Maboko Victor Hlungwane v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others

The applicant was employed by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development as a Financial Operations Manager for the De Aar Cluster, based at the De Aar Magistrates’ Office. In 2013, on humanitarian grounds relating to his wife’s illness, he was temporarily approved to work from the Kimberley Regional Office, expressly not as a transfer. From 2018 onwards, the Department repeatedly instructed him to return to his official workplace in De Aar, explaining that his continued presence in Kimberley was not operationally or financially sustainable and that there was no approval for a permanent transfer. Despite multiple written instructions, extensions, and the dismissal of his grievance, the applicant persistently refused to report for duty in De Aar, citing personal, financial, and family circumstances. He was eventually charged with gross insubordination for failing to obey lawful and reasonable instructions and was dismissed. An arbitrator at the GPSSBC found the dismissal substantively and procedurally fair. The applicant sought to review and set aside that arbitration award under section 145 of the Labour Relations Act.

The review application was dismissed, and the arbitration award confirming the substantive fairness of the dismissal was upheld. No order as to costs was made.

The case reaffirms the stringent Sidumo review test and underscores that persistent refusal to comply with lawful and reasonable instructions, particularly by senior employees, may constitute gross insubordination justifying dismissal. It also clarifies that temporary humanitarian arrangements do not create permanent rights or transfers and that personal circumstances cannot override operational requirements indefinitely.