Judgement passed in missing chicken saga
Acting judge Piet Shai said there was no need to prove individual guilt
IN an interesting turn of events, the Durban Labour Court ruled in favour of local Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) outlet after 11 of it’s employees took the franchise to CCMA on the grounds of unfair dismissal.
The employees were originally dismissed in May 2010 when 245 pieces of chicken, 65kgs of chips, 424 cans of cooldrink and 518 cans of juice went missing in just two shifts that the said 11 were working in at the KFC in Malvern.
After the initial theft, surveillance cameras were installed and a guard was hired to search all employees as well as their bags on entry and exit of the building, but still the stock theft continued.
The employees were called for a disciplinary hearing in which none offered information which is when they employees were dismissed.
The employees took the matter to the CCMA saying that the employer had failed to prove that any one of them had been involved in the theft. Acting judge, Piet Shai said, as with the principle of “common cause purpose”, there was no need to prove individual guilt.
“It is sufficient that the individual is a member of a team which has failed to meet its obligations, in this case to ensure there were no stock losses. They were given an opportunity to come clean, but did not,” he said, setting aside the CCMA award and ordering the former employees to pay the costs of the review application
