- A senior manager claimed that her CEO made her working life unbearable, but she lost her constructive dismissal case.
- The Labour Appeal Court found she resigned before her employer finished the grievance process.
- The court said the CCMA had no jurisdiction because there was no constructive dismissal in law.
Elaine Phumza Bavuma, a senior manager who accused her CEO of years of rude and aggressive behaviour, has lost her claim of constructive dismissal after South Africa’s Labour Appeal Court found she resigned before her employer could properly address her complaints.
Bavuma, who was General Manager at Royale Energy, has worked under Group CEO Stephan Nothnagel since joining the company in 2013. Tensions between the two escalated over several years, with Bavuma describing Nothnagel’s attitude as rude, derogatory and intimidating. She said that on several occasions, he told her to leave the company if she was unhappy.
The final straw came during a meeting in August 2020, when Bavuma alleged that Nothnagel became furious, undermined her in front of colleagues, and pointed a finger close to her face while challenging her to go. Days later, she lodged a formal grievance with the board, saying she was willing to participate in any process aimed at resolving the conflict.
Longstanding conflict with the CEO
The company responded by appointing an external investigator and starting a formal process to examine the allegations. During a consultation meeting, Bavuma was offered a temporary arrangement to report to a different manager while the investigation continued. She also proposed a separation package worth more than R4 million, which the company rejected.
Instead of waiting for the investigation to conclude, Bavuma demanded to see an investigation report. When informed there was no final report yet because the process was ongoing, she submitted her resignation in September 2020. She then referred her case to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), arguing that she had been constructively dismissed.
Court finds resignation was premature
The Labour Appeal Court found that Bavuma acted too quickly and did not give her employer a fair chance to resolve her complaints. Judge GN Moshoana ruled that Royale Energy had taken meaningful steps in response to her grievance and that Bavuma had endured similar issues for years without resigning, which weakened her claim that her working conditions had suddenly become intolerable.
The court also noted that Bavuma had told her employer she would be willing to continue working under certain conditions, such as working remotely during the investigation. This, the court said, suggested that her position was not truly unbearable.
High bar for constructive dismissal
The judgment emphasised that constructive dismissal claims face a high legal threshold. Employees must prove their working environment has become objectively intolerable and that resignation was a last resort. The court found that Bavuma’s concerns about what might happen in the future were speculative, and that a reasonable employee would not have resigned under the circumstances.
CCMA award overturned
The Labour Appeal Court overturned both the earlier CCMA award and a Labour Court ruling that had awarded Bavuma more than R1.1 million. The court declared that she had not been constructively dismissed and that, as a result, the CCMA had no jurisdiction to hear her dispute. No order was made regarding costs.
This case serves as a reminder that employees must allow grievance processes to run their course and that resignation should only be a last resort when working conditions are truly intolerable.
Get your news on the go. Click here to follow the Conviction WhatsApp channel.
