Browsing by Author "Mylchreest, Aidan"

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    Regulating mental illness in the South African workplace — lessons from Canada
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022-12-20) Mylchreest, Aidan; Pillay, Karmini
    In post-Covid-19 South Africa, an already stressed population has returned to work. A mental health crisis is emerging and this is evident amongst employees who are struggling with mental illnesses such as depression. In these circumstances, both employers and employees will need guidance when faced with mental illness in the workplace. The recent matter of Jansen v Legal Aid South Africa (2018) 39 ILJ 2024 (LC) (‘Jansen’) is an example of a dispute that arose out of allegations of unfair discrimination and unfair dismissal, due to an employee’s depressive condition. This paper will examine the decisions of the Labour Court and the Labour Appeal Court in Jansen with a view to analyse the approach of the respective courts, in the context of disability and unfair discrimination. This paper identifies the shortcomings of the Jansen judgements and argues that both courts missed an opportunity to provide certainty to both employers and employees. This paper goes on to consider Canada’s progressive approach to mental health and the legal mechanisms developed to provide protection to employees. Canadian jurisprudence will serve as a source of comparison, with a view to extract lessons in managing mental illness in the workplace. Finally, this paper recommends that legislators consider Canada’s legal approach to mental illness with a view to develop a Code of Good Practice focused on mental illness in the workplace