Barry Botha Breytenbach

Can my employer refuse to accept my medical certificate?

The matter of a medical certificate has raised questions for quite some time. Many employers believe that if their employees provide a medical certificate for their absence from work they are obliged to pay them for the day(s) missed. Similarly, employees believe that should they stay away from work and provide a medical certificate, all […]

Misconduct as a result of mental illness

In November 2013, the employee was charged with: Being absent for 17 days between 30 August and 5 November; Breaching the employer’s policy by failing to inform his manager of his absence; Insolence towards a superior; and Insubordination in that he refused to attend to a prisoner as instructed. The employee admitted all the transgressions, but defended his actions on the basis […]