Abstract:
This article explores the overlap between the unlawful termination of a contract of
employment and the unfair dismissal of an employee. The Supreme Court of Appeal
has in a sequence of cases developed the common-law contract of employment to
include the implied right to a pre-dismissal hearing. Owing to the fact that labour
legislation already regulates unfair dismissal law, this in effect creates a dual system
of dispute resolution in relation to the termination of contracts of employment. The
focus of this contribution is on the factors that allure dismissed employees to the civil
courts and it highlights the problems that are associated with the overlap of the High
Court’s and the Labour Court’s jurisdictions. Future developments are traversed and
the Constitutional Court is called upon to bring an end to the development of parallel
dispute resolution systems in respect of dismissal disputes.
