CARMEL RICKARD: A case of unusual initiative
The owner of a company who did not scrutinise an employment agreement carefully later had to pay the price for his negligence
Employers are usually in the driving seat when it comes to employment contracts, tweaking clauses at will and offering staff a take-it-or-leave-it deal. But then along comes an employee who gets the better of the boss — using a contract. The case of Marinique de Wet against World Luxury Hotel Awards concerns a contract with a unique clause, one that took the labour court completely by surprise.And the manager who signed the document hadn’t spotted it was there.In 2006 De Wet was appointed manager of the company, an international hotel marketing scheme, during its embryonic stage. She and owner Brandon Lourens signed an initial contract in September 2006, with a monthly incentive based on the scheme’s turnover.Seven years later, in March 2013, De Wet and Lourens signed a new contract, drafted by De Wet’s brother.Both De Wet and Lourens would later give evidence that Lourens "paged through it" before initialling every page and then signing in full.When the relationship had deteriorate...
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