PBS specializes in Providing credit to consumers such as short-term loans

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Mokhatšana is an employee of Phunyunka Bamphethe Financial Services (PBS) in their Johannesburg Central Branch. PBS specializes in providing credit to consumers such as short-term loans. Some of Mokhatšana’s colleagues were dissatisfied with the remuneration
packages they were receiving from the employer and decided that they will start adding an
additional 1% interest on every loan.

They would also not record the interest revenue derived
from the 1% surcharge in the company’s ledger accounts. The colleagues told clients that they
should only pay their loans back in cash and not through the company’s bank accounts.
Moreover, Mokhatšana’s colleagues also made a pact in which they threatened to ‘visit
unimaginable pain and destruction to whosoever decided to ‘snitch out’ and report their
activities to the employer.

For a period of about 9 months, Mokhatšana’s colleagues collected a 1% surcharge on every
loan extended to clients without accounting for it in the company’s financial records. One day,
however, a dissatisfied debtor decided to lodge a complaint with the National Credit Regulator
(NCR) over the high interest charges on loans imposed by PBS.

It was only after that complaint to the NCR that the employer became aware of the fraudulent
practice in the PBS Johannesburg Central Branch.

During its investigation to discover those
employees who were responsible for the 1% fraudulent surcharge, every one of the employees
in the branch refused to assist the employer.

The regional manager, Dominica Dunbar, also
questioned Mokhatšana about what she knew of this surcharge scandal. Although Mokhatšana
refused to assist the employer, she explained to the manager that she was unable to assist
because she was worried about her safety.

Nevertheless, Dominica Dunbar decided that since
Mokhatšana and her colleagues refused to assist in identifying the perpetrators, they would all
be dismissed.
With reference to case law and legislation, identify and discuss with Mokhatšana about the
fairness of her dismissal.