Amendment of section 4 of Act 26 of 2000 

Amendment of section 4 of Act 26 of 2000 

Section 4 of the principal Act is hereby amended— 

(a) by the substitution in subsection (1) for the words preceding paragraph (a) of the following words: 

‘‘Any employee who has been subjected, is [subject] subjected or may be subjected, to an occupational detriment in breach of section 3, or anyone acting on behalf of an employee who is not able to act in his or her own name, may—’’; 

(b) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (1): 

‘‘(1A) Any worker who has been subjected, is subjected or may be subjected, to an occupational detriment in breach of section 3, or anyone on behalf of a worker who is not able to act in his or her own name, may approach any court having jurisdiction for appropriate relief. 

(1B) If the court or tribunal, including the Labour Court is satisfied that an employee or worker has been subjected to or will be subjected to an occupational detriment on account of a protected disclosure, it may make an appropriate order that is just and equitable in the circumstances, including— 

(a) payment of compensation by the employer or client, as the case may be, to that employee or worker; 

(b) payment by the employer or client, as the case may be, of actual damages suffered by the employee or worker; or 

(c) an order directing the employer or client, as the case may be, to take steps to remedy the occupational detriment.’’; 

(c) by the substitution in subsection (2) for paragraphs(a) and (b) of the following paragraphs: 

‘‘(a) any dismissal in breach of section 3 is deemed to be an automatically unfair dismissal as contemplated in section 187 of that Act, and the dispute about such a dismissal [must] may follow the procedure set out in Chapter VIII of that Act or any other process to recover damages in a competent court; and 

(b) any other occupational detriment in breach of section 3 is deemed to be an unfair labour practice as contemplated in [Part B of Schedule 7 to] section 186(2) of that Act, and the dispute about such an unfair labour practice must follow the procedure set out in [that Part] section 191: Provided that if the matter fails to be resolved through conciliation, it may be referred to the Labour Court for adjudication.’’; and 

(d) by the substitution for subsection (4) of the following subsection: ‘‘(4) The terms and conditions of employment of a person transferred in terms of subsection [(2)] (3) may not, without his or her written consent, be less favourable than the terms and conditions applicable to him or her immediately before his or her transfer.’’.