Murder in the workplace – the case that bosses and employees need to know about
A recent Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) case has dealt with the issue of ‘vicarious liability’ and whether employers can be held responsible for their employee’s actions.
According to Kate Collier, a partner at Webber Wentzel, the general principle is that an employer is vicariously liable for a wrong committed by an employee if the action was within the scope of his or her employment.
However, difficulties arise where the employee commits an intentional wrong entirely for his or her own purpose, she said.
That was the issue the SCA had to deal with in a case where a security worker murdered a financial manager.
Stallion Security contracted with Bidvest to provide security services, including at its head office.
“The accused was employed by Stallion as a security guard. In the course of his employment, and in order to discharge his duties, he was granted biometric access to various parts of the head office building and was issued with an override key for all emergency exits,” said Collier
“He became familiar with the layout of the head office and the working habits of its employees.
“In particular, he noticed that a financial manager worked particularly long hours and that a petty cash box was kept in the finance department.”
On 3 November 2014, the security guard robbed and murdered the financial manager, seemingly to steal the money kept in the petty cash box.
Collier said that his widow sued both Stallion and the accused for delictual damages for loss of support.
“The High Court found that although the accused murdered the financial manager entirely for his own purposes, there was a sufficient link to the accused’s employment with Stallion to hold Stallion vicariously liable for the loss suffered,” she said.
Stallion then appealed the judgment at the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Ruling
Collier said that for vicarious liability to be considered, there must be a sufficiently close link between the wrongful act of the employee and the business of the employer.
As such the SCA found that:
- The murder was objectively and inextricably linked to the robbery committed at the head office;
- Stallion provided the Accused with more than a mere opportunity to commit the crimes;
- The accused’s access privileges enabled him to enter into and exit from the office area without detection or concern on the part of Bidvest; and
- The accused had intimate knowledge of the layout of the office and the security services at the premises. He was also instructed to make unannounced visits to the premises.
“These factors, seen together, created a material risk that the Accused may abuse his powers. It meant that the financial manager was vulnerable and this ultimately resulted in his subsequent robbery and murder,” said Collier.
Stallion was held to be vicariously liable for the criminal acts committed by its employee. The High Court judgment was upheld with damages in the amount of R1,680,000 being awarded.
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