Tebogo Brian Monare v South African Tourism

The applicant was employed by South African Tourism on a five-year fixed-term contract as Finance and Administration Manager in the United Kingdom, effective from 1 February 2010 to 31 January 2015. He was dismissed for alleged dishonesty and fraud on 30 September 2010. He referred an unfair dismissal dispute to the CCMA, which resulted in an arbitration award in August 2011 finding the dismissal substantively unfair and ordering reinstatement with back pay. South African Tourism reviewed the award, and in March 2014 the Labour Court set it aside for lack of jurisdiction. On appeal, the Labour Appeal Court in November 2015 reinstated the arbitration award. By that time, the fixed-term contract had expired. The respondent paid the back pay due under the arbitration award. The applicant then instituted proceedings in the Labour Court claiming damages equal to the salaries he would have earned for the remainder of the fixed-term contract (October 2010 to January 2015). The respondent raised a special plea that this contractual damages claim had prescribed.

The respondent’s special plea of prescription was dismissed. The applicant’s contractual claim for damages in respect of arrear salaries was found not to have prescribed, and the matter was permitted to proceed on the merits.

The judgment clarifies the application of prescription principles to contractual claims arising from unlawful termination of fixed-term employment contracts, particularly where dismissal disputes are subject to prolonged litigation under the Labour Relations Act. It underscores that prescription does not begin to run until a complete cause of action exists, reinforcing the distinction between unfair dismissal proceedings and common-law contractual claims.