Theola has been working as a receptionist for a small company for a couple of years. When she fell pregnant recently, she thought her boss and colleagues would be happy for her. But when she told her boss the news, he got mad and said he couldn’t have a big, fat pregnant woman receiving their customers. He was so mean, Theola burst into tears in front of the whole office.
He told her to hand in her resignation, or else he would fire her. AZIKHIPHI! That’s not on! What Theola’s boss is doing is discrimination, and it’s illegal. No woman is allowed to be fired just because she is pregnant. What can she do?
Scorpion Legal Protection’s advice
There are two types of unfair discrimination:
- Direct discrimination, which is intentional discrimination, meaning that harmful action is taken against a person because they have a certain characteristic (in this case, Susan is pregnant and is being forced to resign because of this).
- Indirect discrimination is when certain things are done seemingly to exclude certain groups of people. For example, only hiring people that don’t have children and have no intention of having children. This may be intentional or unintentional, but there must be proof that this is causing suffering or loss to a certain person(s).
In Theola’s case, her boss is directly discriminating against her because she is pregnant, and the law says a person may, under no circumstances, be unfairly discriminated against or dismissed due to pregnancy. The Code of Good Practice on the Protection of Employees during Pregnancy and After the Birth of Her Child, as well as the Constitution, the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 and the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, prohibit such discrimination.
If an employee is discriminated against because of her pregnancy, like Theola has been, this type of discrimination will fall automatically under unfair discrimination (Section 187(e) of the Labour Relations Act) and the employee could get paid out up to 24 months’ salary if she takes the matter to court.
Theola’s first step should be to try to wait and see if her employer dismisses her. If he does, then she can take the dismissal letter to the CCMA within 30 days as a case of unfair dismissal.
Tips:
- You must refer your matter to the CCMA or Labour Court within 30 days from the date of dismissal
- Make sure that you have a dismissal letter and do not hand in a resignation letter. If you resign, it is no longer unfair dismissal, and you may not have a case.
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* Terms, conditions, limitations and exclusions apply (click here to view the Legal Membership Agreement). This is only basic advice and cannot be relied on solely. The stories, names, characters and incidents portrayed are used in a fictitious manner.