Senior Legal Adviser Played Her Employer By Getting 6 Months Paid Leave. She was accused of getting paid while she was not working and also using the money to go on costly days out with family members.
A senior legal adviser of Gauteng’s Department of Human Settlements by the name of Advocate Dineo Gomba says didn’t go to work since last year, which makes it since six months, because she had no idea where the new offices where located. The legal adviser was on a yearly leave after the offices at the Bank of Lisbon in Johannesburg Central were burned down on the 4th of September. She was accused of getting paid while she was not working and also using the money to go on costly days out with family members.
She said that she didn’t go on any holiday during her supposed work hours. However, according to Press Reader, her social media pages show that she was supposedly enjoying her time away from work by going to costly places with some of her family members. The woman deactivated her Facebook account that showed evidence of her allegedly enjoying herself, which suggested that she was doing good financially.
Her employer stopped her employment while she wasn’t there, the employer also stopped her payment in hopes that she’ll appear at the offices. The legal adviser says that she has been working at her home. Dineo Gomba says, “It’s not possible for someone not to come to work for five months and still get paid.” Her social media pages showed her having costly food with family members and also a picture of her doing figure-skating, which got her being part of the intermediary competitions. The lady was taken to the labour court in Johannesburg, where she spoke for herself.
She said her discharge was unjustified, blaming the Department of Human Settlements for not doing their job. In April, the court said that she was discharged in a rational manner. The legal adviser says she will take the matter to an appeal. She says the department was being made a victim, she also says that her and other employees worked from home because the office that they have been assigned to was inappropriate. Castro Ngobese, the Department of Human Settlements spokesperson, says they followed the correct procedure in firing her.
The Department of Human Settlements spokesperson says, “Inevitably, it took longer due to adherence to labour relations and legal procedures.” They organisation also showed the WhatsApp texts given to every worker after the fire incident. The texts told the workers where the new offices would be situated. However, Dineo Gomba didn’t go to work. They also showed an email sent to her telling her that a discharge letter would be sent to her if she doesn’t come to work. The letter was sent to her home in Kimberly on the 8th of March. The senior legal adviser is still waiting to hear if her appeal is accepted.
by Alexandra Ramaite
