Johannesburg - MTN’s bad-luck streak continued last week after it lost a legal battle against competitors Vodacom.
The giant cellular network company tried to poach a top executive from Vodacom, but the Johannesburg Labour Court issued a precedent-setting judgment in favour of Vodacom.
Read: Vodacom aims to stay ahead of the pack
Law firm ENSafrica represented Vodacom in the case which involved Vodacom’s chief officer for the consumer business unit, Godfrey Motsa.
Motsa resigned late in December to take up the position of MTN’s vice-president of the South and East Africa Region at the beginning of last month. This was despite the fact that the terms of his contract included a six-month notice period or “gardening leave” and a restraint of trade for a further six months.
In a first-of-its-kind judgment last week, the Johannesburg Labour Court confirmed that the so-called gardening leave forms part of South African law.
In a statement, ENSafrica said: “Vodacom was successful and the court confirmed that Mr Motsa will spend six months on gardening leave until the expiry of his notice period in June 2016, and that he is also prevented from working for MTN - or any similar competitor - for a further six months, in terms of the restraint-of-trade clause.”
The court further explained the importance of gardening leave and why it had to be enforced in the Motsa case.
“As a general principle, an employee does not have a right to work (with some exception) and the employer therefore does not breach the contract of employment if it does not provide work to the employee.
“The term ‘gardening leave’ arises from this general principle and refers to an employer’s legal right to require (usually senior) employees not to report for duty during the notice period, but where the employee is still entitled to his or her full benefits during the period of gardening leave.
MTN spokesman Chris Maroleng said they would comment today.
THE STAR