Johannesburg - The National Treasury has been ordered by the General Public Service Sector Bargaining Council (GPSSBC) to reinstate its chief financial officer Priya Lutchman and repay her more than R850 000 after she was fired in December.
Lutchman, who was hired in December 2020, was axed for gross dishonesty and misrepresentation after she was charged with gross dishonesty for allegedly failing to disclose that she faced misconduct charges at the Gauteng department of sports, recreation, arts and culture.
Treasury accused her of failing to be upfront about the charges in a pre-interview questionnaire and during her interview.
Lutchman was also charged with deliberately misleading and misrepresenting facts to the National Treasury to advance her employment opportunity.
She was dismissed in December last year.
During her interview for the job, she was asked about a video in which former Gauteng sports, recreation, arts and culture MEC Faith Mazibuko lambasted her for the so-called combi courts.
Lutchman apologised to the interviewing panel for not submitting outstanding documents as she was preparing for arbitration at the time she applied for the position.
She told the GPSSBC that she found it peculiar and shocking to be charged with dishonesty for failing to disclose details of the charges against her at the Gauteng provincial government.
In ruling in her favour, the GPSSBC found no evidence that Lutchman had a legal obligation in terms of the National Treasury’s policy to fully disclose that she had been charged by her previous employer.
Lutchman told the bargaining council that Mazibuko had taken disciplinary action against her after she failed to execute her (Mazibuko’s) unlawful instruction on procurement matters.
“I do not agree with the respondent’s (National Treasury’s) version that the applicant (Lutchman) failed to disclose in the pre-interview questionnaire that there was disciplinary action being taken against her by her former employer and that her former employer preferred charges of misconduct against her,” GPSSBC commissioner Tiyani Makhubele ruled on September 27.
During the hearing, the National Treasury admitted that a pre-interview questionnaire was not provided for in its policies.
Makhubele said the interview panel was aware of the issues faced by Lutchman because they asked her about the video in which Mazibuko mentioned her name.
”The respondent (Treasury) could have contacted the applicant’s (Lutchman’s) former employer to get more clarity about the disciplinary hearing that the applicant was undergoing at the time.
“Despite being aware of the information disclosed by the applicant in the pre-interview questionnaire, the respondent went ahead and invited the applicant to attend a competency test. Moreover, the respondent conducted reference checks and continued to appoint the applicant,” Makhubele explained in the ruling.
The arbitrator said the National Treasury failed to prove that on the balance of probabilities Lutchman’s axing was substantively fair.
“It is, therefore, my finding that the applicant’s (Lutchman’s) dismissal was substantively unfair and procedurally fair,” reads the ruling.
Makhubele ordered the National Treasury to reinstate Lutchman with effect from December last year and pay her the more than R850 000 she would have been paid had she not been fired.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s spokesperson Mfuneko Toyana referred enquiries to the National Treasury’s communications department but it failed to respond.