On review the Labour Court upheld an award of compensation for unfair conduct relating to the procedure in awarding a discretionary bonus based on alleged performance. Five employees were halaal slaughters and each time a chicken was killed they had to utter the words, “Bismillah Allah u Akbar”. Discretionary bonuses were paid but in 2011 they did not receive bonuses. They were rated below 3 out of 5 points. The employer’s unfair process led to an unfair result. The rating in the “how” section of the appraisal was subjective and unfair according to the arbiter. The employer failed to explain how the rated elements were measurable. The arbiter’s finding is not one that is so unreasonable that no other arbiter could have come to the same conclusion. Having found that the employer acted unfairly each employee was awarded compensation equivalent to one month’s wages. That was within his discretion and is not so unreasonable that no other arbitrator could have made the same award. The award is not open to review, as opposed to appeal.
Rainbow Farms (Pty) Ltd v CCMA (C377/2012) [2015] ZALCCT 43 (29 May 2015) per Steenkamp J.