,MRL3702 Assignment 2 (DETAILED ANSWERS)
Semester 1 2025 - DISTINCTION GUARANTEED -
DISTINCTION GUARANTEED - DISTINCTION
GUARANTEED
Answers, guidelines, workings and references ,.. Mokoko works
for Ko-Diplaseng (Pty) Ltd (KD) as a truck driver. He loads and
delivers potatoes to all branches of Mazimba Factories (MF) in
South Africa. For long distances, KD would normally give
Mokoko a petty cash to enable him to buy food to eat when he
feels hunger, book a hotel room when he feels tired, and to
proceed with a safe trip the following day when he is refreshed.
One day as Mokoko was on his way to deliver potatoes from
Pretoria to Cape Town he noticed a lady with ababy on her back
walking alongside the road between two remote towns. Out of
sympathy, Mokoko stopped and gave the lady a lift. When they
got to the next town, dusk had fallen, and he decided to take a
fifteen kilometers detour, just to make sure that the lady and
her baby arrived safely at home. Due to poor lighting in the
village, Mokoko could not see a donkey cart entering the road
and he hit it. As a result, the truck and the cart were damaged
and the legs of the two donkeys which pulled the cart, were
broken. A veterinarian report indicated that the donkeys would
no longer be of any use because of their injuries. The owner of
the cart, a 58 years old, Radipitsi who is unemployed and relied
on cart services he offered to the locals to survive, wants the
, truck driver to pay the cost of both the damaged cart and
injured donkeys to the value of R150 000.00. Radipitsi has lost a
source of his income and Mokoko is not in a position to
compensate Radipitsi. Answer the following questions with
reference to the applicable legal authority: (i) Advise Radipitsi
of the applicable labour law principle that he may rely on to
successfully claim for his loss and how that principle works. (5)
(ii) What could be a possible defense by KD against the use of
the principle in (i). (2) (iii) Assuming that the principle in (i) is
used successfully, discuss whether KD will automatically be
entitled to make deductions from Mokoko’ salary to cover the
cost it incurred in (i) and why? (3)
(i) Applicable Labour Law Principle
Radipitsi can rely on the principle of “vicarious liability”
to claim compensation for his loss. Vicarious liability is a
legal doctrine where an employer is held liable for the
wrongful acts committed by an employee during the
course of their employment.
For vicarious liability to apply, the following requirements
must be met:
Employment Relationship: Mokoko is an employee of Ko-
Diplaseng (Pty) Ltd (KD).
Act Committed During the Course of Employment: The
accident occurred while Mokoko was driving a company
Semester 1 2025 - DISTINCTION GUARANTEED -
DISTINCTION GUARANTEED - DISTINCTION
GUARANTEED
Answers, guidelines, workings and references ,.. Mokoko works
for Ko-Diplaseng (Pty) Ltd (KD) as a truck driver. He loads and
delivers potatoes to all branches of Mazimba Factories (MF) in
South Africa. For long distances, KD would normally give
Mokoko a petty cash to enable him to buy food to eat when he
feels hunger, book a hotel room when he feels tired, and to
proceed with a safe trip the following day when he is refreshed.
One day as Mokoko was on his way to deliver potatoes from
Pretoria to Cape Town he noticed a lady with ababy on her back
walking alongside the road between two remote towns. Out of
sympathy, Mokoko stopped and gave the lady a lift. When they
got to the next town, dusk had fallen, and he decided to take a
fifteen kilometers detour, just to make sure that the lady and
her baby arrived safely at home. Due to poor lighting in the
village, Mokoko could not see a donkey cart entering the road
and he hit it. As a result, the truck and the cart were damaged
and the legs of the two donkeys which pulled the cart, were
broken. A veterinarian report indicated that the donkeys would
no longer be of any use because of their injuries. The owner of
the cart, a 58 years old, Radipitsi who is unemployed and relied
on cart services he offered to the locals to survive, wants the
, truck driver to pay the cost of both the damaged cart and
injured donkeys to the value of R150 000.00. Radipitsi has lost a
source of his income and Mokoko is not in a position to
compensate Radipitsi. Answer the following questions with
reference to the applicable legal authority: (i) Advise Radipitsi
of the applicable labour law principle that he may rely on to
successfully claim for his loss and how that principle works. (5)
(ii) What could be a possible defense by KD against the use of
the principle in (i). (2) (iii) Assuming that the principle in (i) is
used successfully, discuss whether KD will automatically be
entitled to make deductions from Mokoko’ salary to cover the
cost it incurred in (i) and why? (3)
(i) Applicable Labour Law Principle
Radipitsi can rely on the principle of “vicarious liability”
to claim compensation for his loss. Vicarious liability is a
legal doctrine where an employer is held liable for the
wrongful acts committed by an employee during the
course of their employment.
For vicarious liability to apply, the following requirements
must be met:
Employment Relationship: Mokoko is an employee of Ko-
Diplaseng (Pty) Ltd (KD).
Act Committed During the Course of Employment: The
accident occurred while Mokoko was driving a company
