Career’s Corner: Theft as a ground for dismissal
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GUEST - Kagiso Lebethe - Senior Employee Relations Specialist
Theft is viewed by the courts as a serious disciplinary offence and normally justifies dismissal at first instance regardless of the value of the property involved. It will not avail the employee the length of service which he/she has served, the absence of prior warnings, whether the property stolen was subsequently returned or even if the employee derived no direct benefit from such theft. The sanction of summary dismissal for theft, as such, is seen in most employers’ disciplinary codes in the workplace.
Theft is viewed by the courts as a serious disciplinary offence and normally justifies dismissal at first instance regardless of the value of the property involved. It will not avail the employee the length of service which he/she has served, the absence of prior warnings, whether the property stolen was subsequently returned or even if the employee derived no direct benefit from such theft. The sanction of summary dismissal for theft, as such, is seen in most employers’ disciplinary codes in the workplace.
