Lumka Oliphant wins reinstatement and R1.53m back pay after unfair dismissal

The Department of Social Development must reinstate Lumka Oliphant and pay her more than R1.53 million in back pay after a bargaining council found her dismissal procedurally and substantively unfair.

Commissioner Suria van Wyk issued the arbitration award on 17 October 2026, a year after the department dismissed its chief director of communications. The award requires Oliphant to report for duty on 1 November 2026.

The commissioner ordered the department to restore Oliphant’s employment retrospectively, without taking away her benefits.

The final order sets her back pay at R1 535 516.04, equivalent to 12 months’ remuneration.

The department must pay two equal instalments of R767 758.02, the first by 15 November 2026 and the second by 15 December 2026.

Department failed to prove dismissal charges

The ruling went beyond finding fault with the disciplinary process. Van Wyk also found that the department failed to prove any of the five charges on which it dismissed Oliphant.

These were gross violation of security clearance, contravention of the Government Communication Policy, gross insolence or disrespect, prejudicing the department’s administration, and bringing it into disrepute.

The commissioner repeatedly identified the same weakness in the department’s case: its witnesses criticised Oliphant’s media interviews and social-media posts in general terms but did not identify the specific statements and evidence needed to establish the alleged misconduct.

The department therefore needed to show which statements breached the policy and how they did so. Playing recordings of interviews without identifying the offending content did not meet that requirement, the commissioner found.

“Based on the evaluation of the charges and the fact that the charges were not proven on a balance of probabilities, I find that the dismissal of the Applicant was substantively unfair,” said Van Wyk.

How the dispute began

Oliphant joined the department in June 2011 and later acted in senior positions, including deputy director-general.

The department placed her on precautionary suspension with full pay on 1 September 2025 over alleged mismanagement involving the Integrated Justice System programme and the National Integrated Social Protection Information System.

She subsequently spoke to journalists and posted on social media about her suspension and departmental affairs.

The department then brought additional allegations against her, including claims that she had breached communication rules, disrespected the minister, and disclosed information improperly.

Oliphant disputed the department’s explanation for her suspension.

As The Citizen previously reported, she alleged that it followed suspicions that she had leaked information about then minister Sisisi Tolashe’s reported R3 million New York trip.

The department maintained that the suspension concerned the programme-related allegations set out in its letter.

Importantly, the commissioner recorded that the original programme-related allegations did not form part of the reasons for dismissal.

Public accusations accompanied the labour dispute

The dispute also played out publicly. In earlier reporting, The Citizen quoted the department accusing Oliphant of pursuing a campaign to undermine Tolashe after her dismissal.

“This conduct is clearly aimed at diverting attention from the real reasons for her dismissal and sowing confusion in the public domain,” the department said at the time.

Oliphant rejected the accusations and challenged the minister to substantiate them.