A Good Samaritan Wins: Court Reinstates Employee Fired for Helping a Stranded Driver

In a ruling that weighs strict company policy against basic human decency, the Labour Court in Johannesburg has upheld the reinstatement of a man fired for using a company vehicle without permissionto help a stranded motorist with a flat tyre.

The case centred on Pumeza Glenn Poswa, a long-serving Europcar supervisor with an unblemished record. In June 2021, while on a night shift, he noticed a broken-down car near his residence. He took a company vehicle to assist the driver. The following day, which was the branch’s off day, the same vehicle needed tyre repairs.

Europcar, arguing its fleet must always be available for revenue-generating rentals, dismissed him for misconduct. The company maintained that unauthorised use of company property, especially when linked to dishonesty, is a dismissible offence that strikes at the heart of trust.

The Commissioner and the Court: A Focus on Fairness

Poswa took the matter to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), where a commissioner found the dismissal “substantively unfair.” The commissioner noted the vehicle couldn’t have been rented out at that hour and that Europcar suffered no actual prejudice. Poswa’s clean disciplinary record was also a key factor.

Europcar appealed to the Labour Court for a review. Presiding Acting Judge Suhayl Rajah acknowledged the importance of the rule, given the nature of the rental business. However, he found the dismissal disproportionate.

The judge’s crucial finding was that, while the rule existed on paper, the line between allowed and forbidden use had been blurred in practice by both the employer and employees over time. The conduct, while a breach, did not make the employment relationship intolerable.

A Victory for Context and Reason

Judge Rajah concluded that the CCMA commissioner’s ruling was reasonable and justified. “There is accordingly no basis for this court to interfere with the award,” he stated, dismissing Europcar’s review application.

The judgment sends a clear message: while companies have the right to enforce rules protecting their assets, context matters. A single act of assistance, causing no financial harm and undertaken by an otherwise exemplary employee, may not justify the ultimate sanction of dismissal. In the eyes of the law, fairness and consistency can sometimes outweigh a strict, inflexible reading of the rulebook. For Poswa, it means a return to work; for employers, it’s a reminder to ensure their disciplinary actions are not only lawful, but just.