Metro cop loses job after Facebook photos expose sick-leave party

Cape Town metro officer loses Labour Court challenge after dismissal for attending year-end party while on sick-leave.

A Cape Town law enforcement officer’s 14 years of clean service could not save his job after Facebook photographs showed him at a staff year-end party while he had been booked off sick.

The Labour Court has backed the City of Cape Town’s decision to dismiss the officer for dishonesty, with Acting Judge Snyman finding there was no basis to interfere with an arbitrator’s ruling that losing his job was a fair sanction.

The officer, identified in the judgment as May, had been employed by the City's Safety and Security Directorate since 2010 before he was dismissed in February 2024.

The case dates back to December 2022 when May was booked off sick from December 12 to 14.

He returned to work on December 15 and worked from 8am until about 2pm.

Later that day, he attended a staff year-end function which had not been approved by the City. Photographs from the event were later posted on Facebook and showed May at the function, where he ate and remained until about 7pm.

The City considered his attendance at the function to be inconsistent with his sick leave and its leave policy.

According to the City's leave administration guidelines, employees on sick leave were required to conduct themselves consistently with recovery from their illness and medical treatment.

The policy also required employees who were confined to their homes while on sick leave to remain there, except when travelling for medical treatment or consultation, unless they had a motivated recommendation from a medical practitioner permitting them to leave. May was familiar with the policy.

May told the arbitration that he only became aware of the function after receiving a telephone call later that afternoon from a colleague. He said he attended because the employees had something for him following his hospitalisation.

May initially faced three disciplinary charges: leaving work before the end of his shift without permission, dishonesty relating to his sick leave, and insubordination for attending an unauthorised staff function.

He was acquitted of the first charge but found guilty of the second and third charges at his disciplinary hearing. He was subsequently dismissed in February 2024.

On appeal, the guilty finding on the insubordination charge was overturned. The appeal chairperson found that May could not have received the instruction prohibiting the function because he had been off sick when the instruction was issued.