THE South African Revenue Service (SARS) should not be compelled to reinstate someone it had fired for racism, even if the dismissal was procedurally unfair, the Constitutional Court heard on Thursday.The case may influence to what extent courts can recognise decisions by public institutions that there are lines which may not be crossed by employees and would automatically mean a irretrievable breakdown of an employment relationship.Jacobus Kruger was fired by SARS in 2007 after he twice referred to his immediate supervisor Amos Mboweni as a "k****r". In his internal disciplinary hearing, he pleaded guilty, was given a final written warning and was suspended for 10 days. But then SARS commissioner Oupa Magashule was dissatisfied with that outcome and dismissed him without a hearing.Kruger challenged his dismissal at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), which found in his favour, ordering that he be reinstated. SARS then went to the Labour Court and Labo...
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