Labour Court rejects worker’s appeal over two-day suspension

The Labour Court rejected an unnamed worker’s appeal against Gernord Ltd T/A Gerflor, finding that his two-day suspension for refusing a return-to-work instruction was not penalisation. The decision was signed on 14 May 2009. The worker said he was suspended for raising safety concerns after asbestos was found in the workplace. The Court found that the company had taken reasonable precautions, offered him an individual meeting with its safety consultants and given a legitimate instruction to return to work. It found he was suspended for failing to obey that instruction, not for penalisation under the Act.