A farmworker from De Doorns is upset because he feels his former employer owes him outstanding money after he was fired in December 2021.
Thapelo Jonase says he was fired after three years of faithful service at Modderdrift Boerdery after sustaining a work injury in 2019.
He says he is owed outstanding leave money.
According to Jonase, he suffered an injury at work in April 2019 and was never compensated for it. He says he informed his managers, and they told him to get his discharge report from the hospital and bring it to them.
“I gave them the hospital papers, but I never received any compensation for my injury,” he said. “They told me they would call the hospital to confirm I was injured, but they undermined me. They did not come back to me. They told me they could not help me and started treating me in a different way. Then they told me when I was leaving the job I could get all my money. Well, I worked three years and did not get my money!”
Jonase alleged he was told by Human Resource Manager Henda de Kock from Modderdrift he must resign to get all his money and did so, but has never received a cent.
Standard sent an inquiry to Modderdrift Boerdery regarding Jonase’s claims. According to the farm, his alleged injury was sustained before De Kock or the current management was employed by Modderdrift Farm, so [Henda] De Kock or the current management cannot substantiate his claims.
A spokesperson for the farm says Jonase did give a Worcester hospital discharge form (no medical report) to De Kock about a year ago. She gave it back to him in front of his manager and co-manager, and told him to take the discharge form to Worcester Hospital, because telephone inquiries were not possible if one was not the patient yourself.
Moddersdrift said that to investigate Jonase’s claim he was fired on 13 December 2021 for no reason the farm need the dismissal form to substantiate the claim.
“Leave payments are made when the correct procedures and notifications have been followed by resignation,” the spokesperson said. “Until evidence of matters mentioned to you by Mr Jonase is not provided to us we consider these issues to be unfounded and untrue.”
