Steenkamp and Others v Edcon Limited

Edcon Limited undertook large-scale retrenchments affecting thousands of employees. Section 189A of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) governed the process. Edcon issued notices of termination to certain employees before the expiry of the mandatory consultation periods prescribed by section 189A(8). The affected employees did not challenge the substantive or procedural fairness of the retrenchments, nor did they invoke the statutory remedies under section 189A(13). Instead, they contended that the premature notices rendered the dismissals invalid in law.

Leave to appeal was granted, but the appeal was dismissed. The order of the Labour Appeal Court was confirmed. No order as to costs was made.

This case clarified that dismissals effected in breach of section 189A procedural requirements are not invalid, settling conflicting Labour Appeal Court authority. It affirmed the exclusivity of the LRA’s remedial framework and rejected the importation of common-law invalidity into statutory labour disputes. The judgment reinforced the distinction between unlawfulness and unfairness in South African labour law.