The respondent was employed by the appellant company for approximately 15 years. His service manager, Van Rooyen, accidentally drove over the respondent's foot while driving onto company premises. The following morning, after an exchange of vulgarities, the respondent assaulted Van Rooyen by kicking him in the back and throwing a punch that grazed his shoulder. Following a disciplinary enquiry, the respondent was dismissed. The respondent challenged the dismissal as unfair, arguing unequal treatment compared to an earlier incident two years prior where Ferreira (a white salesman) had assaulted the respondent, breaking his teeth, but was not dismissed. The respondent had not lodged a formal complaint about Ferreira's assault. Instead, Ferreira complained about the respondent for verbal and racial abuse, and Ferreira received only a warning.
The application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal was refused.
Where evidence establishes that an employer treated employees differently on grounds other than race, there is no scope to infer that the employee was discriminated against on grounds of race, because the reason for the disparate treatment has been established to be something else. Whether an employer has discriminated against an employee on grounds of race is a question of fact. The fact that differential treatment was not justified is immaterial to the factual enquiry as to the reason that it occurred. Differential treatment that coincides with racial disparity does not axiomatically establish racial discrimination - the actual motive for the differentiation must be proven. Unless an employer's non-racial explanation for disparate treatment is rejected as a smokescreen to conceal a discriminatory motive, there is no basis for inferring that the differentiation was based on race.
Nugent JA noted that there is uncertainty in the labour courts regarding where the burden lies of establishing that the reason for a dismissal either was or was not discriminatory, but found it unnecessary to resolve that question in this case. The Court observed that assaults at the workplace are unacceptable and will generally justify immediate dismissal. The Court also commented that while courts must be vigilant to ensure that racial discrimination does not occur in employment practices, they must equally be wary of concluding too hastily that an employee has been discriminated against on grounds of race merely because disparity of treatment coincides with racial disparity. The Court expressed disagreement with the suggestion in Mafomane v Rustenburg Platinum Mines Ltd that in the absence of a rational and justifiable basis for differentiation, an inference arises that the differentiation was made on the ground of race.
This case is significant in South African labour law as it clarifies the approach to allegations of racial discrimination in dismissal cases. It establishes that differential treatment that happens to coincide with racial disparity does not automatically constitute racial discrimination. The case provides important guidance on the evidentiary requirements for establishing discrimination on grounds of race, emphasizing that discrimination is a question of fact that requires proof of the actual motive, not merely unjustified disparate treatment. It serves as a warning against courts drawing hasty inferences of racial discrimination without proper factual foundation, while still maintaining vigilance against actual discrimination.