WCED files application for leave to appeal Labour Court decision

24 January 2026 – Statement by Minister David Maynier, Minister of Education Western Cape

Yesterday, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) filed an application for leave to appeal the decision of the Labour Court with regards to Wesley Neumann’s dismissal. 

The filing of this application suspends the order to reinstate Mr. Neumann as principal of Heathfield High School. 

In our application, we argue that the Court committed multiple legal and factual errors in reviewing the Education Labour Relations Council’s arbitration award.

The application includes the following submissions:

• The Court failed to apply the review test correctly, which requires asking whether the ELRC arbitrator’s decision was one that a reasonable decision-maker could reach. On the facts and law, the ELRC arbitrator’s finding that the dismissal was fair was indeed a reasonable outcome.
• The Court applied an incorrect legal test when assessing whether Mr. Neumann’s statements were racist in nature. The correct test was whether, objectively, the words – “Baaskap” and “pre-1994” – were reasonably capable of conveying to the reasonable hearer that the phrases had a racist meaning.
• The Court erred in finding that Mr. Neumann was not responsible for making his offensive letter public. The ELRC arbitrator had rejected Mr. Neumann’s version as not credible, and such credibility findings should not lightly be overturned by a review Court that did not hear the evidence firsthand.
• Employees owe employers duties of respect and subordination. While the Court held that Mr. Neumann’s conduct was protected by freedom of expression, the Appeal Court should consider the limits of free speech within the context of an employment relationship.
• The Court made several factual errors, including mischaracterising disputed safety concerns as undisputed, relying incorrectly on a death that occurred after Mr. Neumann’s misconduct (the individual concerned indeed testified during Mr. Neumann’s misconduct hearing), and incorrectly finding that Mr. Neumann had permission to withhold forms permitting parents to apply to exempt learners from attending school during the pandemic. The court also wrongly concluded that discipline was selective, despite there being no evidence of unfair different treatment in comparable cases.
• The Court incorrectly found that the Department did not lead any evidence on the issue of reinstatement not being an appropriate remedy. There was evidence that the employment relationship had reached a point of "irretrievable" and "irreparable breakdown". 

Mr. Neumann had breached his central or core constitutional and contractual obligation to provide teaching and learning to children. 

We will remain focused on the best interests of the learners of Heathfield High School. The school is flourishing and has just produced a matric pass rate of 89.9% – the school’s highest in 15 years. 

Any attempt to disrupt this progress or interfere with teaching and learning will not be tolerated.

WCED Application