Education Official Who Was Absent From Work for 8 Years Reinstated and Wins R2m
- An education official who was fired after being absent from work for almost eight years has been reinstated
- She appealed her dismissal and was successful in getting her job back and winning R2 million in back pay
- She had wanted her salary paid for the eight years she was off work but this was considered unpaid leave
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Nontle Nako took almost eight years off work to study was fired from her position as a deputy chief education specialist. She was studying for a psychology doctorate in the US. She was fired but has been reinstated and has won R2 million in back pay.
She appealed her termination by the Eastern Cape Education Department where she asked for R3.4 million in back pay.
This was declined by the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) arbitrator, instead, she got another offer of just over R2 million which covers her salary for six weeks when she returned from America and the period after she was fired in 2016 according to Times Live.
Source: Facebook
She had been dismissed in 2015 after being found guilty of gross misconduct, her application for leave had been refused. Nako appealed the decision and after 27 hearing her case was concluded on March 25.
John Robertson, the arbitrator in the case, argued that several different versions given by individuals revealed that Noko was granted vacation without pay and when she returned she would have an opportunity to plead her case, which she was not given as she was fired.
Noko's complained that she had not been paid for the period between April 2009 and June 2015 after the department stopped her salary. This was rejected by Robertson due to her being on unpaid leave.
Earlier, Briefly.co.za reported that University of London’s School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS) Unison revealed that members backed a vote of no confidence in Adam Habib. The SOAS held an emergency meeting on Tuesday, 23 March.
Unison is one of two unions that represents some staff at the university. The other union, University and College Union (UCU), has not held a vote on this matter.
The meeting resulted in 98% of the Unison members present at the time voting in favour of the no-confidence motion while 2% abstained from the voting process. The members also called for the school to ensure that no student who challenged Habib face any repercussions.
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Source: Briefly News
