- Mental Health Review Board members have won a High Court battle over unpaid salary increases that were promised in their contracts.
- The Eastern Cape Department of Health was found to have broken the employment contracts with the members.
- The department has been ordered to pay the outstanding salary increases, along with interest and legal costs.
For nearly three years, Elizabeth Peterson and 11 fellow members of the Eastern Cape Mental Health Review Board continued their duties under contracts promising them the same annual salary increases given to public servants. But those salary increases never arrived.
After trying multiple times to resolve the issue, Peterson and her colleagues turned to the High Court in Makhanda. They accused the Department of Health of failing to keep a contractual promise that was part of their appointments.
Acting Judge SG Poswa agreed with them, finding that the department had breached its contracts by refusing to implement salary increases announced by the Department of Public Service and Administration in 2024 and 2025.
Board members said the department broke its promise
Peterson brought the case herself and on behalf of her 11 fellow board members. The respondents included the Eastern Cape MEC for Health, the Head of the Department, two senior health officials and the National Treasury.
The board members were appointed on fixed-term contracts to carry out roles set out in the Mental Health Care Act. These included protecting the rights of mental healthcare users and overseeing decisions affecting patients receiving mental health services. Their contracts specifically stated that members would receive salary adjustments given to public service employees.
Although the department implemented the 2023 increase, it failed to apply the salary increases introduced in DPSA Circular 11 of 2024 and Department of Public Service and Administration Circular 7 of 2025. Peterson argued that this failure broke the contracts signed with the board members.
The department challenged the application
The department opposed the case on several grounds. It argued that the dispute should have gone to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), that some claims had become academic after Peterson's contract ended, and that some officials had been wrongly included as respondents.
Judge Poswa agreed that some claims had become academic because the fixed-term contracts had ended, and found that two respondents were incorrectly cited.
However, the judge said these findings did not affect the claim for unpaid salary increases that were owed while the contracts were still in force.
High Court rejects jurisdiction argument
The department also argued that the High Court did not have jurisdiction because the contracts said disputes should go to the CCMA.
Judge Poswa rejected this, stating that Peterson's claim was about breach of contract. The judge said the High Court did have the power to decide the matter, explaining that the parties' choice to refer disputes to the CCMA did not remove the court's jurisdiction.
Judge finds breach of contract
On the main issue, Judge Poswa said the question was whether the department's refusal to implement the 2024 and 2025 Department of Public Service and Administration salary adjustments amounted to a breach of the fixed-term contracts.
After reviewing the contracts and the evidence, the judge concluded that the department had indeed breached the contracts.
Outstanding salary increases must now be paid
The court ordered the Eastern Cape MEC for Health to implement the 2024 and 2025 Department of Public Service and Administration salary adjustments and to pay Peterson the outstanding money within 30 days.
Judge Poswa also ordered that interest be paid on the outstanding amounts from when they became due until they are fully paid. The department was also told to pay Peterson's legal costs on the High Court party-and-party Scale C.
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