Constitutional Court clarifies Labour Courts jurisdiction

June 29, 2024

In a recent case, the Constitutional Court considered whether the Labour Court can adjudicate cases challenging the procedures used when employees are laid off for operational reasons. The relevant legislation says that the Labour Court cannot decide on these issues if the case is brought to it in a certain way, specifically after an attempt to resolve the dispute outside court has failed.

In this case, the Constitutional Court ruled that the Labour Court does have the power to handle cases about the fairness of the procedures used in large scale lay-offs, which gives employees the right to take their case to court. However, it also said that if the dispute comes to the Labour Court after an initial resolution attempt, then the Labour Court would not have jurisdiction in those circumstances.