Enforcing workplace rules frequently relies on employees reporting misconduct that they have witnessed by fellow employees to their employer. This is vital for maintaining workplace discipline and ensuring that employees adhere to the employer's rules. But what is the worst that can happen to an employee who elects to protect a fellow employee by keeping quiet about their transgressions?

The CCMA recently adjudicated an unfair dismissal dispute in the case of Makhoba v The Magic Company [2024] 6 BALR 632 (CCMA). In this matter, the employer found two employees close to one another who appeared to have been consuming alcohol on the employer’s premises. The employer could not prove that the dismissed employee B  indeed consumed alcohol on the employer’s premises.

The employer’s policy specifically provided that “the employee shall immediately report any breach of company standards and rules.” Employee B was aware of this rule in the workplace and could offer no plausible reason for his failure to report employee A’s misconduct as he had had sufficient time to do so.