⚖ The Advocate
Disability Rights

We Need Someone More Reliable — Your Disability Affects Our Business

Recognising dismissal that is automatically unfair when rooted in disability discrimination

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The Situation

What They Said

“We need someone more reliable — your disability affects our business.”
An employer dismissed an employee, ostensibly for 'operational reasons' or 'reliability issues', but the comments made before and during the dismissal process made clear that the real reason was the employee's disability — their condition caused occasional absences or reduced output. No incapacity process was followed and no accommodation was explored.
The Fallacy

Disability-Linked Performance Is a Neutral Business Decision

When an employer's stated reason for dismissal is reliability or productivity, but the root cause is the employee's disability — and no accommodation was explored — the dismissal is not neutral. It is dismissal rooted in disability discrimination. The LRA classifies this as automatically unfair dismissal, and the Employment Equity Act prohibits unfair discrimination on the grounds of disability. The employer cannot launder a discriminatory dismissal by calling it a business decision.

What the Law Says

Your Legal Foundation

Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995
Section 187(1)(f) — Automatically Unfair Dismissal — Dismissal Based on Disability Is Automatically Unfair
“A dismissal is automatically unfair if the employer, in dismissing the employee, acts contrary to section 5 or, if the reason for the dismissal is that the employer unfairly discriminated against an employee, directly or indirectly, on any arbitrary ground including, but not limited to race, gender, sex, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, political opinion, culture, language, marital status or family responsibility.”
If your dismissal was motivated — even in part — by your disability, it is automatically unfair under Section 187 of the LRA. This is the strongest category of unfair dismissal in South African law. Remedies include reinstatement or maximum compensation. You can refer this to the CCMA within 30 days.
What Scripture Says

God's Word on This

1 Samuel 16:7 (NET)
“But the LORD said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance or his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD does not see as man sees — man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.'”
God's standard is not external capacity but the character and worth of the person. An employer who reduces a person to their condition — and discards them for it — contradicts both this principle and the law.
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What They'll Say Next

Common Counter-Arguments

After you respond, they may push back with these arguments. Members get the full rebuttal for each.

They might say: “We gave you three written warnings for absenteeism — this dismissal is for misconduct, not disability.”
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They might say: “You never disclosed your disability to us — so we cannot be expected to accommodate what we did not know about.”
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