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IN THE LABOUR COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
HELD AT CAPE TOWN
Not reportable
Case no:C305/2023
In the matter between:
THE SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIAL SECURITY AGENCY Applicant
And
RUHAN VAN DER MERWE Respondent
Date of Judgment: 19 August 2025
JUDGMENT
CASSELLS AJ
Introduction
[1] The Applicant seeks an order reviewing and setting aside the appointment of the
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[7.1] His application for Diploma in Human Resource Management was
submitted to the Department of Higher Education;
[7.2] He had met the requirements of a National Diploma in Human Resource
Management;
[7.3] The diploma is issued by the Department of Higher Education and it takes
three to six months to get feedback from the Department of Higher
Education.
[8] Although the letter from Northlink College was on a letterhead, it contained no
date, signature or stamp from the institution.
[9] |The Respondent's lack of a diploma was referred, to the Applicant’s head office for
guidance and it was advised that the Respondent should provide an affidavit
confirming that he had completed his studies and was awaiting his diploma, and
that his academic record should be provided to indicate that his qualification had
been completed.
[10] The guidance was partially followed in that the Respondent provided an affidavit,
but not his academic record. It is disputed whether the Respondent was advised
to provide his academic record.
[11] On 10 January 2022 the Respondent’s appointment was approved and he was
appointed on 01 February 2022.
[12] NEHAWU subsequently lodged a complaint regarding the Respondent's
appointment and an independent investigator was appointed to conduct an
investigation into the recruitment process and to make a recommendation
regarding any action to be taken. The investigator's report was received by the
Applicant in June 2022.