Welcome to this edition of Case Law Review for our Namibia audience. This is in the Labour Court of Namibia. Shoprite Namibia versus Salvador. This is a case that came out in August 2025 and is an appeal on an arbitration award that deals with the difference between an employee assaulting a fellow co-worker in the context of a scuffle, so with other words there’s some kind of argument or fight at work, and whether that can be differentiated with a deliberate act of assault that is outside the context of that kind of scuffle, whereby an employee will simply walk up to a fellow colleague and then assault that person.

What Was the Arbitrator’s Initial Ruling?

It’s quite interesting that in this case the arbitrator basically found that the dismissal of this employee was procedurally fair, but substantively unfair. Quite interesting is the arbitrator found that the dismissal, from a substantive perspective, was for a valid reason but not a fair reason.

And basically, as you know, that means that even though the employee is guilty of the offence itself, that the dismissal as a sanction was probably one step too far or maybe too harsh.

What Were the Details of the Assault Incident?

The employee is a grocery shelf packet at ShopRite since 2020. And in December 2022, a scuffle broke out at work, specifically between the employee and a fellow co-worker. The applicant found out that the co-worker called him a baboon, which aggravated him and made him quite angry. He then told the co-worker, who was a female employee, that she must close her legs, simultaneously hitting his own penis and sticking out his tongue. The co-worker then threw a bottle at him, but it missed. He then got up and punched her in the face and also kicked her in the stomach, even though she was five months pregnant.

Why Did the Labor Court Overturn the Arbitrator’s Decision?

The labor court found that the reasoning of the arbitrator was not a decision that a reasonable decision maker could arrive at. The labor court stated that given the severe nature of the assault, including the physical violence and the fact that the victim was pregnant, the dismissal was justified even on the first offense. The labor court also found that there was no valid distinction between an assault that happens in the context of a scuffle versus a deliberate act of assault.

Key Takeaways

• The labor court overturned the arbitrator’s decision, finding the dismissal was both procedurally and substantively fair.
• The severe nature of the assault, including physical violence against a pregnant victim, warranted dismissal even on the first offense.
• There is no valid distinction between an assault that occurs during a scuffle versus a deliberate act of assault – both can justify dismissal.