Ranger was speaking in reference to a labour matter dating back to 2014/15, involving a Chief Director at the Free State Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, who procured business from the same department for her guesthouse during the Macufe festival. The Labour Court in mid-October 2022 found in favour of the employer on the matter. Ranger unpacks the case below: 

Breakdown of the conflict-of-interest case

The employee, who is only referred to in court documents as Ms Masekoa, was a Chief Director responsible for the arts, culture and heritage portfolio. Ms Masekoa concluded a business deal on behalf of her guesthouse, for accommodation for artists participating in Macufe concerts. Macufe is run by the aforementioned department. Her guesthouse was paid R288,000 for the services rendered. According to Ranger, the dispute took place in 2014 and the ultimate dismissal in 2015. The matter stood before the bargaining council, which found in favour of the former Chief Director and most recently before the Labour Court.

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The Labour Court found against the employee in October 2022

Ranger says “the Labour Appeal Court had to make a finding on substantive fairness. So ultimately it came down to two charges of misconduct: (1) a conflict or potential conflict of interest and (2) engaging in conduct which infringed on the execution of official duties which was also in contravention of the senior management services handbook”.

Whilst there is no rule that expressly prohibited the former Chief Director from doing business with the department, Ranger explains that in terms of the aforementioned handbook, she was required to disclose any conflicts of interests and take steps to avoid such conflicts.

To make the situation worse, the employee justified the deal alleging she thought she was concluding it with a private company. The Labour Court found that this was unlikely considering the seniority of her position and duties. Furthermore, she eliminated competing quotations by other guesthouses and only submitted her own establishment’s quotation.

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The most recent judgment by the Labour Court upheld the appeal by the Free State Department of Sports, Arts and Culture and set aside the arbitrator’s award, thereby dismissing the claim.

The key takeaway

The Senior Dispute Resolution Official tells the OFM Business Hour that employees need to: 

• Be honest and transparent 
• Act with integrity 
• Act and conduct yourself in the best interests of the company that you work for. 
• Your personal interests should not conflict with your duty in the workplace. 

OFM