Labour Court cuts award to R25,000 after manager likened employee’s genitals to a ‘fingerette’

The Labour Court in Johannesburg has reduced a CCMA compensation award to R25,000 after finding that a warehouse manager’s public comparison of an employee’s genitals to a fingerette amounted to unfair discrimination in the form of sexual harassment.

What happened

According to IOL, the incident occurred on 10 July 2024 while employees were cleaning a stationery cupboard. Warehouse manager Angela Evertse-Brown found fingerettes, called the employee over and, in the presence of several female colleagues, said the fingerettes were as large as his

“mthondo”, meaning penis

before handing them to him. The female colleagues laughed, the judgment records show.

Complaint, apology and internal process

The employee confronted his manager later the same day to express his dissatisfaction; she immediately apologised and repeated the apology on several later occasions. The following day the employee stayed away from work and told his manager he was still affected by the comment.

Easybranch (Pty) Ltd convened a grievance hearing chaired by an independent person. During that process Evertse-Brown admitted she had overstepped the mark, apologised again and undertook not to repeat the conduct. The chairperson recommended workplace training on appropriate behaviour and harassment policies and improvements to the company’s grievance procedures.

Escalation to the CCMA and court appeal

Despite the internal process and recommendations, the employee referred an unfair discrimination dispute to the CCMA alleging sexual harassment. A CCMA commissioner originally awarded the employee R100,000. Easybranch appealed the finding on three grounds: that the conduct did not amount to sexual harassment, that the employer was not vicariously liable, and that the R100,000 award was excessive.

Court findings and award

Acting Judge Mendel Sass dismissed parts of Easybranch’s appeal but upheld the company’s challenge to the amount of compensation. The court emphasised that sexual harassment is a form of unfair discrimination and that even a single incident can amount to sexual harassment if sufficiently serious and if it impairs dignity.

The judgment noted that the remark was made by a manager to a subordinate, directly concerned the employee’s genitalia, occurred in front of female colleagues and resulted in the employee being laughed atcircumstances the court said made the remark prima facie degrading and an impairment of dignity. The court also relied on the employee’s immediate complaint, his absence from work the next day and his continued dissatisfaction as evidence of genuine impact.

After considering the Employment Equity Act and the Code of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Harassment in the Workplace, Judge Sass substituted the CCMA’s order and directed Easybranch to pay the employee R25,000, which the judgment says equates to approximately four and a half months’ gross remuneration based on monthly earnings of R5,500.

Arguments from both sides

Easybranch argued the incident was a single inappropriate joke without malicious intent, that there was no history of similar conduct or a hostile work environment, that the employee had accepted the apology and had not demonstrated significant prejudice, and that the employer had acted promptly and reasonably.

The employee argued the public remark stripped him of dignity and humiliated him in front of female colleagues, and that unwelcome sexual words can be as degrading as physical conductrelying on protections under the Employment Equity Act.

Legal context

The court considered employer liability principles under Section 60 of the Employment Equity Act, which require employers to take reasonable steps to eliminate discriminatory conduct once reported. The judgment found that an award of R25,000 appropriately recognised the wrong suffered while remaining consistent with awards in comparable Employment Equity Act cases.

According to IOL, the Labour Court’s decision replaces the CCMA’s R100,000 compensation order with one directing Easybranch to pay R25,000.