Investigating the Possibility of Dismissing an Employee on Account of Breach of COVID-19 Regulations

Abstract

The taking of disciplinary action against employees who fail to comply with COVID-19 regulations appears to be a route that employers would prefer to ensure the safety of employees and other people in the workplace. Generally, employers are compelled by law to provide a safe working environment. Employees, on the other hand, are also obliged to play their role in ensuring their own safety and that of fellow employees. Safety measures in the workplace will include compliance with COVID-19 regulations. If employees fail to comply with COVID-19 regulations, their conduct will put the lives of other employees or people in the workplace at risk of contracting the virus. To enforce compliance with safety rules and COVID-19 measures, employers need to adopt a policy that will regulate COVID-19-related conduct and consequences for the failure to comply with such regulations. The failure to comply with a policy that regulates the conduct of employees in the workplace may constitute misconduct. An employer may impose a sanction of dismissal on such employees. The question that arises is whether dismissal for the failure to obey COVID-19 rules will be an appropriate sanction and perhaps justified in terms of the Constitution? The article argues that the dismissal will be justified in terms of section 36 of the Constitution. It will aim to achieve the worthwhile purpose of protecting employees against COVID-19 transmission and saving their lives as the virus has killed many people in the past two years. It will also save the employer from liability for the failure to ensure a safe working environment as such employees will risk other employees with the transmission of the virus.