Labour Appeal Court upholds dismissal of SASSA employee who assaulted manager

The Labour Appeal Court in Durban has upheld the dismissal of a South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) senior grants administrator who was found to have assaulted his manager and committed gross insubordination.

What happened

The incident took place in August 2019 at SASSA’s Vulindlela Local Office in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal. The dispute began after the administrator, identified in court papers as NN, assisted a woman who applied for a social grant for her grandson. The application was declined in part because the child’s father was still alive and living with the child.

The woman returned to the office the next day with her niece to complain. NN was called into his manager Mr M’s office to explain. NN refused to discuss the matter in front of the visitors and asked that they be sent outside. Mr M refused and insisted NN explain himself in their presence.

Escalation and assault finding

According to the judgment, NN said the manager did not respect him and told Mr M he was “also a man in his own household.” When Mr M later asked the women to leave so he and NN could speak privately, witnesses said NN suddenly got up and struck the manager. One of the women intervened to stop a fight.

Mr M reported that NN pushed or hit him in the chest before leaving. NN denied assault but admitted there had been a “wrestling with the door” as he tried to leave, saying he pulled the door while Mr M was blocking it and that Mr M was pulled along with the door. Mr M and the two women then laid an assault complaint at a police station.

Disciplinary process and earlier findings

NN, who had worked at SASSA since June 2006, was suspended and faced disciplinary proceedings. After some charges were withdrawn, he was charged with three allegations related to the August 2019 incident, including insubordination by assaulting Mr M with intent to cause bodily harm, breaching SASSA’s code of conduct and ethics, and bringing the agency into disrepute. NN pleaded not guilty but was found guilty on two charges and dismissed in November 2020. His internal appeal was unsuccessful.

NN referred the matter to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). The commissioner found the dismissal to be both substantively and procedurally fair, rejecting NN’s changing account and accepting that SASSA had proved, on a balance of probabilities, that he had assaulted Mr M and acted with gross insubordination.

Labour Court and appeal

NN’s application to review the arbitration award was dismissed by the Labour Court. The case then proceeded to the Labour Appeal Court, which handed down its decision in September 2026.

The appeal court found that witness accounts largely complemented each other and that alleged contradictions related only to minor details of how the assault occurred. The court noted NN had made a police statement saying he had “pulled” Mr M and found it common cause that NN had refused to explain the complaint in front of the complainant, had been involved in a struggle over the door and had disobeyed an instruction to report to the office after the women left.

The court rejected NN’s argument that the evidence did not establish an assault, stating that his evidence indicated he had pulled Mr M while trying to open the door. The court quoted its finding:

“From this piece of evidence, it is clear therefore that the witnesses were correct when they said he pulled Mr M by his clothes,”

and held that Mr M’s belief he was being assaulted was supported by the evidence.

Final judgment

The Labour Appeal Court concluded the commissioner had not erred in finding that NN assaulted his manager, that his conduct amounted to gross insubordination, and that dismissal was warranted. The court found the commissioner’s decision fell within the range of decisions a reasonable decision-maker could reach and dismissed the appeal. The court ordered that there be no order as to costs.

Key timeline

• June 2006 NN began working for SASSA.
• August 2019 Incident at Vulindlela Local Office in Pietermaritzburg.
• November 2020 NN dismissed following disciplinary hearing.
• September 2026 Labour Appeal Court dismissed NN’s appeal.