more about Mr Malgas or whether the cellphone ever made it straight back to its owner.
Acting Judge A Banderker said Opperman could not give any convincing reason for why she took the cellphone out of the hospital in the first place.
"The applicant clearly broke the employer's rule by taking the cellphone home and did not explain why she did so," the judge said. The court said this decision made it much less likely that Opperman could overturn her dismissal.
"The applicant's actions went completely against the employer's rules, so I do not think she has a real chance of success here," said Judge Banderker.
Court turns down bid to revive challenge
Besides the cellphone issue, the Labour Court also found that Opperman's legal action had been delayed for years and was full of procedural problems.
Opperman started legal proceedings in 2020 to challenge an arbitration ruling that upheld her dismissal. But the court found that she never properly filed the required arbitration record on time. The judge also noted that Opperman blamed her former lawyers for not properly handling the case, even though they were apparently paid substantial fees.
Judge Banderker ruled in the end that Opperman had not shown good reason to reopen the case or overturn her dismissal.
The court dismissed Opperman's review application and ordered her to pay the Western Cape Department of Health's legal costs.
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