Ms Louisah Basani Baloyi was employed as Chief Operations Officer in the Office of the Public Protector on a five-year fixed-term contract commencing on 1 February 2019, subject to a six-month probation period ending on 31 July 2019. The employer failed to confirm or terminate her employment at the end of probation. In October 2019, after the probation period had lapsed, she was invited to make representations and was subsequently informed that her contract would terminate on 31 October 2019 due to alleged unsuitability. Ms Baloyi approached the High Court, Gauteng Division, Pretoria, urgently, alleging that the termination was unlawful, unconstitutional, and invalid. She relied on breach of contract, the principle of legality, and alleged that the Public Protector failed to comply with constitutional obligations under section 181(2) of the Constitution. The High Court dismissed the application for lack of jurisdiction, holding that the dispute fell within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Labour Court. Ms Baloyi sought leave to appeal directly to the Constitutional Court, challenging only the High Court’s finding on jurisdiction.
Leave to appeal directly to the Constitutional Court was granted only in respect of the jurisdictional issue. The appeal was upheld with costs. The High Court’s order dismissing the matter for lack of jurisdiction was set aside, and the matter was remitted to the High Court to determine the merits and the costs of the first hearing. The first respondent was ordered to pay the applicant’s costs in the Constitutional Court.
This judgment clarifies the boundaries between the jurisdiction of the High Court and the Labour Court in employment-related disputes. It confirms that the Labour Court’s exclusive jurisdiction under section 157(1) of the LRA is limited to matters for which the LRA creates specific statutory remedies, and that contractual and legality-based claims arising in employment may fall within the High Court’s jurisdiction. The case is significant in resolving ongoing uncertainty in South African jurisprudence regarding forum selection in employment disputes.