An unemployed teacher who worked on contract took the Western Cape Department of Education Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) after she was not hired when her contract ended.
Sibahle Qhiphu was employed as an educator at Wallasdene Secondary School in Cape Town.
When her contract ended in December 2024, she referred an unfair dismissal dispute to the ELRC. She explained that her dispute was about non-conversion to a permanent position, because she applied to be converted to permanent, but she was not converted and now she was unemployed.
She had the necessary qualification required for the position. She has a Grade 12 certificate, a National Diploma in Adult Basic Education and Training. The position in question was for a teacher in English First Additional Language and Tourism in the Further Education and Training (FET) phase and she was teaching those subjects when she was on contract.
Explaining her ordeal, Qiphu said she was on lunch when she was informed by the school secretary, Zandile Faye, that she had to quickly certify her documents as the circuit manager would be at the school to sign the applications.
She got a lift from her colleague to get her documents certified but when she returned to the school at around 4PM, in order to hand in her documents, everybody at the office already left. She went home with the documents and submitted them on Tuesday November 19, 2024, four days later.
She did not receive any feedback after submitting her application.
She maintained she was not aware that November 15 was the last day for submission of the applications. She was not told that it was urgent and that there was a deadline.
She said she submitted her documents on the Tuesday, because she could not find her documents on the Monday, November 18, 2024, and she did not know it was urgent.
She stated that her colleagues who also applied for conversion did not inform her of the deadline. She was asked where she found other application documents to submit on November 19, 2024, if she had lost her documents. She stated that she made additional copies of the documents, because she would always make extra copies of documents.
The school principal, Pauline Mcako, testified that on the closing day, there was a morning briefing session where all educators were informed that they needed to submit their applications for conversion by November 15, 2024.
Mcako added that Qiphu was a regular late submitter when coming to submitting required information at the school. She claims that was also late when submitting documents for her contract to be extended.
The school secretary, Zandile Faye, also testified that she gave Qiphu the forms around the first week of November and also reminded her to submit the documents every time she passed her desk when coming to clock in at the office.
She denied giving Qiphu the documents of the closing day.
Looking at the evidence, Commissioner Marlon Plaatjies said it was apparent that Qiphu was made aware of the deadline submission and that she failed to submit her application before the deadline date hence she was not considered for conversion.
“The reason for her non-conversion had nothing to do with the stipulations in the collective agreement but has everything to do with her not submitting her application for conversion by the deadline date for submission.”
Plaatjies said Qiphu failed to provide proof that she was unfairly dismissed because evidence suggests that she was employed on a fixed-term contract which expired during December 2024.
“There is no evidence placed before me to suggest that the non-renewal of her fixed-term contract constituted a dismissal and that such dismissal was unfair.”
Qiphu’s application was dismissed.
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