In the recent judgment of Woolworths (Pty) Ltd v CCMA and others, the Labour Appeal Court (LAC) confirmed an important legal principle regarding irregular medical certificates.

The LAC confirmed that an irregular medical certificate does not automatically implicate an employee in dishonesty.

In order to fairly dismiss an employee for dishonesty, or for submitting a fraudulent medical certificate, the following evidence should be presented:

• the employee was not actually sick and/or misled the doctor about the employee’s medical condition;
• the medical certificate was altered by the employee; or
• the employee knew that the medical practitioner could not legally issue certificates.

The LAC further confirmed that irregularities in the medical practitioner’s practice do not necessarily prove the employee’s dishonesty.

Employers are advised to conduct proper investigations before instituting misconduct proceedings, and to ensure that from the evidence it is objectively clear that the employee was guilty of the misconduct before proceeding with a dismissal.

Should you require assistance with misconduct proceedings, kindly contact your nearest Regional Office or our 24-hour hotline.

Kobus Hayward is the Labour Court Legal Advisor at the National Employers' Association of South Africa (NEASA).