Depression diagnosis isn't an automatic shield against a performance dismissal
Abels v University of Stellenbosch and Others — Labour Court, Cape Town · (C362/2023) [2025] ZALCCT 43
What happened
A university administrator dismissed for poor performance argued his depression diagnosis should have protected him from dismissal. The Labour Court upheld a CCMA finding that the university had followed a fair incapacity process — a performance improvement plan, support and medical leave — and that the employee had not shown his condition directly caused the performance failures.
Why it made the news
Widely discussed in HR and legal media as a rare, detailed test of how mental health interacts with incapacity dismissals.
For lawyers & law students
Confirms the employee carries the onus of establishing a causal link between a mental health condition and the performance shortfall in an incapacity dismissal, and that an employer's documented accommodation efforts (PIP, support, leave) will weigh heavily in its favour. Useful precedent for incapacity-versus-misconduct pleadings involving disclosed mental health conditions.
For citizens
Employees with mental health conditions still have real workplace protection, but simply citing a diagnosis won't automatically save a job — the link between the condition and the performance problem has to be shown, and documenting your situation with your employer matters.