The Times reports that the Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled that when an employee gives in a sick note from a traditional healer it should be taken as seriously as a certificate from a qualified medical doctor. Following a unanimous judgment, Judge Azhar Cachalia ordered the reinstatement of Johanna Mmoledi, a section chef sacked by the Kievits Kroon Country Estate, near Pretoria, in 2007. Mmoledi was fired after attending a course on
traditional healing and not returning to work. Mmoledi claimed her absence from work was caused by "circumstances" beyond her control as she had received a "calling from her ancestors" that she be trained as a traditional healer. She left a traditional healer's letter on the desk of the estate's human resources manager.
Noting that 80% of South Africans met their "physical, spiritual and emotional wellbeing" needs through the use of traditional medicine, the court held that a traditional healer's sick note should be considered the equivalent of a doctor's.
