- The CCMA found Logan Wesnaar’s dismissal was unfair in both procedure and substance.
- Commissioner Faizel Mooi ruled that Standard Bank did not properly investigate the mental health concerns raised during the performance process.
- Wesnaar got her job back and was awarded R273 596.42 in backpay.
Standard Bank unfairly dismissed employee Logan Wesnaar for poor work performance without properly investigating the impact of mental health concerns on her ability to do her job, the CCMA has ruled.
Commissioner Faizel Mooi found that Wesnaar repeatedly raised mental health concerns during performance management and grievance processes, but the bank failed to obtain a proper assessment before proceeding with her dismissal.
Finding the dismissal both procedurally and substantively unfair, Commissioner Mooi ordered Standard Bank to reinstate Wesnaar and pay her R273 596.42 in backpay.
Poor performance defence raised
Wesnaar challenged her dismissal after Standard Bank concluded that she had failed to meet the required performance standards despite having undergone an extended performance management process.
While it was common cause that her performance had fallen below the required standard, Wesnaar argued that mental health concerns contributed to her difficulties at work and that the bank failed to properly investigate those concerns before deciding to dismiss her.
She maintained that the employer should have explored the extent to which those concerns affected her ability to perform and whether alternative measures were available before considering termination.
Bank’s response to dismissal
Standard Bank maintained that Wesnaar knew the standards expected of her, understood her role and had received opportunities to improve during both informal and formal performance management processes.
The bank argued that it had provided support and access to wellness services but that Wesnaar failed to demonstrate that her circumstances prevented her from performing her duties. It contended that insufficient information had been provided to justify treating the matter as one of incapacity rather than poor performance.
Witnesses for the bank testified that performance concerns persisted over a lengthy period despite interventions aimed at improving performance.
Commissioner identifies key failure
Commissioner Mooi found that the evidence showed Standard Bank was aware that Wesnaar had raised mental health concerns during the performance process and later during the grievance process.
The commissioner said, “Mr Keshav (Kishan Keshav, Standard Bank’s Head of Client Management Operations and the manager who ultimately made the dismissal decision) was therefore aware that as far back as the poor work performance process in 2024, the applicant raised the issue of her mental health.”
According to Commissioner Mooi, this should have prompted the employer to halt the dismissal process and obtain a proper assessment before making a final decision.
“He should have been alerted that her mental health was a defense to poor work performance and dealt with the issue accordingly by at the very least putting the dismissal on hold and either instructing the applicant to obtain her own report from a mental health practitioner, or referring the applicant to the respondent’s wellness practitioners to do an assessment of her mental health and its impact on her ability to perform.”
Mental health defence overlooked
The commissioner found that simply directing Wesnaar to wellness services did not amount to a proper investigation into whether mental health concerns were contributing to her performance difficulties. “This was not sufficient to demonstrate that a fair procedure was followed,” he said.
Commissioner Mooi concluded that there was evidence that mental health concerns may have affected Wesnaar’s work performance and that the issue was not properly addressed before dismissal.
“As the applicant’s mental health issues were not properly considered to disprove her mental health defence despite it being raised numerous times before her dismissal, it was not conclusively proved that the applicant did not have a defence to poor work performance.”
The commissioner further found that proper consideration of the issue may have justified a sanction less severe than dismissal. “At the very least, if the applicant’s mental health issues had properly been considered, it may have been a mitigating factor in respect of poor work performance to warrant a sanction short of dismissal.”
Employee wins her job back
Having found that the dismissal was both procedurally and substantively unfair, Commissioner Mooi ordered that Wesnaar be reinstated. “The dismissal of the applicant, Logan Wesnaar, was both procedurally and substantively unfair.”
The commissioner ordered Standard Bank to reinstate Wesnaar and pay her R273 596.42, representing eight months and one week’s lost salary.
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