The judge dismissed the case and ordered Meth to pay costs of Nedbank, Sun City and Ngcwabe’s exception.
The Johannesburg Labour Court has dismissed a case of discrimination and coercion against Nedbank by former group marketing manager of brand strategy Erwin Sonwabile Meth.
In addition, Meth wanted the bank, Sun City Resort and his ex-lover, Luntu Ngcwabe, Nedbank’s sector lead of holding entities and private equity, to pay R45 million in damages after the resort released a video which resulted in the termination of his employment.
In a podcast called Engineer Your Life, Meth detailed how his relationship with Ngcwabe, who was married to a woman at the time, started and how it impacted his life at the bank after people became aware of their affair.
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The beginning of Meth’s problems at Nedbank
Meth said the relationship started in 2017 and in the same year, an unknown person, whom he refused to name in the podcast, laid a complaint with Nedbank’s human resources (HR) department, labelling him a paedophile.
He cited that first complaint as the beginning of trouble at the bank. Meth alleged this is when people became aware of the relationship and started discriminating against him for being a homewrecker on top of being gay.
He said he was never invited to any work events, despite being the bank’s marketing manager. Meth’s relationship at the time took a turn for the worse and, coupled with the discrimination at work, led to him being admitted for mental illness.
Mutual separation agreement with Nedbank
Nedbank hosts the prestigious Nedbank Golf Challenge, which Meth was never invited to but tagged along as Ngcwabe’s plus one. Meth alleged that upon check-in at Sun City, they were told one of them would have to sleep on the couch, but they took this as a joke.
However, a fight ensued between them and Sun City employees, which Meth alleged was one of the reasons why he was offered a mutual separation agreement.
A mutual separation agreement is a legal contract between an employer and employee that ends the employment relationship by mutual consent, rather than by dismissal or resignation.
Meth accused Nedbank of making him sign the agreement under duress and also Sun City of altering a video of the fight, which he said put him in a bad light.
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Court order
In court papers, judge Rajesan Bhima said the affair between the two was kept secret for a while, then was discovered by Ngcwabe’s wife and became common knowledge among employees of Nedbank.
“The plaintiff [Meth] appears to allege that as a result of the aforegoing, he was victimised, discriminated and harassed at work,” said Bhima.
It is detailed that Meth had multiple arguments with third parties, including Sun City staff and damaged Sun City property.
Nedbank responds
A Nedbank spokesperson told The Citizen they welcome the judgment handed down by the Labour Court.
“Nedbank has maintained that it handled the matter in a procedurally fair manner, and this judgment affirms our stance.
“Nedbank strives to create a culture of equality, inclusion and belonging, and we do not tolerate unfair discrimination and expect all our employees to act in a way that embraces and accommodates the differences or unique characteristics of all our stakeholders.”
The bank was also asked about the allegations made by Meth on the podcast and if Ngcwabe is still employed at the bank.
“We cannot comment on previous or current employees as we are legally and contractually obliged to maintain their privacy.”
However, according to Ngcwabe’s LinkedIn profile, he is employed at the bank as a Sector Lead for Holding Entities and Private Equity.
In court papers, Nedbank argued that it does not seek to set aside the mutual separation agreement, nor does it tender restitution of performance received under the settlement agreement.
“While the plaintiff [Meth] has pleaded that the mutual separation agreement is void for a number of reasons, the plaintiff [Meth] also alleges that its claim is based on a breach of the mutual separation agreement. At the very least, this renders the statement of claim vague and embarrassing,” said the judge.
The judge said the claim doesn’t show a valid reason for a lawsuit. At best, it hints at a vague damages claim, but the law clearly requires a claim for breach of contract to include the contract terms, the breach, the damages, a connection between the breach and damages, and that the loss isn’t too far removed.
“At best for the plaintiff, necessary allegations are missing. As such, the statement of claim does not meet the requisite standard.”
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No case against Sun City
Sun City resort had not replied to The Citizen’s inquiry at the time of publishing. Sun City’s comment will be added once received. However, the court was told by the resort’s counsel that no cause of action has been disclosed against the resort, in delict or otherwise
“The pleaded case against Sun City is unfathomable. On a generous reading, there may be a claim in delict,” said the judge.
“Unfortunately, the basic elements to sustain such a claim: conduct, wrongfulness, fault, causatio, and damage have not been properly pleaded. It is also unclear from the pleading why Sun City owed the plaintiff a duty of care and if it did, how it breached the same.”
The judge added that no valid claim had been made against Sun City, so its objection must be upheld.
The ex-lover
Meth also wanted Ngcwabe to jointly pay R45 million with Nedbank and Sun City. However, Ngcwabe told the court that it lacks jurisdiction as there was no employment relationship between him and Meth.
“The only conceivable way that this court would have jurisdiction with regard to the claim against Ngcwabe in the present circumstances is if there was a violation of a fundamental right entrenched in the Constitution and it arose from ‘labour relations’,” said the Judge.
“Unfortunately for the plaintiff, the statement of case is devoid of the necessary allegations to support any such conclusion. Counsel for the plaintiff also conceded, correctly in my view, that no proper cause of action had been pleaded against Ngcwabe.”
Badly drafted
“The plaintiff was legally represented by attorneys and counsel, and the statement of claim emanated from an attorney. It was, however, so badly drafted that there can be no finding other than the upholding of the exceptions,” added the judge.
“In my view, in those circumstances, it would be unfair for the defendants to bear the costs associated with the exceptions which were not only well taken but, in my view, necessary.”
The judge dismissed the case and ordered Meth to pay the costs of Nedbank, Sun City and Ngcwabe’s exception.
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