Choane v Skinner N.O. and Others

The applicant, Ms Refiloe Monica Choane, was employed by the Department of Health (Free State Province) from 2006. She was transferred in 2010 to the MEC’s office, where her transfer and initial upgrade were expressly linked to the MEC’s term of office. While seconded to the MEC’s office, she was further upgraded in 2011 to post level 8, without express conditions stated in the upgrade letter. In July 2013, after the MEC’s term ended, she was transferred back to Supply Chain Management and placed at her original post level 5 notch 1, resulting in a salary reduction. She alleged this constituted an unfair labour practice. An arbitrator of the GPSSBC found no unfair labour practice, and she applied to the Labour Court to review and set aside that arbitration award under section 145 of the Labour Relations Act.

The application for review was dismissed. No order as to costs was made.

The case reaffirms the strict limits of judicial intervention in arbitration awards under section 145 of the Labour Relations Act and the application of the Sidumo test. It underscores that upgrades and benefits obtained during secondment to political offices in the public service remain subject to governing policy frameworks, such as the Ministerial Handbook, even if individual letters of upgrade are silent on conditions.