In the Randfontein Estates v National Union of Mineworkers (2006) 27 ILJ 1200 (LC), Randfontein Estates sought an order declaring that where a public holiday falls on a Sunday, then the following Monday shall be a public holiday in substitution for, or instead of, the public holiday on the Monday.
There were a number of issues which were addressed, the first being whether the Sunday/Monday holiday was one or two public Holidays. The court held that the provisions of the Public Holidays Act are quite clear and state that “the days mentioned in schedule 1 shall be public holidays, and whenever any public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday shall be a public holiday.”
The second issue was one of payment of these two days and if the employee was entitled to receive double benefit for both Sunday and Monday. The judgement stated that the rationale behind section 2(1) of the Public Holidays Act (that both the Sunday and the Monday are public holidays) is to ensure that employees, who do not normally work on a Sunday, do not lose out on the benefit of having a day off work on full pay – those employees have the Monday off on full pay as a public holiday.
It was therefore ruled that those employees who worked a Sunday Public Holiday would get paid only for one public holiday and not for two.
The reason is that these employees, who ordinarily work on Sundays, will receive the benefit of double pay for working on the Sunday public holiday and have therefore received the benefit.
The judgement ruled that employees are entitled to payment for only one public holiday.
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