Picture this: an employee facing a disciplinary hearing suddenly raises “stress” or “depression” as a factor. Do you pause the process? Ask for a medical report? Proceed anyway?
Get it wrong, and you’re looking at a CCMA referral, a discrimination claim, or a costly settlement. Get it right, and you protect both your people and your business.
Mental health cases sit at the collision point of the BCEA, the LRA, and POPIA — and most employers are making decisions here without a clear legal framework. This webinar gives you one.
A real example of how this goes wrong
An employee at a major financial services company was pushed to apologise to a colleague or resign — while dealing with anxiety and depression the company knew about. He resigned. He later claimed constructive dismissal.
The company argued it was a performance issue. The Labour Appeal Court disagreed: because the employer never paused to consider an incapacity process, and effectively ignored the employee’s known mental health condition throughout, the resignation was found to be a dismissal — and the company was ordered to pay compensation.
The lesson: it’s not enough to have good intentions. If an employee’s mental health is known to you, your process has to show it was considered — or a court will assume it wasn’t.
In 90 minutes, you’ll walk away knowing:
- The legal line between incapacity and misconduct — and why misclassifying it is one of the costliest mistakes employers make
- Exactly what you can and cannot ask for when mental health is raised (medical reports, functional assessments, and the confidentiality limits under POPIA)
- How to handle a “last-minute” mental health claim raised mid-disciplinary-process without derailing it or exposing yourself to risk
- What “reasonable accommodation” actually means in practice — and where it tips into undue hardship
- The documentation habits that protect your business if a case is ever challenged
Who this is for
HR professionals, line managers, business owners, and labour relations practitioners — anyone who has to make a call on performance, discipline, or wellbeing and needs to know they’re standing on solid legal ground.
Meet Your Facilitator: Angus Bailie
Angus blends deep expertise with a famously dry sense of humour, making his webinars both highly informative and entertaining. With over 20 years of legal experience, including 13 running his own law firm and a stint as Acting Judge of the Labour Court, he’s the perfect guide for navigating South African labour law.
He’s also an experienced lecturer (Pearson Institute & University of the Free State) and a SETA-accredited facilitator and trainer.
Register
Date: Thursday 3 December, 09h00–10h30
Delivered live via Zoom
Cost: R895 per attendee
PLEASE NOTE: We will be in touch with you to arrange payment and send you the relevant info for this webinar.
