Noosi v Exxaro Matla Coal (JR291/2011) [2015] ZALCJHB 186 (25 June 2015) per Molahlehi J.
On review the Labour Court upheld the award confirming that the reason for dismissal was valid and fair. An electrician was alleged to have failed to install an emergency stop wire after being instructed to do so by the senior foreman. The employee’s defence was that the instruction had not come from his immediate superior. The Labour Court held that the instruction given fell within the responsibility of the employee. The test is not whether the instructions falls within the employee’s job description but whether it was reasonable and lawful. In other words an employee cannot refuse to comply with a lawful instruction simply because it does not relate to his function or does not come from his immediate superior.