PHEPHILE DEMANDS E157 580

MBABANE - Former Manzini Regional Football Association office Secretary Phephile Matsenjwa wants the association to compensate her with a total sum of E157 580.61 for unfair dismissal. According to Matsenjwa, the aforementioned amount is in respect of unlawful dismissal, arrear wages from the date of dismissal, notice pay, additional notice pay, severance allowance and leave. She has since taken the association to the Industrial Court and the matter was before Judge Bonginkhosi Magagula on Monday and he postponed it.

In her application, the applicant submitted that she was employed by the respondent (Manzini Regional Football Association) on November 1, 2011, as office secretary. According to Matsenjwa, she remained in continuous employment until April 23, 2020 where she was allegedly both procedurally and substantively dismissed by the association. It was gathered further in her submissions that at the time of her dismissal, she was earning a sum of E6 280.43.

She averred that from the time of her dismissal to date, the respondent had allegedly failed to pay her terminal benefits and compensation for unfair dismissal. “The respondent did not have substantive reason to terminate my services, as the two offences in which I was charged with that of gross dishonesty were both ambiguous and lacked clarity in that they lacked the loss or total amount allegedly misappropriated,” contended Matsenjwa. She also argued that the charges against her were not even supported by audited financial statements from a credible auditor and/or auditing company. Matsenjwa pointed out that the evidence that was submitted during the hearing was allegedly not corroborated and was not authentic.

Misconduct

She asserted that subsequent to the alleged act of misconduct, she was found guilty and a recommendation of dismissal was issued by the chairperson of the disciplinary hearing on the basis of Section 42 of the Employment Act, 1980. The applicant further brought it to the attention of the court that prior to the disciplinary hearing, she was allegedly unlawfully suspended from employment without proper and just representation. Matsenjwa argued that there was no good cause surrounding the suspension. “I was not given a proper and fair hearing in that at all material time during the course of the hearing, which was held at the respondent’s premises, the chairperson of the hearing would time and again respond on behalf of the initiator,” alleged the applicant.

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