{
  "id": 9180046,
  "title": "Metro cop loses job after Facebook photos expose sick-leave party",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/metro-cop-loses-job-after-facebook-photos-expose-sick-leave-party",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-22T19:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "IOL",
    "slug": "iol",
    "url": "https://iol.co.za/capeargus/news/2026-09-22-metro-cop-loses-job-after-facebook-photos-expose-sick-leave-party/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A Cape Town police officer who had a spotless record for 14 years lost his job after Facebook photos revealed he was at a staff year-end party while he was on sick leave. The Labour Court upheld the City of Cape Town's decision to dismiss the officer for dishonesty, with Acting Judge Snyman finding no basis to overrule the arbitrator's ruling that losing his job was a fair punishment. The officer, referred to as May in the judgment, had been with the City's Safety and Security Directorate since 2010 before his dismissal in February 2024. The case began in December 2022 when May was off sick from December 12 to 14 and returned to work on December 15. He attended an unapproved staff year-end function on the same day, which the City deemed inconsistent with his sick leave policy. Photos from the event were shared on Facebook showing May eating and remaining until around 7pm. The City considered his presence at the function to be a breach of their leave guidelines, leading to charges of dishonesty along with other offenses. Although he was acquitted of one charge, May was found guilty of dishonesty and insubordination and dismissed in February 2024. The case was appealed, and while the guilty finding on insubordination was overturned, the dishonesty charge remained. The union referred the unfair dismissal to the South African Local Government Bargaining Council (SALGBC), which then brought it to arbitration. The arbitrator ruled that May's dismissal was substantively fair in November 2024. However, the applicants, including May, approached the Labour Court to have the arbitration award reviewed and overturned, but their application was filed 21 days late, outside the six-week statutory period. The court denied condonation for the late filing and examined the merits of the review, finding that the arbitrator had properly assessed the evidence and that May's attendance at the function while on sick leave and the City's policy on employee conduct during sick leave warranted his dismissal.",
  "summary": "The Labour Court upheld the dismissal of a Cape Town law-enforcement officer after Facebook photographs showed him attending a staff function while booked off sick.",
  "key_points": [
    "Cape Town police officer dismissed for Facebook photos showing sick leave violation.",
    "Officer attended unapproved year-end staff function while on sick leave in Dec 2022.",
    "Labour Court upholds dismissal ruling, dismissing insubordination charge."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}