THE FACTS
ITUMELENG Tshoaedi of Orlando East, Soweto, worked for Technical Information Systems for over seven years. Then she had a nervous breakdown.
The doctor booked her off for a week to recover at home.
Itumeleng said before the end of her sick leave, the company gave her an ultimatum. She was ordered to return to work or resign. She went back to work.
She said she was told that she was not allowed to take sick leave because the woman she worked with was on maternity leave.
Itu said her employer later gave her a letter saying her position had become redundant and she would be on a month’s notice before her retrenchment.
She worked for October but was not paid her salary.
She said her manager said she would get paid only if she accepted voluntary retrenchment and a R20 000 payout.
Itu refused the offer twice. She said she was told that if she took the matter to the CCMA, she would get far less than the company was offering because it had contacts at the CCMA.
She was insulted by her manager and she recorded the incident. Itu came to the SunDefender to figure out what she should do.
WHAT I DID
I spoke to Scorpion Legal Protection.
SOLUTION
Being sick does not warrant retrenchment. Employees may be offered a voluntary retrenchment package but they are not bound to accept it.
It was an unfair retrenchment and Itu needs to open a case of unfair retrenchment with the CCMA within 30 days.
If the 30 days have passed, she should apply for condonation.
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