High Court grants reprieve to woman facing eviction after workplace romance sours

A St Helena Bay woman caught in the aftermath of a failed workplace romance has secured a significant legal victory against her former employer.

Lauren Ebony Masimla, who was dismissed from Pioneer Fishing after her relationship with the chief operating officer deteriorated, will not be forced from her company-provided home while her unfair dismissal case is pending before the Labour Court.

Masimla, who was a human resources manager at Pioneer Fishing (PTY) LTD, was dismissed from her position in June 2023, having faced charges of misconduct and dereliction of duty, but she has since taken the matter to the Labour Court for a review of the sanction. 

In the Labour Court, she does not seek reinstatement as a remedy but a declaration of unfair dismissal and harassment and an award of compensation.

Since her dismissal, she was served with a notice of eviction by Premier Fishing’s chief operating officer, Pieter Greeff, in October 2023.

She opposed the motion proceedings, which commenced in the Vredenburg Magistrate's Court on March 1, 2024, in terms of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act, 19 of 1998 ("PIE Act").

In the lower court, the magistrate suspended eviction proceedings until the Labour Court made its decision. The employer appealed this ruling in the High Court in another attempt to evict the mother and primary breadwinner who heads her household.

According to details which emerged in court documents, Greeff and Masimla were previously in a romantic relationship, and after a breakdown in the relationship, she was dismissed, and the eviction proceedings were launched against her.

As a benefit by virtue of her employment, Masimla was provided with staff accommodation in St Helena Bay. A condition of the occupation of the home was that the lease would terminate when Masimla’s employment terminated. 

Masimla started working at the company in 2015 and took occupation of the home in 2022.

In handing down judgment, High Court Acting Judge Roy Barendse said: “This court makes no presumptions around the reasons, lawfulness, and fairness of Masimla's dismissal; the Labour Court is being seized with those issues.

“Masimla's lease can only be terminated on account of the termination of her employment if her dismissal was lawful. This should be obvious. When considering a PIE application, the first determination that the court must make is whether the occupier is an unlawful occupier. The Labour Court will make a declaration as to whether Pioneer Fishing acted lawfully when dismissing her. The appellants' stance that because of her mere dismissal, Masimla became an unlawful occupier is opportunistic and without merit,” said Acting Judge Barendse.

Further in judgment, the court said: “There is, in my view, simply no basis on which it can be found that the magistrate wrongly exercised his discretion when granting an order for the stay of the eviction proceedings.” 

Enquiries to the employer and their attorneys were not answered by deadline.