Business

From Cement Mix-up to Courtroom Win: Labour Court Orders Cashbuild to Reinstate Manager

Published

2 months ago

August 12, 2025

Chiraag

Cashbuild manager reinstated, Labour Court ruling, CCMA payout reduced, Eastern Cape employment dispute, cement delivery complaint, South African labour law case, Mqanduli branch case, Joburg ETC

From cement sales to legal showdown

What began as a favour for a friend over ten discounted bags of damaged cement has ended with a Labour Court order forcing Cashbuild to take back its Mqanduli branch manager.

In December 2020, customer Mzwandile Mdunyelwa paid for ten damaged bags at a discount. Cashbuild policy usually excludes delivery for such stock, but manager Luvolwethu Dyani agreed to arrange it. The bags were never set aside and were sold to someone else. For the next three months, no replacement arrived.

Mdunyelwa eventually escalated the matter to Cashbuild’s head office in March 2021. An investigation confirmed the cement had been sold to another buyer. Dyani then arranged for undamaged bags to be delivered, but at full price.

From dismissal to reinstatement

Dyani faced charges of gross negligence, poor customer service, and damaging the company’s reputation. His disciplinary hearing, held in March 2021 without him present, ended in dismissal. An internal appeal in April failed.

Taking the matter to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), Dyani won a ruling in October 2022 declaring his dismissal both procedurally and substantively unfair. The CCMA ordered reinstatement and 18 months’ back pay totalling R463 840.

Cashbuild challenged this at the Labour Court in Gqeberha, arguing the CCMA ignored key evidence and failed to weigh contradictory testimony.

Court trims payout and calls for fairer penalty

The court found the CCMA had overreached in granting such a large payout, reducing it to four months’ salary (R103 075). It also noted that while Dyani had been negligent, outright dismissal was too severe. Instead, it ruled a final written warning would have sufficed.

Judge remarks also highlighted that some allegations against Dyani only surfaced during arbitration and not in the disciplinary process, weakening Cashbuild’s case. However, the court acknowledged that making a customer wait three months after payment was unacceptable.

Dyani must return to his branch within two weeks, with Cashbuild paying the reduced back pay in the same timeframe.