Booi v Amathole District Municipality and Others

Mr Mlungisi Wellington Booi, a senior manager in municipal health services employed by the Amathole District Municipality, was dismissed in December 2015 following a disciplinary hearing that found him guilty of four misconduct charges. He challenged the dismissal at the South African Local Government Bargaining Council. The arbitrator exonerated him of all charges, found the dismissal substantively unfair, and ordered retrospective reinstatement with back-pay. The Municipality reviewed the award in the Labour Court, which upheld the finding of unfair dismissal but set aside reinstatement, substituting it with compensation on the basis that the employment relationship was intolerable. Mr Booi accepted payment under that judgment. His applications for leave to appeal were dismissed by the Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court, partly on the basis of peremption. He then approached the Constitutional Court seeking reinstatement.

The appeal was upheld. The Labour Court’s order was set aside and replaced with an order dismissing the review application, reinstating Mr Booi on terms no less favourable than before his dismissal, ordering retrospective back-pay for the period between 9 December 2015 and 3 November 2017, and setting aside the punitive costs order. No costs order was made in the Constitutional Court.

The case affirms reinstatement as the primary remedy for unfair dismissal and clarifies that intolerability under section 193(2)(b) of the LRA sets a high bar that cannot be met by mere workplace tension or reliance on unproven misconduct. It strengthens employment security and provides authoritative guidance on the limits of judicial interference with arbitration awards in labour disputes.