Section 11(5) of the Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA) obliges every employer in the mining industry to investigate all reportable accidents and identify the underlying causes of the accident. Often, the employer engages third-party experts to conduct the investigations through the employer’s legal representatives in order to claim legal privilege over these reports. This raises the question whether a presiding officer can compel the employer to disclose a report during a mine health and safety inquiry.
New twist to the right to make representations against precautionary suspension
The Constitutional Court’s judgment in Long v SAB (Pty) Ltd (2019) 40 ILJ 965 (CC) (“Long’’) is often cited in unfair suspension disputes. In Long, the Constitutional Court ruled that an employee generally does not suffer material prejudice as a result of a precautionary suspension, even if they were denied an opportunity to make representations before the suspension.