Labour Court battle over Malmesbury Ford Manager’s transfer
A Finance and Insurance (F&I) Manager with a clean disciplinary record at Malmesbury Ford has been confined to a boardroom for weeks, unable to earn commission, after obtaining a court order preventing her employer from transferring her to Springbok - 540 km away along the N7.
Linda Bain, employed at Malmesbury Ford since 2020, says: “I am being treated like a criminal. I have never been so humiliated in my life. This ordeal has left me broken. There are even rumours circulating that I was dismissed.” Malmesbury Ford was acquired by MMU Property Investments in December last year.
Bain, a long-standing member of MISA (Motor Industry Staff Association), recently approached the Union’s Legal Department to protect her against what she alleges to be unfair treatment in the workplace. In May, MISA filed an urgent Labour Court application after MMU unilaterally changed Bain’s contractual terms and conditions (including her place of work), removed her company vehicle and laptop and revoked her registration as an accredited F&I Manager.
MISA argued that MMU’s conduct was designed to force Bain out to appoint a replacement, causing her significant emotional distress. Before the urgent interdict application was heard, MMU signed a settlement agreement consenting to the relief sought in the urgent application, which was subsequently made an order of court. The order required MMU to immediately reinstate Bain at Ford Malmesbury, restore her F&I accreditation and registration, provide her with a laptop and pay R35,000 in legal costs.
However, upon returning to work, Bain was allegedly instructed to sit in a boardroom without a laptop, email access, or the authority to perform her duties as F&I Manager. MISA subsequently filed a contempt of court application, alleging that MMU and its owners, Mohsin and Mohammed Wadee, deliberately disobeyed the court order. Bain was later told that she was not welcome and would not be permitted to resume her duties. Her April salary was also withheld and only recently released.
MMU hoped Bain would accept a R120,000 settlement, which was allegedly offered directly to her, to resign. MISA has asked the Court to impose sanctions to uphold judicial authority and penalise MMU’s alleged non-compliance.
In response, MMU and the Wadees filed a counter-application to rescind and set aside the court order, claiming that the settlement agreement was not signed by an authorised person. Mohammed Wadee argued that MMU has complied with the order because Bain had returned to Malmesbury and had been paid. He further insisted that neither he nor his brother was responsible for staffing or IT matters.
Wadee also accused Bain of being dishonest, racist and Islamophobic, alleging that she made derogatory remarks about the business being owned by Indians and Muslims. He claimed that employees overheard her using offensive slurs, although their identities had not been disclosed. MMU further stated that it reserves the right to pursue criminal charges or refer the alleged derogatory remarks to the Human Rights Commission. Bain denies these allegations.
Wadee cited poor performance as the reason behind MMU’s decision to transfer Bain and that its Springbok branch would have been a better fit for Bain because it generates more business than Malmesbury and has a more relaxed and “old-fashioned” environment. According to Wadee, Bain and her “habits” would fit in better at Springbok and the transfer was neither intended as punishment nor an attempt to force her out of the business.
MISA is opposing the rescission application and pursuing the contempt of court proceedings.
Issued by Sonja Carstens, Manager of MISA’s Media & Communication Department, on behalf of the Union.
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Caption: Linda Bain, a Finance and Insurance (F&I) Manager at Malmesbury Ford, with Anneke Venter, one of MISA’s Senior Labour Advisors.