One of my white male employees called one of my black employees a "stupid black man" and then proceeded to grab the black man by the shirt in an attempt to head butt him. Under South African labor law, is this a fire-able offense or a warning offense?
Good day. First off, there is no clear cut list of dismissable or non-dismissable offences. Each matter needs to be decided on its own merits. If you look at the Codes of Good Practice on Dismissal, you will note that the Code state that dismissal should be a last resort and particularly so in a first offence. The Code makes an exception in that it states that if the offence is of such a serious nature so as to warrant a dismissal, the employer may dismiss, even if it was the first offence.What the employee did, would constitute assault in a court of law and in accordance with Item 3(4) of the Codes of Good Practice, that is one of the examples given as a reason for a dismissable offence. In my opinion, a dismissal would be warranted in this circumstance.Note that, even though a dismissal is probably warranted, you still need to follow a proper procedure. That is explained in Item 4 of the Code.
If you are satisfied with the quality of my service, please rate me between okay service and excellent service in order for me to get paid for my work. If not, please choose to reply to expert and put your further questions for my consideration.