- The CCMA decided the dismissal was unfair both in process and substance.
- The employer did not show up for arbitration or offer real operational reasons.
- Commissioner Dida Masenye awarded the employee six months’ compensation, totalling R240 000.
The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) has ordered The Rewards Factory to pay former accounts manager Lize Claassen R240 000 after finding that the company let her go while she was ill, rather than making an effort to accommodate her medical needs.
Commissioner Dida Masenye found that the employer relied on shaky operational reasons to end Claassen’s job and ignored the correct incapacity process, even though the company knew about her health condition.
Illness led to dismissal dispute
Claassen joined The Rewards Factory on 1 February 2024 as an accounts manager, earning a gross monthly salary of R40 000 when her job ended.
She told the CCMA she became seriously ill during her employment, was hospitalised several times, and repeatedly kept the company informed about her condition. Instead of support or accommodation, she said, her job was ended on the grounds of operational requirements.
All through the arbitration, Claassen insisted her dismissal was unfair on both procedural and substantive grounds.
Employer failed to defend the case
The arbitration was held virtually on 4 August 2026. Claassen attended with her legal representative, Raffik Ramsisson, but The Rewards Factory did not appear, even though they had been properly notified about the hearing.
With no word from the employer, Commissioner Masenye moved forward with the arbitration under the Labour Relations Act.
In his findings, Commissioner Masenye said the employer had not come up with any evidence to justify the dismissal. He stated, “The allegations that the Respondent had to terminate the Applicant’s contract of employment due to operational reasons were not supported by evidence.”
The commissioner also found it was “highly likely that the Respondent avoided the incapacity proceedings (ill health) for medical boarding and instead, the Respondent chose to terminate the Applicant’s contract of employment based on reasons which could not be supported by evidence.”
He added that Claassen “was not allowed to be heard and no justifiable reasons were provided to show that the dismissal was substantively fair.”
R240 000 compensation awarded
When deciding on the appropriate remedy, Commissioner Masenye considered how long Claassen had worked there, her medical situation, her prospects for future work, and South Africa’s high unemployment rate.
He decided six months’ compensation was fair and just, awarding Claassen R240 000. The CCMA did not order her reinstatement.
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