Homing in on verbal labour law contracts

IT IS convention that offers of employment as well as contracts of employment are written down. They may be concluded orally but the final agreement is usually in writing. However, this is not a hard-and-fast rule. Verbal contracts are valid if certain requirements are met. There must be an offer and acceptance, and agreement on the terms of the contract. The case below illustrates the practicalities that need to be in place to enable an employee to rely on a verbal agreement.

IN YOUNG / The Barnes Group – (2017)26 CCMA 7.1.13:

●Young was interviewed at the East London Airport for a position at the employer’s company. After this he claimed he was offered a sales position for one of the employer’s subsidiaries.

●Young submitted that after he was offered the position the managing director (MD) changed his mind and withdrew the offer. The employee claimed that this amounted to an unfair dismissal. The employer denied ever making the offer.

●The parties’ versions were mutually destructive but the onus rested on the employee to prove that a contract had been concluded. The employee led no evidence but his own and had circumstantial evidence to support his version of events:

– The employer had gone to the expense of flying from Johannesburg to East London in a company jet to interview the candidate for an advertised position. This was the only candidate he interviewed.

– Its CEO had accompanied the HR manager, had perused the applicant’s CV and had spoken to him subsequently on the telephone. The reasons proffered for not hiring the employee were flimsy.

● The Commissioner noted the employee was a credible witness and the probabilities favoured his version.

The Commissioner held that a valid contract of employment had been concluded between the parties and that its termination constituted a dismissal. The employee was awarded compensation equal to two months’ salary at the rate he had been offered. Oral contracts are valid.